‘Our Sundays Are Reserved for Skating’: Delhi’s Growing Skateboard Community

For a growing group of Delhi residents, Sunday mornings mean one thing: skateboarding. Communities across NCR marked Go Skate Day at their regular weekly meet-up, where sessions have become far more than a nostalgic hobby, offering many participants a form of self-care and a break from work and screens.

‘Our Sunday mornings are reserved for skating. It has become a non-negotiable for many in the community,’ says Nishchal Singh, founder of the Delhi Skating Community. ‘Every Sunday, new people join in, and some are absolute beginners… The community aspect allows beginners to learn without fear and judgement. It is a platform where we learn skills from each other.’

Karolina Bamotra, a Polish native now living in Delhi, joined the community after skateboarding back home. ‘My children are seven and four, and this is one of the few activities they happily wake up early for on a Sunday,’ she says. Khwahish Sahni, a student in the group, describes learning new tricks like the T-Stop and the freedom of skating in a public space. ‘Even if I fall, it doesn’t matter. Everyone falls and gets up again while skating. That’s part of the learning process,’ she says.

Anirudh Kashyap, a Noida-based startup founder who took up skateboarding four months ago, calls the sessions his weekly reset: ‘After slogging through the week, skateboarding on Sundays is my way of unwinding. When I am on wheels, I feel a lot of freedom.’ Nikita Jain, an interior designer who has skated with the group for two years, says the sense of belonging keeps her coming back even on days she can’t skate herself.

But the community also points to a gap in the city’s infrastructure. Siddhant Dhankar, founder of Backyard Skatepark, says most skaters in Delhi make do with ‘private facilities, streets, parking lots, plazas and improvised spots,’ and argues a public skatepark ‘would make the sport far more accessible, fun and safe’ for young people regardless of background.