JOIN USAn evening of chills and thrills!
A decade ago, Halloween wasn’t exactly a day that most Bangaloreans marked off in their calenders. Today, though, the festival has morphed into a much-awaited event in the City — something fashionable, fun-filled and suitably creepy.
There’s a certain thrill in dressing up as a witch or vampire, carving out pumpkins and illuminating them with candles and of course, trick-or-treating.
And surprisingly, it isn’t just the children who are indulging in the trappings of the occasion — adults too are having their fun on Halloween.
As Elizabeth Bowden David,
a Bangalore-based entrepreneur, puts it — “You never really outgrow Halloween.”
Since Elizabeth grew up celebrating the occasion every year, her family prefers to keep their Halloween traditional.
“It’s one of our favourite holidays. This year, both my children will be dressing up — and my husband and I will throw on costumes as well.
One of my sons is dressing like a vampire and the other will be a skeleton. And while my husband is going as Zorro, I’m going to wear a traditional Mexican dress. In fact, I even picked up a little witch’s costume for my Golden Retriever,” she says, excitedly.
Their celebrations always begin at home, she adds and this year, they will be
continuing it at Habareno, a tex-mex restaurant run by the family.
“The children go trick-or-treating door-to-door. The great thing about Halloween in Bangalore is that the next day — Karnataka Rajyotsava — is a holiday, so we can stay out a little late,” she states, adding that they will also be throwing a costume party at the restaurant with Halloween-themed candy-bags.
Not surprisingly, many restaurants and clubs are capitalising on the popularity of Halloween and organising themed menus, dinners and parties.
Maya, a radio jockey, attended a Toastmaster Halloween-themed get-together last year.
She recalls, “Everyone put a lot of effort into dressing up. I went as a spider queen — and others came as ghosts and in similarly scary get-ups. We had spooky music, spooky speeches — mine was to pretend that I was speaking to a bunch of hypnotised listeners on the radio — and a few games as well.
For instance, there were impromptu skits — we had to pick a chit with a topic and then put up a little skit on it. Ours was based on the ‘Twilight’ saga.”
She believes that Halloween is something that Bangaloreans look forward to every year.
“There have always been people who celebrate it in the City — and of late, I think the popularity of the occasion is increasing. After all, who doesn’t like a thematic party?” she questions.
Interestingly, a lot of Bangalore kids have picked up on the concept of trick-or-treating — that is, demanding a treat against the threat of pulling a prank on the
owners of a house — which is why several people actually stock up on pieces of candy or other eatables on Halloween night.
Aditya Badami, who lives in a gated colony on Sarjapur Road, admits that trick-or-treating has become a staple part of the holiday in his neighbourhood. “Every year, the kids in the colony dress up in something scary — I’ve mostly noticed a lot of witch costumes and the occasional Frankenstein.
Everyone makes sure that there’s some candy at home, in case they come calling. The funny thing is that often, the trick-or-treaters are accompanied by their parents,” he smiles.