Udupi: Meet India’s first surfer girl from Manipal

Agencies

Udupi, 27 May 2014: "In India, a girl is expected to go to school, start working, get married, and have babies. It’s crazy. I would have never in my wildest dreams, ever imagine that I would be the first female surfer in India." This is Ishita Malaviya’s story, a girl who was sent by her parents to study Journalism, and how she caught the "surf" bug.

 

Along with her partner and boyfriend Tushar Pathiyan, they own and run Shaka Surf Club in Manipal, on the west coast of Karnataka.

"I think surfing can be a very positive thing for India," she said in an interview to The Guardian. "For the girls who start surfing it’s opening their eyes to a whole new world. There are so many barriers for them – especially once they reach puberty and their interaction with boys can become very limited – but when they’re in the water it can break down some of those barriers."
Take a look at how our very own desi surfer girl takes to the waves. It will inspire you to take up a surf board too.