Halloween in Delhi

Evolving from the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, modern Halloween has become less about literal ghosts and ghouls and more about costumes and candy. To celebrate the night of the dead, Delhiites dress up at their spookiest best.

Skeletons, tombstones, spider webs and glowing pumpkins are amongst the popular decor items, but the list can go on and on. The day has become yet another excuse for youngsters to dress up at their horrific best and have some fun. Party stores, costume shops and make-up artists are gearing up to cash in on the trend to transform people into creepy characters ahead of the festival.

Know to be an American holiday, Halloween seems to be gaining fast popularity in India. “People have started getting quite serious about their looks, as many popular pubs and nightclubs in the city are throwing parties that hold ‘ghostly’ competitions and give away fancy prizes to the best dressed,” said - a makeover expert. 

Recognising an increasing demand for Halloween parties director of a local bar said, “We have decorated our pub with scary chandeliers and skeletons, making it look like a dark dungeon. Our in-house DJ will play scary music all night to make it a complete Halloween experience. We are also calling three artists to paint faces.”

Child-friendly Halloween setups also seem to be in demand as they are being organised to cater the needs of both parents and toddlers. “The idea is to involve the whole family in this festival, which is why we are going for a lighter Halloween theme party this year. We will have people dressed up in cartoon characters such as superman, spiderman etc. We are also organising a best-dressed competition and children will also be allowed to take instant photographs with their favourite cartoon character,” said an event organiser.

In spite of being the most ‘in’ thing recently, Halloween somehow seems to be stuffed within the boundaries of a clubhouse or a private party. The famous trick or treat tradition is not that successful in a country where parents spend a lot of energy warning children not to talk to strangers. This puts us in a position to question the custom we have adopted mindlessly. Because let’s face it, no Indian parent would want their children to dress up in a blood sucking vampire costume, they would rather dress them up as engineers or doctors! 

While Dussehra was celebrated to fight good over evil then why to bring evil back in the form of Halloween? Think about it!