Unacquainted with conventional games in their childhood and devoting the time in romancing with snow, many generations of countryside villages of Manali have left no stone unturned to turn their land into mini Europe where people worship skiing as their deities. The villages have now become the wellspring of professional skiers for India, with over 70 children and youth having participated in international skiing events only in last few years! The journey from homemade wooden skis to the Winter Olympics has been remarkable. Neglected by government but supported by natural skiing slopes, children, who never played hide and seek, gilli danda or cricket, spend a large amount of their capital in buying expensive skis and obtaining technical training. Children who cannot afford expensive pair of skis have enough knowledge that how to make temporary ski with help of timber fitted with pieces of steel blade on its base to reduce friction. Blades are generally stolen from saw mill. Burua, Shanag, Palchan, Solang, Ruar, Kulang, Goshal and Kothi villages in upper Manali have long list of success stories in winter games which has not only brought laurels to the country but is also a mean of healthy bread to hundreds of families. Lack of money forced youths to make wooden-skis at home in early days and now these youths are representing Indian team in all international events, including Winter Olympics. Though the Indian national ski team which is new to the professional winter sports and which mostly has skiers from Manali villages could not perform extraordinary in international events so far but the lone luger of the country Shiva Keshavan who hails from Vashisht, a small village near Manali, has set an Asian speed record and has grabbed three gold in Asian Luge Championships in Japan. His latest gold came in December 2016. As India does not has any luge track, he had
Unacquainted with conventional games in their childhood and devoting the time in romancing with snow, many generations of countryside villages of Manali have left no stone unturned to turn their land into mini Europe where people worship skiing as their deities. The villages have now become the wellspring of professional skiers for India, with over 70 children and youth
