India’s second triple centurion Karun Nair, 25, was saved from a near-death experience when the boat he was travelling in overturned in the river Pampa in Kerala last July. The local people, who swung into action, rescued Nair and others. Nair was taking part in the famous Vallasadhya, a celebration at the Sree Parthasarathy Temple in Aranmula, where devotees offer feast to the oarsmen of the snakeboats, who are treated as representatives of the presiding deity Parthasarathy, another name for Lord Krishna.
Said Nair about the accident, “I was lucky to live again. I did not know how to swim. People rescued me.”
At the Aranmula Vallasadhya, oarsmen sing songs and praise the deity. They demand particular dishes to be served to them. With over 70 dishes on display, it is considered the largest vegetarian feast in India.
Considered one of the oldest temples in Kerala, Sree Parthasarathy Temple is administered by the Travancore Devaswom Board of the government of Kerala.
Nair, whose parents hail from Chengannur in Kerala, is settled in Bengaluru.
Said G. Venugopal, administrative officer of Parthasarathy Temple, to THE WEEK, “Karun was in one of the boats that overturned because of the strong undercurrents in the river at that point. He didn’t know how to swim. We rescued him somehow. There were a few relatives of Karun in the boat; all of them escaped. Two people in that boat died. One of them died because of shock, as the postmortem report showed that there was no water in his lungs.”
Aranmula is also known for its snake boat race held every year during Onam.
