Do the two make any sense to you? If your answer is "No" then I am not the only conservative Indian around.
In the last 2 weeks, we saw some posters mentioning Halloween parties within apartment complexes organized by children, more organized Halloween nights well sponsored and arranged at some hotels in Bangalore. It did not hit me so hard until last Friday, Oct., 30th.
There was a knock at our door and I said to A, "Its Papa". Opened the door to get the biggest shock of my life. A group of about 15-20 kids, age range was 6-15 years, dressed as witch, ghosts, Dracula, etc. were standing at our door step shouting "trick or treat, trick or treat" in the utmost desi way. A started crying thinking her worst fears of Mummy calling Bhoots (ghosts) if she does not eat has finally come true. I gave them all candies I had in the house and told them how nice they looked and bid adieu. But before leaving, some of them demonstrated their characters/ costumes. Like the witch pretended to fly on her phool jhaadu (broom), a girl wearing a tiny white shoulder-less dress (like that of a hot bride) and a veil, lifted up her veil to show her bruised face, tomato red lipstick and blackened eyes and not to be missed- blonde wig!
I am not exaggerating. I wanted to take pictures but A was completely out of wits and I just wanted to shoo the ghosts away.
I was not at all excited or pleased about the entire thing. Not because they scared A or took all the candies but because this is not I was looking forward to while we moved back. This is not the culture we wanted A to have at the cost of being eve-teased (pun intended).
It actually left me with a bad taste for the next few days. As far as I remember, celebrating ghosts was not a part of Indian Cultural Curriculum.
How western can we get?! Or is it that we have lost track of time and it is year 2050 or has cultural globalization has badly hit India? But this was the last thing that I expected out of my very own Indian culture.
I do not think any of these kids knew the significance or rationale behind Halloween. They were just too happy to act American.
And yes, there were a few Page 3 parties in Bangalore to celebrate Oktober Fest also last week!!
I am looking forward to Thanks giving feast(turkey), Easter egg hunt, St. patrick's Day or may be even, Mardi Gras! You never know.
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Wait till Christmas, if you haven't witnessed that yet. I was also shocked when I saw all the lights and Christmas parties last year. Same with Halloween. You've seen the kids go door-to-door also, which I hadn't seen yet. That's interesting. I think the world is shrinking is an oft-used phrase but yet another example in front of your eyes. While India is absorbing Western cultures, the truth is that the whole world is shrinking. Americans have been interested in Indian culture also, though maybe it's not as widespread. It's up to us to adjust to globalization. It's harder for NRI returnees to do this for many reasons, more so than those who never left India, but it's something we still must do.
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Obama lit Diwali Diya in White house.
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