Locomotoring

This year has progressed at a breakneck speed and I am catching myself unprepared every day. Halloween felt equally unprepared. Imagine a politically charged year with the election day less than a week away. Then imagine trick o’ treating, which has struggled in the aftermath of pandemic. Add to it the fact that the day coincided with Diwali, a festive and vibrant festival of lights. The incongruity of it all added to the confusion, I wasn’t quite sure how to celebrate.

But I was determined to improve upon last year. I watched Babish eat and rank 60 candies (link) to rank his personal favorites. Last minute scouring the web for four of his favorites, we managed to get our hands on nerds and sour patch. Result, the kids declared our house, the best house ever. Check.

I scrambled last minute to set up the decorations. After racking my brain between Halloween and Diwali, I decided to go on a tangent with Buddhist prayer flags. Check.

The most ambitious was the pumpkin carving. Last year’s pumpkin was Kumropotash (link), inspired by a 100 year old poem. This year, I decided to recreate Ravana with his 10 heads. We discussed the balance challenges of having to carry 4 heads on one side and 5 on another. I had to do some remedial learning regarding why he had 10 heads and what each head signified. In any case, while brilliant idea in theory, it turned out to be a bad execution given my newbie carving skills. The eyebrows and moustache barely saved the day. I hadn’t realized how hard the small pumpkins are to carve and I was carving well after the trick o treating hour. Oh well, better luck next time. Perhaps, Goddess Kali! Most definitely no one with more than a single head.