The Indians Abroad

Happy Halloween!

Yes, it is that time of the year again. Turn on the haunted music, put out some spooky displays and cook up some ‘scary’ recipes. October 31st is approaching – The Halloween is here!

Orange and black colors are the main theme this time. The houses are decorated with spooky stuff. The fake gigantic spider-webs are covering the bushes and trees in the front yards. The scare-crows are marking their territories. Carved pumpkins with orange lights complete the scene.

The shopping malls are staged with Halloween accessories. Halloween costumes of monsters, ghosts, skeletons, witches, devils….are on display. The ‘creepy scene’ is enhanced with the gloom-and-doom music playing in the background. The haunted attractions combine entertainment and thrill, in a scary way!

The stores are stocked up with truck loads of candy; there are so many different kinds to choose from. Make your choice wisely; think KIDS and you will know which ones to buy; which ones will make the little monsters happy. If not ‘treated’ with the proper sugar, they may brand your place as ‘the house with bad candies’ and even have some ‘tricks’ all over your property – like raw eggs spattered on your front door or on your car parked outside…

Creepy costumes
The kids are busy planning, planning for their Halloween costume. The goal is simple – scarier the better! Fancier the cuter!
The boys always want to dress up the spookiest possible – the monster, the ghost, a character from a scary movie with a fake head-wound, the  knife still in place and blood-drops on the face – the whole nine yard. And then, there are others who prefer to dress up as an army man, a soldier or a firefighters.

The girls have even more choices. The scary options include witches, vampires, cats…. For those, who prefer to be cute and pretty, there is no shortage of choices either – the princess, the fairy, Cinderella, a Disney character… everything is a fair game!

And then there are animal themes – the lions, the giraffe, the moose, the elephant – you name the character and you can find it walking down the street on the Halloween night.

“Trick” or “Treat”
Once in costumes, the kids -young ones and teenagers – go out as the sun goes down. They approach every house with the same question, sounding more like an expression of excitement, “Trick or treat?” Now, you better hand them some ‘treat’ or they be ready for a ‘trick’. The idle threat of ‘trick’ is issued to perform some mischief if no ‘treat’ is received. Invariably, every household has candies and treats waiting for every scary creature that knocks on the door!

The final goal for the kids – if you can call it a goal – is simple: to collect tons of candy and have fun! Along the way if they can scare a few friends and foes, that’s a bonus – no hard feelings.

The Halloween ‘spirit’ is everywhere. If you haven’t already done it, it is time to get going with the last minute decoration and join the party. Put away the Diwali lights and get the scary stuff out. If you really want to go for the kill (pardon the expression!), it is not too late for the fake body parts, fake blood and the ghosts in the front yard. Oh, and don’t forget the sweets and candies; a few extra pounds gained from the junk food make a good excuse to stay active in the fall and the winter to come!

Be safe, and be spooky!
Happy Halloween!!!

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