UNUSUAL SIGHTS OF SWIFT VESSELS

  

In the month of ‘Karkitakam’ according to the Malayalam Calendar, certain days are highlighted. For example, on the ‘Amavasya’, New Moon Day, of ‘Karkitakam’ we used to notice some ‘Odi-Vanchi’ a swift and fancy vessel, with a lot of oarsmen heading to Nettoor Trikoil Temple. We could hear the sounds of their oars cutting into the silent water. It was amazing to watch them raising the blade of the oars up in air and down into the ‘Kayal’, Every stroke of the oar struck with such rhythm with the ‘Vanchipatt’, a song that accompanied it.  Those vessels glided so swiftly through our backwaters by leverage against the water.

 Very often Jacob and I used to get a lot of thrills by singing aloud with them their chorus which went like this” –

 “Thithi, Tharo Thai Thai.”

This encouraged them as they realized they had an audience. I gathered from the local people that they went to that particular temple to tender an offering especially libation of tender coconut water to gratify God to absolve their ancestors from their bondages.

         

Similarly the ‘Chundan-Vallom’, snake boats, was another very fast moving vessel with a lot of oarsmen. Every year, during Onam festival season, so many of these snake boats used to go through the ‘Kayal’ to participate in the various boat races conducted at Ernakulam.

Till the 1850s, these fast moving vessels were used for war to transport Nair forces who were experts in ‘Kalari Payattu’, which was a popular martial art. The ‘Desavazhi’ of Oli Mana maintained a number of such vessels for military use. My grandparents used to say that these swift vessels drew envious looks everywhere because these were the same vessels effectively used in the wars against Zamorin of Calicut. The fishermen of this island used to be the veteran oarsmen of such swift vessels to transport his forces. Guarding the coasts of this island and the wonderful job of informing the ‘Desavazhi’ about the clandestine movements near the coastal waters were done by these loyal fisher-folk, who were living in tiny miserable huts seen along the western coastal shores of this island.

The European colonialists introduced motor boats for patrolling this strategically important area and they maintained a military base camp in Oli ‘Kayaloram’, coastal shore. The motor boats substituted the ‘Chundan-Vallom’, snake-boat, and ‘Odi-Vanchi’, swift vessels. Gradually the ‘Desavazhi’ discarded all these swift vessels.

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com