INDIA – TRAILER – AN ADVENTURE TRAVEL DOCUMENTARY

FESCH.TV INFORMIERT:

INDIA – Monsoon and bureaucracy

The state of Kerala in the southwest of the country has the potential for several paddlers‘ lives in the rainy season. But the biggest challenge is getting onto the wild rivers at all – because the mills of Indian bureaucracy grind slowly and unpredictably.

Kerala has not been completely white on the paddlers‘ map for quite some time: The „Malabar River Festival“ took place for the seventh time at the end of July in Kodanchery, Asia’s biggest kayak event, attracting some of the best international whitewater paddlers every year with a lavish prize money pot. On different rivers, professionals and local amateurs compete in the disciplines freestyle, slalom, boater cross and downriver sprint. For Olaf Obsommer and his team – Thilo Schmitt, Philip Baues, Manuel Arnu, Quinn Cornell, and Nouria Newman – the festival was to be the perfect prelude to an exploration trip into the jungle world of Kerala.
The tourism authorities had promised the team the best possible support: a van with a local driver and, above all, help with the necessary permits to get to the rivers. But apparently, the responsible authorities were alarmed because of the unusually strong monsoon. On the spot, getting permits seemed an impossibility. And the trip did not seem to be under a good star in other respects either: Philip had to leave early due to an acute ear infection. With a lot of perseverance and drive, the remaining crew finally managed to wring a few first descents and spectacular river kilometers out of stubborn Kerala.
That there are far greater concerns than bureaucratic and cultural obstacles for kayak tourists became dramatically apparent long after the team had returned home. The monsoon intensified into the strongest since weather records began. More than 350 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands their homes and livelihoods in the flood of the century.