Abhay's Halloween in India!

 

 

  After a gap of two years, Halloween has once again figured in our calendar of events in October, thanks to Hippocampus library. The Hippocampus center’s much awaited annual event is its Halloween party that is open to children of ages between five and thirteen. This is when the whole library is transformed into a Halloween house of horrors with Jack O’ Lanterns spewing out macaroni and cheese, creepy spider-webs hanging from the ceiling, bats flying out of doors and  of course fun-filled activities and games for kids! Having missed the Halloween party at Hippocampus the last two years due to certain prior commitments, we were keen on Abhay attending this one. Though Halloween is all about spooking it up and wearing scary masks, I guess the main highlight of Halloween for kids is going around the neighborhood “trick or treating” for candies, candies and more candies. Though we had Abhay go trick-or treating to his grand-parents’ place in 2011 (owing to our US returned fever!) and  some mommy groups organizing “trick-or treat” events this year ……trust me …it’s nothing like the real thing …just like how Diwali  never felt like Diwali in the US! J

 

  

Abhay didn’t seem to remember going “Trick-or treating” with his friends in Portland, so we scanned through some of our old Halloween photographs taken during our US years albeit with a hint of nostalgia as we watched out little Dalmatian turn into Tigger and finally a Pirate Prince!

 

 

 

 

I found a hilarious book simply titled "Halloween" written by Jerry Seinfeld (Yes…from the famous American Sitcom “Seinfeld”) and illustrated by James Bennett. A must-read for any Seinfeld fan, this is the master comedian’s comic take on Halloween and what it means to kids. Seen through the eyes of a young boy (who looks like young Seinfeld himself!), he finds it  unbelievable that there is one day in a year when everyone you know is giving out candies! Of course, he is ready to do whatever it takes to have people give out candies! Slowly, he gets sucked into the other trappings of Halloween, including zeroing on the Superman Halloween costume from the store, as opposed to home-improvised costumes, only to find that the mask suffocating him and the superman suit looking like superman pajamas! But he soon finds out that it doesn’t matter as his mom makes him wear his winter coat over the costume anyway (Abhay smiles his knowing smile…….as I was even more brutal as I made him wear his money cap too!) According to Seinfeld Junior, kids mean business when they go trick-or-treating, with no time for small talk, no appetite for home-made treats and the best of all “you hit the bag, they hit the road”!  Having consumed the basketful of candies, he wakes up feeling like superman…..that makes him  conclude that when you are a kid, you don’t need a costume….you are  superman! Well, no one can enjoy as unabashedly as our little supermen…isn’t it? So here’s wishing all the supermen a very Happy Halloween!