Janwaar Castle: A Modern Skate Park in Rural India
When is a skatepark more than a skatepark? When it is Janwaar Castle, a local playground in Janwaar village. Between 50-60 children visit the park every day where they learn English, music, dance, painting, 3D modelling, and general life skills. It is a place where Adivasis and Yadavs, boys and girls, and all age groups play together. There are two rules: no school no skating and girls first. Since skateboarding is “cool,†the children will do anything to hang out there—including going to school. The park was conceptualized and created by Ulrike Reinhard, a German who fell in love with and moved to India after a trip there in 2012. Of skateboarding she says, “It teaches you to fall and rise, take risks and most importantly, maintain balance.â€
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