The Hallowe’en hungama/the hallowe’en hullabaloo

Soham Mukherjee, Kolkata:  With the onset of the festive week the gust of its wind has already hit the nation high and there’s a lot of buzz in the air regarding the various celebrations. The talk of the town however is not diwali/kali puja..guess what.. it’s ‘our very own’ hallowe’en...reports of never heard/seen before hallowe’en parties are coming from every nook and cranny of the nation be it the metros or small towns..from viral social media videos and insta reels of hallowe’en being celebrated with bollywood latkas and jhatkas to brand endorsements and hallowe’en special discounts ,we indians are certainly on our way to set new world records as we successfully continue to maintain the global image of being unapologetically magnanimous and celebrate whatever comes our way. A majority of us have probably never heard of narak/bhoot chaturdasi..that’s fine ..probably we’ll learn it in a decade or so from the Americans and Germans.

However many may not be knowing as to why hallowe’en is celebrated ..let’s get our facts straight

A celebration of harvest that marked the end of summer and the turn of the year called Samhain used to be a feast of the Celts. With the cold, dark and fruitless winter lurking around the corner it was a time to contemplate on death and to reminisce about the departed . The celts believed that the veil between the living and the dead was thinner during this time and that the spirits of the dead could walk on earth. With the advent of christianity continued efforts were made to erase the festival and the associated beliefs, but to no avail. The festival continued to be observed and the church was in a fix. The church celebrated ‘All Saints Day’ to honour the Christian martyrs. Back in the 8th century, Pope Gregory III moved All Saint’s Day from May 13 to November 1st, so that it could be observed along with Samhain. Over time, Samhain became 'Hallowed' Samhain and then Hallowe’en from Scottish "All Hallows' Eve".













Here in india much akin to it, we celebrated the narak chaturdashi which probably predates Samhain and is celebrated the day after Dhan treodasi and is the 2nd day of Diwali celebrations. The intentions for Narak Chaturdashi and Samhain are the same. (Narak is from the killing of Narakasura by Krishna). It also marks the end of Summer harvest and beginning of Winter. With the end of Shukla paksh, the fourteenth day of Kali Paksh, the day of 'tarpan' (propitiation to the departed) Kali is worshipped for her Tantric boons. In much the same manner, Celts used this day for occult and divination. Offerings of fresh harvest are made by both Hindus and Celts.At Samhain, the 'Aos Sí' (spirits) were appeased to ensure that people and livestock survived the winter.Offerings of food and drink or portions of the crops were left outside for them. We do it for Kali/ Shakti.

The Hindus believe that the separation is the thinnest between the living and the spirits on this day, so did the Celts.













Today narak/bhoot/kali chaturdasi is a festivity of a bygone age; when it is to be imported as 'hallowe’en ' it is a cause for celebration. Sigh.

As we continue to plunge into the waters of this paradigm shift a deep seated yacht of first hand knowledge,understanding and insight is required to ferry us across the tides of global trials and tribulations, grave delinquency of which might push us to a point of no return.

With all the hungama over now let’s contemplate and value ourselves and uphold our own festivals..