Delhi gets scarier

Sat, Oct 31 10:50 AM

New Delhi, Oct. 30 -- Evil means business, at least for the hoteliers and costume makers of Delhi. As the Capital gears up to celebrate Halloween tonight, pubs and restaurants have Halloween-theme parties scheduled, and expect a 30 per cent increase in revellers, from last year. Gift shop owners also report sale of four times the number of scary costumes they sold last year. It may not be as big as Diwali or Holi, but Halloween, primarily an American festival, is certainly becoming a big-business. Says Rakesh Gupta of Gift Palace, Khan Market, "Last year, if the number of buyers for Halloween costumes was 200, this time it has gone up to 700-800." Harsh Saini of Kaku Fancy Store, says, that he wasn't even aware of Halloween till last year, but "this year the demand for costumes is so high that we had to order the products. Even schools are celebrating and parents are ordering horns, long nails and masks." Pubs and hotels expect over a 30 per cent rise in business as compared to last year. To cash in on the craze, they have introduced special cocktails and decor. Says Saurabh Khanijo of Ivy and Kylin, "We have a corpses and coffin at the entrance, creepy sounds and blood red cocktails." Says Varun Tuli of Yum Yum Tree, "We have dishes named angry prawns, sticky ribs, snakes on the sticks and mud and worms." Kashif Farooq, owner Urban Pind, says, "We have gory body paint, a fortune teller, contests, stalls with Halloween merchandise and screens showing horror films." Deepali Narula, of F Bar & Lounge, says, "This time we have a vampire ball and the place will be turned into a gothic castle."

Health

Inside News

Editor's picks