BHUBANESWAR: India Surf Festival (ISF), India’s signature surfing event that had put the country on the global surf tourism map, is coming back in the winter of 2020, after a two-year hiatus.
The ISF 2020 will hit the swells along the sun-bathed golden sands of Ramachandi beach with the very spirit and exuberance that had made it a sought-after destination for soul surfers not only from India but across the globe - Brazil, Australia, UK, Spain and Portugal, etc., to Sri Lanka, Bali, Philippines and Thailand nearby.
“The ISF-Reloaded will continue to imbibe the very values of volunteerism and socially and environmentally responsible participation with the mantra of self-discovery through communion with nature. Over the five past editions, ISF had been able to create a niche space for itself in the global surf circuit. It has given a new meaning to soul surfing and we are committed to carry it forward,” chief festival organiser and founder of Surfing Yogis Sanjay Samantaray said.
The festival, which had made its place in the sporting and cultural calendar of the country as a most happening event within a short span of five years, had abruptly taken a break since 2017. It was deliberate, according to Samantaray, who attributed it to a “necessary pause for reflection and charting the way forward.” Initially, it was intended to be a one-year break but had to be prolonged due to a serious personal tragedy in his family.
But, as we are coming back, it is heartening to realise that the interest from the global surfer community has not waned. Such is the situation that surfers from country and abroad, who had been associated with the festival, are already coming together working for the restart - in a much bigger and better scale”, organiser and founder Detour Odisha, Kartik Aruda said.
The Asian Surf Cooperative (ASC), the premier surfing organisation of Asia based in Indonesia, will be associated with ISF. Like all other editions, one country will be a partner, and Philippines, in all likelihood, will be in it 2020.
In its sixth edition, the country’s biggest boardsport event will walk the path with its mantra of “Free Your Soul with surf, yoga and meditation” while bringing along an eclectic combination of surf music, films, art and photography. Along with surfing, stand up paddle, kite surfing, yoga on water, skateboarding, etc will feature in the three day-event.
The artistic installations have been a major attraction of the festival while the ‘Hungry Lens’ initiative gives photographers a canvas to free their creativity. The dates of ISF 2020 will be announced by December-end or January, Samantaray said.