Trick or Treats?
Last week (Oct 30), an NRI colleague asked me about Halloween celebrations in India. And what is the scene, and what plans do I have (if any)? At that time, I had totally brushed him off: “Hahaha! No man! We don’t do that here yet”
I knew some kids, especially in some international schools (they are a big thing now) do that. But it’s not widespread. It is mostly confined to that sphere, or so I thought. I was slightly wrong in my assumption.
It was the evening of the 31st, I was in my flat, cooking my dinner. Around 7:30 PM, someone rang the doorbell. It was a group of kids. “Trick or treats?” - they shouted when I opened the door. I was a bit shocked. Not by the shouting itself, but by the sudden shock. A cultural shock. I have seen this happening in American shows and sitcoms. Is this happening in India too?
So I scrambled. Searched everywhere. And only found a few pieces of dark chocolates - my usual dessert. So, I returned back to the door, and asked the kids to come back in an hour. I will be ready with chocolates. They also happily agreed. But I knew that the chances of them coming back to 1/200 apartments in the society are quite less. But I can’t take any chances now. Can I?
I opened my weapons. Quick commerce apps. Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart and Bigbasket. And realized all four of them had two things in common. They had dedicated Halloween-themed categories. And most items were sold out! It might have been too late to buy anything. I managed to find chocolates and marshmallows.
Around 9 PM, another group of kids came. There were only 4. It was a different group. I handed them the whole thing that I had got earlier, and asked them to distribute it among themselves. There was a girl, maybe 10 or 11, probably the leader of the group. The others were much younger - maybe 3 or 4. When I handed the packet to her, one of the little ones looked confused, still stretching his hand for more. Upon realising that the whole packet is for them, he became quite happy: “Oh! THE WHOLE THING! Thank you!”. He became happy. And left.
It made my day, for some reason. I kept on thinking about it, and kept smiling.
Earlier, when I had heard about trick-or-treating in India, it seemed ridiculous. Why would anyone do it here? What is the point? Another cultural import from the West? But coming across the happy kids, dressed up in costume, just smiling and having fun, made me question: what’s the harm? Kids just wanna eat some chocolates and have fun with their friends. There is no harm in that.
Perception often melts when confronted with actual human joy.
There’s a tension here between the abstract and the concrete. The abstract was: Western holiday, we don’t do that here, what’s the point. But it quickly became a concrete thing when I found a group of kids having fun, trick-or-treating. I also learned there’s been a small Halloween carnival in Kolkata for the last 4 years now!
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Ordinary thoughts, shared with hope. Pass it along if it resonated.