Good scares!

Love it or hate it, but the spooky thrills of Halloween have truly arrived in India, and the scare fest has become a key highlight in the capital’s party calendar. Party organisers and chefs in India are coming up with creative innovations to make the festival more inviting each year. From party themes to scary looking dishes and ghoulish makeup and costumes, fear meets fun this Halloween season.

“Feedback to these parties has been amazing and there is a demand in the age group of 20-40-year-olds for theme parties now,” says Umang Tewari, owner of Local and The Junkyard Café, adding, “The market is reinventing and there is room for experimentation. So, we are also stepping out of our comfort zones to create the spookiest best by playing with Interiors and dressing up to the theme.”

While the western costumes and menus are being replicated, several chefs are also adding Indian twists to the spooky festival. “Halloween meeting India is a relatively new concept, but Halloween celebrations have increasingly seen a rise in popular culture. The celebrations are no more limited to costumes as cuisines and dishes have taken center stage. This is where innovative dishes and their presentation play a vital role. Incorporating an Indian side to the same is an interesting innovation. Preparing a ‘Spooky pumpkin halwa’, for example, is a nice twist to Halloween dishes in an Indian way. It’s a way of staying true to our roots and giving the public another reason to enjoy,” says chef Sagar Bajaj of Lord of the Drinks Barrel House.

Tucked between the cold nights of winter and the falling leaves of autumn, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. Traditionally, people wore costumes, animal skins and heads and attempted to tell each other's fortunes and these old traditions continue to inspire many Halloween party organisers. Naveen Sachdeva, owner of Ministry of Beer, takes inspiration from these. He says, “We usually play around with our interiors, try to make it look spooky. The turnout has always been huge with a mixed crowd including expats. This year we are doing four to five signature cocktails like Vamp’s Blood, Voodoo Punch and more.”

He adds, “Although a day dedicated to remembering the dead, Halloween has now turned into one of the coolest celebrations in most parts of the world. Gone are the days when there used to be only a specific crowd keen to attend Halloween parties. With growing tourist influx, people travelling abroad and the emergence of new concept places, the trend of Halloween is catching up and age is no bar.”

Chef Choong Chew Loon of Royal China feels the festival is all about joy. He says, “Social media is bringing the world closer and lets us know more ways of enjoying each day. The enthusiasm is also because of its cool costumes parties, making Jack-o-lanterns, lighting bonfires and apple bobbing. It makes people more joyful and what else can be a better inspiration for us?”

However, it is not just all about parties. For young ones celebrating the festival with their families, there are activities like gaming. “Halloween has been a part of Delhi’s social calendar for several years. Ever since the craze of western TV series and films has risen, festivals like Halloween have started gaining popularity. People are looking for things that can be done apart from the regular parties,” says Aakriti Sethi, founder of Oh My Game.

She thinks that such themed events also allow people to break from their routines. “People love wearing things like spooky masks, devil horns, artificial blood and artificial nails. Youngsters are mostly involved in such celebrations, though we are getting good response from teenagers and their parents as well because all people can’t go to a bar but they can play laser tag wearing spooky masks and outfits. We are offering a family Halloween to people this year,” she adds.

Story behind Halloween
“Halloween is celebrated to remember the dead including saints and martyrs. It had its beginnings in an ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of the dead in Europe. According to the Celtic calendar, this day marked the beginning of winter. The festival observed by them at the time was called ‘Samhain’. Present day Halloween festivities are enjoyed by people of all ages. Activities include trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, lighting bonfires, telling scary stories, watching horror films and carving pumpkins into Jack-o’-lanterns.”