Kettuvallam
A kettuvallam is a motorized houseboat , converted from a former barge , which is mainly used in the backwaters in the Indian state of Kerala . It is used exclusively for tourist purposes.
etymology
In the Malayalam language , kettu means something like sewing, binding or lace, and vallam stands for boat. The compound word Kettuvallam thus refers to the traditional construction of these boats.
Construction
A kettuvallam is typically around 30 meters long and around 4 meters wide in the middle. It is mainly made from the wood of the aanjilis ( Artocarpus hirsutus ), a tree from the jackfruit family. Bamboo is also used. The frames and planks are connected by means of coconut or other palm fiber ropes. A characteristic of a Kettuvallam is the fact that not a single nail is used for the entire boat building.
Kettuvallams are barges converted into houseboats that were previously used to transport goods, mainly rice and spices. When converting to a houseboat, the superstructures are expanded and converted, windows installed, floors drawn in, etc. A Kettuvallam converted in this way typically has two to three bedrooms and bathrooms for the guests as well as a kitchen for the crew. Access to the houseboat is on the side in the middle of the boat using a folding walkway. There are also high quality kettuvallams; these own u. a. an additional upper deck .
A boat variant that only looks like traditional kettuvallams is created by using fiberglass instead of wood.
tourism
Kettuvallams are used exclusively for tourist purposes. The idea of converting traditional barges into houseboats for tourism allegedly goes back to Babu Varghese (1951–2011), the former managing director of TourIndia .
In 1991 the first converted houseboat was launched in Alumkadavu in the Kollam district . There are now more than a thousand Kettuvallams cruising the Kerala backwaters. The number of boats has now been limited: a license for a new houseboat is only issued if an old one is discarded.
The Hindu - the third largest English-language daily newspaper in India - wrote in 2002 about the importance of kettuvallam for Kerala:
“A cruise along the mirror-still lagoons, picture-book lakeside, palm-fringed canals and shimmering rivulets of God's Own Country is the most enchanting holidaying experience in the country. With a cruise along the palm-fringed waterways turning to be part and parcel of holidayer's itinerary, the traditional Kettuvallam has emerged as the mascot of Kerala Tourism. "
“A boat trip along mirror-like lagoons, picture-perfect lake shores, palm-lined canals and shimmering rivers in God's Own Country is the most enchanting holiday experience in the country. With a boat trip along the palm-lined waterways as an essential part of the vacationer's itinerary, the traditional Kettuvallam has become an outstanding symbol of tourism in Kerala. "
Web links
- What are Kettuvallams? In: kettuvallam.com (English)
- Harald Clade: Kerala / South India: sailing on the backwaters . In: Deutsches Ärzteblatt . tape 95 , no. 10 , March 6, 1998, pp. 16-17 ( online [PDF; accessed November 15, 2016]).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sewn boats. (No longer available online.) In: mare-press.de. Formerly in the original ; Retrieved May 27, 2012 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ It's fiberglass AND traditional . In: The Hindu . May 22, 2006 (in English, online [accessed November 25, 2016]).
- ↑ History of the boats in the Allepy section ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF, page 4).
- ↑ About Us. In: tourindiakerala.com. Retrieved November 25, 2016 .
- ↑ With the houseboat through the backwaters of Kerala. In: reisedepeschen.de. May 8, 2016, accessed November 15, 2016 .
