SNAKE BOAT RACE

The annual Snake boat races are a thrilling festival event held in Alappuzha, Kerala, India, just before the festival of Onam in August or September every year. These annual races feature many classes of boats, but the most spectacular event is the race between the giant Snake Boats or Chundanvallams at the annual races or Vallamkalis held on the Punnamada Backwaters at Alappuzha. The annual Snake Boat races festival held in Alappuzha, Kerala, India, is a thrilling event where giant Snake Boats compete for the prestigious Nehru Trophy. The Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, gave the trophy to the people of Alappuzha after his visit to Kerala in 1952. As Nehru arrived in Alappuzha, he was given a grand welcome, along the backwaters with hundreds of boats including swift-moving Snake Boats. As Nehru saw a demonstration of the rowers' prowess, he suggested an annual race be held and donated the Nehru Trophy to be given to the winning team. The Nehru Trophy has a silver replica of a Snake Boat set on a base. The annual Snake Boat races festival is an exciting event held in a celebratory atmosphere.

Snake Boat Festival Celebration in Kerala: Snake Boat races festivals are held in many venues in Kerala, India, but the races in Alappuzha are the best known. Teams of rowers compete for the Nehru Trophy. The Snake Boats or Chundanvallams, can seat up to 100 people. The rowers pull with all their might, sitting two in row along the length of the Snake Boat. The boats float low in the water and have a long curving stern. The prow is pointed in shape or may have a decorative knob at the end. The prow rides low in the water with the length of the Snake Boat extending behind it. Apart from rowers, the Snake boat carries a cox, and leaders who maintain the rhythm of rowing through chants, songs and exclamations. You can see the amazing Snake Boats of Kerala on Kerala tours with Kerala Backwater. The excitement of the Snake Boat Races has to be experienced to be appreciated. The snake boat races at Alappuzha have become a popular attraction for international travelers.

Kite Festival

The festival is held on the day of Makar Sankranti, i.e., 14th January every year at Jodhpur in Rajasthan and Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Makar Sankranti or Uttarayan is Hindu festival that is observed to mark the end of the chilly months of winters with the movement of sun into the northern hemisphere. This is the season when the skies are clear and the breeze seems pleasant making every body in a jubilant mood.

Ahmedabad In Gujarat, Makar Sankranti is celebrated as the kite-flying day. Kite-flying day in Gujarat is an extraordinary day, unlike at other places. Ahmedabad, Gujarat's premier city, leads the way in the celebration of Uttarayani, and is the venue of the International Kite Festival.The International Kite Flying Festival in Ahmedabad begins with the break of the dawn and continues all through the day without and intervals or breaks. The enthusiasm of the people is worth noting as they compete with each other in kite flying and shouting in excitement. The same passion continues even after dusk and nightfall when illuminated box kites can be seen in the sky. They can be found in series strung in on line and are known ad 'Tukkals'. Local kite flying festivals are held in other cities as well but International Kite Festival in Ahmedabad witnesses a large gathering of participants and observers from all over Indian and world. If you want to quench you curiosity about the history o kites and kite flying, you can learn all this and much more at the Museum in Ahmedabad, which very concisely yet colorfully traced the history of kites and beginning of kite flying. From dawn to dusk, people of all ages fly kites rejoicing in the spirit of the day. The blue January sky is enlivened by kites of different colours and hues. Kites soar in the sky, their lines moving as if alive. Crowded rooftops, fun-loving rivalry to outdo each other, and delicious Gujarati feast are the hall-marks of the day. A tremendous variety of kites are seen with friends, neighbours and total strangers indulging in kite fights. The nights see the arrival of the illuminated box kites, often in a series strung on one line, to be launched into the sky. Known as Tukkals, these kites add a touch of splendour to the dark sky.

Jodhpur The three-day International Kite Flying Festival in Jodhpur is held at the Polo Ground. The sky looks absolutely beautiful with kites in myriad hues, designs and shapes of the kites being flown in the air. The Air Force helicopters release colorful kites from the sky while school children release colorful air balloons. The festival is divided into two sections, namely, the Fighter Kite Competition and the Display Flying. The kite flyers compete with each other displaying their skills in order to win the Fighter Kite Competition while the other calmly fly the kite exhibiting their beautiful kites for the Display Flying. The prestigious trophies are awarded to the winners of both the categories and every participant is offered dinner at an exotic venue. The Grand Finale of the International kite Flying Festival in Jodhpur is held in the extant lawns of the Umaid Bhawan Palace. The finals of the Fighter Kite competition and Display Flying are followed by the prize distribution ceremony, thanks-giving ceremony and farewell dinner with the Maharaja of Jodhpur. The festival is attended and participated by a large number of people from India and abroad.

Classification of Indian Fairs and Festivals

Classification of fairs and festivals in India and their role in the development of tourism. The diversity of fairs and festivals in Indian sub-continent is enormous. It is simply because of many religions and their participation to make a country, India. These fairs and festivals have their own charm to attract tourists and thus they made their position in world tourism calendar. India with her 5000 years culture and heritage nourishes these fairs and festivals to depth, importance and colour. Fairs and festivals in India can be divided in three categories. Religious fairs and festivals: - religious and regional diversity allow Indians to have different festivals like dusshera, diwali, Id, Christmas etc.

Seculer or Social festivals:- from Indian point of view we can keef Independence Day, Republic Day, Book fair etc in this category. Promotional festivals: - few festivals have been designed keeping the interest of attracting tourists like mango festivals, desert festivals, kite festivals etc. Beside these three categories of fairs and festivals there are few more festivals in India which can be defined as cultural festivals. Few examples of this type are Konark Dance Festivals, Mahabalipuram Dance Festival, and Tansen Festival of Gwalior etc. Department of Tourism, Govt of India and ITDC are working together to promote these festivals all over the world and nowadays we can see participation of foreign tourists in these festivals are increasing. Tourism in India has a very close relation with the festivals. Till date the participation of domestic tourist was the main crowd in these festivals but now the promotional efforts by the national tourism organizations and different programs like Visit India or Incredible India are attracting a major amount of foreign tourist. DoT started different zonal cultural centers allover the country in 1998 and these centers are arranging cultural shows, light and sound shows, handicraft shops etc to promote regional fairs like tribal fairs. And this activity is not only promoting the culture but also bringing small places like Jagdalpur or Joygaon in world tourism map. And thus Govt. of India also earning good amount of FOREX.