As a kid I had always associated Halloween with something scary. A day when all the spirits resurface to haunt mankind; or a creepy place that lies eerily silent and is overwhelmed by ghostly activity; or the time when children are told to stay at home away from the potential perils that lurk the streets. Stayed at home they did but only for reasons you come to know after you celebrate a certain birthday! But could I be blamed? Staying in a land where celebrations of such style are uncommon, the eerie image of “Halloween” smeared on a wall, supposedly with a dark ooze-like material dripping slowly near the edges could not have conjured any other feeling. Thankfully it all changed when a group of friends transformed that image into the lively and celebrative mood that the day brings. A group of F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
I think I first saw the tradition of Halloween in the sixth episode of season eight of FRIENDS and it was exciting to see how invigorating it was. The celebrations depicted in HIMYM garnered more enthusiasm with the “slutty pumpkin”! Ok, I’m exaggerating a bit and I guess video could not take us through the joyous, colorful and party mood that engulfs the atmosphere during Halloween and it was only when I was a part of it this time that I realized its true spirit.
Halloween was on 31st October, Monday, and I and my housemates had been planning weeks ahead of getting funky costumes and painting the town red! I was trying to make it simple but couldn’t help getting flashes of pictures with people dressed in creative costumes that I had seen in different media. The thoughts really motivated me to celebrate the event sporting a unique costume and I tried to combine cliché ideas into something thoughtful like using face paint to splash a pattern, maybe couple it with a wig or a face mask or just an eye mask and then tailor a set of clothes or get a costume to match the outfit, as it made sense. But since I didn’t want anything fancy the simplest of ideas ran across my mind – buttoning up two shirts together to form a “split” personality, cutting through my jeans and t-shirts to sport a beggar, rolling up a bed sheet or a towel in a creative fashion or simply dressing down to be an aam aadmi. During one of our visits to the
I had limited network among people whom you would normally find engaging in such revelry and so I was trying to figure out with my batchmates of how we could rock the night. Coming from
Ok, so it was 28th October and we had a pumpkin carving contest in our department and we all were encouraged to get on our craziest attire. I hadn’t planned on going but then succumbed to peer pressure and decided to give it a shot. It turned out to be fun and I also got to review my Stochastic paper as the time clashed with the event. I had paired up with my classmate who was the only one to dress up in the most bizarre costume, but truly apt for the festival. If I could put it nicely he had dressed up as a genie in a lamp that grants you three wishes when you rub “the lamp”. It was my first time carving a pumpkin and I should tell you that it is not easy to cut it as precisely as you’d want and what you get can be something totally different than what you think. You first had to chop a portion at the top to empty the contents and the seeds and then begin by sketching the cuts. I realized that carving a pumpkin is an art that is as well achieved by skill as by the carving instruments and to my defense we had half an inch thick knife that severely curtailed me from giving the prize winning appearance to the pumpkin. Although we thought of carving a sad face and had even defined the cuts with a marker, at every stage it turned out to be something different and we reinvented ways to redirect towards the original idea. I was satisfied with my first attempt but it was interesting to see the other ideas that people had come up with – a carving inside the carving, abstract figures, ORIE logo, bear, etc. It was then that we came to know that it was Akanksha’s b’day and we all planned on meeting at Miyake at night to celebrate.
Since we had a whole lot of time to kill I convinced Amar, Roni and Elijah to come to my place and try out the masala chai that I ever readily cherished. We came to my place and I was excited to introduce the Indian beverage to other lands. As the tea boiled and its intoxicating aroma engulfed the air I was anxious to get their reaction. I gave an anticipating look at each of their face and before they could say it I breathed a sigh of little triumph at their eyebrow-nod. Unfortunately it was something really strong, and I acknowledge that I should have put less masala, for Roni and he almost shrieked as if the spices twinged his throat. After relishing the tea at a leisurely pace and munching a few quick bites of choco chip cookies we headed to eat what I would call a supper before rocking the night! We each devoured a slice of pizza and then took the TCAT bus (oh btw, did I mention that buses are free for first year students?) to collegetown where we walked down to Miyake.
Now, let me briefly explain the activity called Sake-Bombing. I believe it has its origins in
So we join the gang at Miyake and begin the night with Sake Bombing. I had planned with a bunch of folks to celebrate Halloween the next day and I figured it won’t be a good idea to drink on two consecutive days and so I just enjoyed being part of all the hussle. And I must say that it was fun to see the revelry amongst the vivid and distinct costumes that the crowd was sporting with characters ranging from the predominant cats, wonder men, women and jokers to other animals, zombies, cavemen, etc. It would take away the crux if I leave it unspoken about so I would just slide a non elaborative mention about how the festival was leveraged to sport any costume that one wanted and it could simply camouflage behind the intent of Halloween. That helped people be whoever or whatever they want and hence assume any character in which they can rejoice that led to a sort of united celebrations across the town, something that you would not see on a typical Friday night.
I headed back home when the unanimous opinion decided to hit Level B but I headed back home. Then I just waited for the next night where I would get to unleash my creativity and rock the town! A bunch of my friends had organized a potluck at their place where I didn’t go after which we all gathered at another friend’s place who had got a face paint set. It was cold as hell and unfortunately I couldn’t come up with an idea with which I could fight the frost and still be in the right spirit for the festival so I decided that I would depict this dilemma with a “split face” paint. I didn’t know then but I was going to be taken aback by how daringly people had dressed up as if there was a shield protecting them from the chill. Chaintanya also sported a split face but in a different pattern and he pulled through the idea of buttoning up two shirts to mirror that trait in his clothing. Rohil, very aptly, dressed as a pumpkin head and diligently painted his face to actually support the big pumpkin on his head. And a couple of other folks mixed up the white black and red colors to become the “joker”. We then headed off on the bus to reach level B at about 11:15 pm. They had the Halloween theme party going on with a cover charge and I would say it was definitely worth it. It was after a long time that I let my hair down and was just swinging to the beats without a drink. We all took over the stage at the center and danced over the tunes till about
I didn’t stay long and left back home at around
It's too bad Roni wasted all of that expensive tea. You really should have charged him for it. We should have that kind of gathering again sometime.
ReplyDeleteyeah... I had to give an explanation to my room mate who had purchased it and I owe him a packet when I go home this time :-|
ReplyDelete