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Cricket has always been around in India, so has hockey. As for hip-hop, breakdancing and skateboarding, they are fairly new cultural practices within the country's landscape. The formal initiation of skateboarding in India is credited to Nick Smith, who set up the first skateboarding rink in the coastal town of Goa in 2003. Ever since then, skateboarding has only escalated, spreading across several states of India.
Over the last decade, skateboarding has erupted as a voracious subculture which enjoys participation of a massive number of youth across states. With such turnout, various events of skateboarding are organised every year in India which attracts skateboarders from abroad to come and participate. The largest culmination of skateboarders in the subcontinent is seen annually at the Jugaad Annual Skate Competition which is held in Goa. Another five-days event was organised by VANS in India which saw a vibrant turnout of skateboarders, photographers, filmmakers, amateur musicians and other artists to promote skateboarding and the DIY culture within the nation.
While many skateparks might have closed-down due to lack of maintenance and proper funding, skateboarding has continued to exist within and outside of skateparks. Skateboarding now has started to turn into a sight as ordinary as dance enthusiasts in the parks of Hauz Khas across cities. Take a trip to explore the adventurous and spirited evenings of the skateboarders, the lesser-known cultural spectacles that should be on your list.
Among the first skateparks of Delhi, the Backyard Skatepark stands as a well-equipped arena for the lovers of skateboarding. An open-air skatepark, the Backyard offers rails, ledges, banks, quarter pipes, pyramids and stairs for the proper skateboarding experience. The space also provides skateboarding classes for kids and remains open 7 days around the week.
Timings: 2 pm to 11 pm
Apart from the official skating rinks, skateboarding enthusiasts take to the streets at the lack of rinks around the area. You are destined to find bunches of skateboarders during evenings around the Connaught Place area. The s-shaped ledges, stairs around the metro and traffic cones make it for a perfect skateboarding space for the youth.
Timings: 5 pm to 10 pm
Another place where travellers are sure to witness the subculture of skateboarding in full glory is Safdarjung Enclave, the B6 community market specifically. Several youth gather around every evening to practice and perfect various skateboarding tricks at this natural rink.
Timings: 6 pm to 11 pm
The Carter Road Skatepark is a major skating rink of Mumbai. The place is multi-purpose as it offers space both for skateboarding as well as BMX cycling. A colourful site of youth culture, the walls of the rink are full of dynamic murals and graffitis. A must-visit site in Mumbai.
Timings: Always accessible but busy after 3 pm
A giant arena, the Nerul Skatepark stands as one of the most thoughtfully constructed skating rinks of India. With skateboarding structures like hedges, hubba, railings, stairs and so on built in variation for both beginner and professional skateboarders, Nerul Skatepark is a go-to site for the youth of the area. Travellers can also relax at the verdant gardens and park that surrounds the rink.
Timings: 9 am to 7 pm
The Bandra Reclamation is an open-air playground built by the shore of Mahim Bay of the Arabian Sea. Travellers visiting the Bandra Reclamation may take in the sea breeze while enjoying the young skateboarders exhibiting thrilling tricks.
Timings: 6 am To 6 pm
At the terrace of a supermarket in Laal Bazaar of Gangtok, a tight-knit community of youth indulges in skateboarding as a community-exercise. The place which has come to be known as LB Terrace colloquially witnesses an influx of an electric bunch of youngsters that have taken to skateboarding as a panacea for the hardships of adulting and teenage angst. Travellers visiting Gangtok must visit the LB Terrace to absorb the pulsating future of the place in these adventurous groups. Gangtok also offers other places of tourist interest as it is a historical Buddhist pilgrimage site.
Timings: 8 am to 7 pm
