Rice boats or kettuvallams of Kerala as the name suggests, were used in the old days to transport rice, the staple of the Keralan people. Rice meant money, & those controlled the supply of rice invariably were the 'chiefs' of the locality.
The rice boat is constructed using ancient philosophy of boat building by the local carpenters using anjali wood. The peculiarity of the boat is the use of coir for holding wooden boards together. Each Anjali wood plank is tied together to the next with strong rope and then coated with caustic black resin obtained from boiled cashew kernels and fish oil.
The mystical land of Kerala, also known as 'GOD'S OWN COUNTRY' lies between the Lakshadweep sea and the Western Ghats. It has the humid equatorial tropic climate. The eastern Kerala province consists of high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valleys directly to the west of the Western Ghats' rain shadow. The highest peak is Anamudi at an elevated at 2,695 meters. At the west of the mountains lie the midland plains comprising central Kerala, dominated by rolling hills and valleys.
Kerala's western coastal belt is somewhat flat, and is criss-crossed by a network of interconnected brackish canals, lakes, estuaries, and rivers known as the Kerala Backwaters. Around 8% of India's waterways lengthwise are found in Kerala. The most significant of Kerala's forty-four rivers include the Periyar (244 km), the Bharathapuzha (209 km), the Pamba (176 km), the Chaliyar (169 km), the Kadalundipuzha River (130 km), the Valapattanam (129 km) and the Achankovil (128 km). As Kerala's rivers are small and lack deltas, they are more prone to environmental factors.
During summer, Kerala is prone to gale force winds, storm surges, cyclone-related torrential downpours, occasional droughts, and rises in sea level. The mean daily temperatures range from 19.8 °C to 36.7 °C and mean annual temperatures range from 25.0--27.5 °C in the coastal lowlands to 20.0--22.5 °C in the eastern highlands.
Source: Wikipedia & http://www.riceboatskerala.com/default.htm
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