MALABAR RIVER FESTIVAL 2018
Four brightly colored kayaks perched atop the start ramp, water from the incessant rains dripping off paddler’s helmets as they awaited the countdown. “Anytime in the next ten seconds,” counseled Manik Taneja in his softly accented English. At the word, “Go,” all four paddlers pushed off simultaneously, beginning the battle to be first off the ramp and into the water. On shore, hundreds of umbrellas swiveled at once as their owners turned to follow the action, watching, cheering and encouraging the kayakers racing their way downstream until all four blue, green, and white bibs had passed under the RedBull-branded finish banner.
“WHEN THE MONSOONS COME, SO DOES THE WATER. FROM JUNE TO AUGUST, “GOD OWN COUNTRY, “ AS THE REGION IS KNOWN, HOSTS A WEALTH OF WHITEWATER JUST BEGINNING TO BE DISCOVERED”
This was the Pro Boatercross on the Chalipulzha River, one of six events at the 2018 Malabar River Fest, and the paddlers atop the start ramp some of the best racers and kayakers in the world. Over 60 competitors from 21 countries came to take part in the five-day long event and compete for the chance to take home part of the largest cash prize in competitive kayaking today. They went home with something better.
GOD, S OWN COUNTRY
Kodenchery, in the Indian state of Kerala, may seem an unlikely place to grow and develop the Asian whitewater scene, but as festival organizers Manik Taneja and Jacopo Nordera know well, there may be no better location. When the monsoons come, so does the water. From June to August, ‘God’s Own Country,’ as the region is known, hosts a wealth of whitewater just beginning to be discovered.
The goal of the highly ambitious festival is multifaceted:
