The Houseboats of Kerala ( earlier known as rice barges or kettuvallams ) are giant country crafts, measuring up to 80 feet in length, retrieved from being lost to the State altogether. Once they ruled the backwaters, poled along by one or two men, heavily loaded with rice, coconut and other commodities. But in the recent times, the kettuvalloms or rice barges have been replaced by more and modern modes of transport, relegating them to neglect and decay. |