August 6, 2014.A group of around 150 people have assembled in the courtyard of a two- storeyed house on the banks of a rivulet in the village of Kumarakom, in Kottayam district in Kerala. Neither the marauding rain nor the carnage it has inflicted on the paddy fields—the primary means of livelihood for the villagers along with backwater tourism—has managed to dampen their spirits. Clad in white sleeveless vest and shorts, they are members of the Kumarakom Town Boat Club (KTBC), one