Steer, chant, row; the roles of the chundan crew

The number of thuzhakkar or oarsmen in a vallam can range from 75 to 93. However, the speed of the boat doesn’t depend on the number of oarsmen but on their strength; the winning team of the Nehru Trophy boat race, Karichal Chundan, for example, had only 75 oarsmen. The positions of the team members will be the same in all vallams. Check out their different roles:
Ottathuzhakkar
At the koombu, the front of the vallam, there will be around six-seven oarsmen.They will be rowing from both sides alternately and should be able to lead the team from the front. The speed of the rest of the oarsmen depends on them.
Nilakkar/Thalakkar
The nilakkar/thalakkar provide the energy to the entire team with their rhythmic singing and will be moving all over the vallam. There will be two idikkar among them, who tap the floor of the boat with their oars. It is according to the rhythm of their tapping that the team increases and decreases the speed. They keep a watch on the rest of the vallams and indicate through their tapping when someone is gaining on the vallam.
Thuzhakkar
The major chunk of the oarsmen sit in the middle and row in twos. Their number depends on the length of vallam and there will be people trained in left and right rowing. The speed of the vallam will be decided by the strength of these oarsmen.
Kuttikoothu Thuzhakkar
Four oarsmen will be sitting just before the Amarakkar, at the Kuttikoothu. When the Amarakkar row with the pankayam (oar), these four will be the ones controlling the vallam.
Amarakkar
At the back end of the vallam is the raised part called amaram, where five people will be standing with pankayams (long oars). Rowing with the pankayam is considered equivalent to the rowing of four people with ordinary oars and the vallam moves much faster. The amarakkar are the drivers who steer the vallam.