Ride the curl: The fun begins at Covelong Festival

The Covelong Point Classic Surf, Music and Yoga Festival, now into its fourth edition, has become a major self-styled tourist attraction. Organised by Arun Vasu of TT Group, Yotam Agam of Earthsync, and fisherman-turned-surfer Murthy Megavan, the festival has tied up with the Surfing Federation of India and Asian Surfing Championship to host some top surfing talent from around the world. “We get over 100-200 participants in the surfing competition every year, with more expected this year — and about 15,000 spectators like last year. While some of our best surfers are from Covelong, we have professionals coming down from places like Indonesia, Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Brazil,” says Arun Vasu.

This rising tide of interest in the sport has also taken place because people have realised that surfing is not dangerous if one knows swimming. “The few accidents that occur are either because the person was drunk or could not swim. Besides, it’s not a niche sport: all one needs is a board,” says surfer Murthy Megavan. 

Non-surfers need not feel left out: beach football, volleyball, a slackline contest — the first-of-itskind here -— a stand-up paddle contest and a frisbee tournament, promise to keep them busy. The weekend will also see catamaran races, and swimming and kayaking events. 

As a lifestyle festival with a holistic approach, the event also features a yoga festival dedicated to a diverse variety of yoga and meditation workshops. Music — the categories being Acoustic, Beach and Yoga Shala — is another highlight of the festival. The Acoustic stage boasts performers like Bengaluru-based Abhijeet Tambe, while percussion fusion duo, Filter Coffee, returns to Yoga Shala. Poprock band Thaikkudam Bridge from Kerala, will be one of the main performers at the Beach Stage. One of the most anticipated acts will be by Grammy Award-winning artiste, Tanvi Shah, who will present a less-heard genre: Afro-Cuban music in Portuguese and Spanish. Her rationale is, “It’s important that local communities are exposed to world music. If you don’t show them, how will they know and appreciate such genres of music,” reasons Tanvi. 

She is right, because, the festival, with its accent on sun, sea and sand, is, ultimately, about using the event to empower the local Kovalam community. “We run the festival in concert with the village. We wouldn’t be able to do it without the local community,” says Arun Vasu. 

When they began, they had about 15 surfers straggling in shyly. Today, the village boasts of over 100 surfers, who are some of the best in the country. 

The sport helped people, like Murthy, free themselves of alcohol and substance abuse, get jobs and be self-sufficient.

“The festival has also been instrumental in breaking the prejudice against the fishermen community who are perceived to be rude and dangerous. This is what gives us a huge sense of satisfaction,” concludes Arun.