28-05-2025
Rolling on! Delhi skaters grind through grit & gaps
New Delhi: Every weekend, a group of skateboarders from south Delhi's Humayunpur make their way towards Deer Park, where an empty stretch beckons. Of course, this odd bunch of mostly teens also carry makeshift ledges, rams and heavy wooden boxes.
With the city lacking an actual skatepark with all the frills and spills, the skaters take it upon themselves to find suitable spots and turn it into an extreme sport venue, even if only for a few hours.
"We made these obstacles ourselves," said Herschelle Lakra pointing to the contraptions his group will use as obstacles and ramps. "It helps us to practise and land more tricks."
Skateboarding is considered both an artform and a sport by its millions of practitioners across the globe.
It emerged in the early 1950s in California where surfers wanted an alternative pastime when the waves were flat. The switch from water to the streets gave birth to a new kind of surfboard, one with a set of wheels. Today, skateboarding is an Olympic sport, a multi-million-dollar industry and, significantly, a way of life.
In the last decade, cities like Bengaluru, Gwalior, Shillong, Chandigarh and Delhi have taken to the sport, with some of these cities boasting impressive skateboarding infrastructure.
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However, enthusiasm is high in Delhi, but it has no skateparks.
Meera Gautam, 17, has been skating for three years and travels 45 minutes every day from her home to a private skatepark in Neb Sarai. A national gold medalist in both Street and Park skating categories, the teenager said, "I want to represent India at the 2026 Asian Games and eventually at the Olympics. But it is tough because there is a lack of skating infrastructure in Delhi that comes up to international standards."
While Delhi has two private skateparks — and no govt facility — these are not easily accessible to everyone. "We go to these parks sometimes, but they are small, private spaces filled with kids learning roller skating. It's no fun there," said Angom, 27-year-old Manipur native at the FP Skate Shop in Humayunpur, Delhi's first skateboard shop. A skateboarder for eight years, he came to Delhi in 2018 and his circle of skaters has increased from the initial 3-4, which inspired him to open the shop.
"Building a culture necessitates a skate shop. But FP is more than just a shop, it's a place where skaters can come together, meet and share their culture," he smiled.
Tamuk Lucky of Arunachal Pradesh came to Delhi to pursue higher studies. The 18-year-old said, "When I came to the city two years ago, I was a bit disappointed because even though there is a thriving skateboarding scene here, there is no skatepark."
Many skateboarders practise in front of shops, metro stations or in open areas.
But these public spaces come with their own set of problems. While safety concerns are primary, what the skaters face most is the ire of the civic authorities. Flavin Sangma, a skater from Shillong, now based in Delhi, shared, "What saddens us is that in some instances, the issue isn't even about skating. The cops judge us for how we look, what we wear.
Our way of expression is what bothers them."
That is why the city's skaters crave an open public skatepark that will provide them with a space to come together and truly enjoy this sporty art without having to take to the streets and cause a problem.
Angom said that there are questions about the scope of skateboarding, given it's a new sport and culture in India, such queries are not a deterrent to them. He agreed that while there were immense talented youngsters with the potential to represent India internationally, not everyone was into skateboarding to compete. "For us it's a way of life. We skate because we love it," he said. So, every weekend, he and scores of others gather to challenge, teach and support each other.
There is hope in their heart of an apt space in the city that will not judge them when they wheel around.
