An October reflection on Halloween, Indian Drishti traditions, a few strange coincidences, and two familiar faces with a spooky twist.
October is here, and pumpkins are everywhere!
Every grocery store, every neighborhood, every front porch seems to have one. Some are beautifully carved, some have scary faces, and some are just sitting there looking pretty. Then there are the skeletons hanging from trees, ghosts floating in front yards, and houses decorated as though someone is preparing to welcome an entire ghost family.
After living in America for so many years, I have gotten used to Halloween. I enjoy watching how creative people get with their decorations. But this year, looking at all those pumpkins, something funny crossed my mind.
In America, people put pumpkins outside their houses for Halloween. Back in India, we also put pumpkins outside our houses, but for Drishti!
Same pumpkin, completely different purpose.
Isn’t that something?
In some Telugu households, we hang a pumpkin in front of the house to ward off the evil eye. We also have a tradition of rotating a pumpkin as part of a ritual to remove Drishti.
Here in America, people carve scary faces into pumpkins and put lights inside them. Back in India, we have our own frightening-looking Dishti Bommalu outside houses and buildings.
I started wondering how two cultures, thousands of miles apart, ended up using pumpkins in such interesting ways.
And then I remembered something that happened recently at my house.
But before I tell you about my tea — yes, this story involves my tea! — I wanted to understand where Halloween actually came from.
So, Where Did Halloween Come From?
Growing up in India, Halloween wasn’t something we celebrated. We had plenty of our own festivals, traditions, and stories about spirits. Halloween was something I came to know more about after living in America.
Today, it is all about costumes, candy, pumpkins, and decorations. But Halloween has a much older history.
One of its important historical roots is the ancient Celtic festival called Samhain, celebrated more than 2,000 years ago in parts of what are now Ireland and Britain.
Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter.
Think about life back then. No electricity, no heaters, no grocery stores where you could buy whatever you needed. Winter meant darkness, cold weather, and uncertainty.
In later accounts of Celtic traditions, Samhain was associated with the belief that the boundary between the living and the spirit world became thinner around this time of year.
People had stories and rituals connected to spirits and the unknown.
As Christianity spread, older seasonal traditions interacted with Christian observances. November 1 became associated with All Saints’ Day, and the evening before it was called All Hallows’ Eve.
Over time, All Hallows’ Eve became Halloween.
Irish and Scottish immigrants brought Halloween customs to America, where the celebration gradually changed into what we see today.
What I find amusing is how something once associated with fear and the supernatural has become such a fun holiday.
Now we dress our children as ghosts, take pictures, and send them out to collect candy!
Imagine explaining that to someone living 2,000 years ago.
And How Did the Pumpkin Get Involved?
This part surprised me.
The original Halloween lanterns weren’t even made from pumpkins.
In Ireland and Scotland, people carved faces into vegetables such as turnips. These lanterns became associated with local folklore, including stories about a wandering character called Stingy Jack.
When the tradition reached North America, pumpkins were much more readily available and easier to carve.
So pumpkins replaced turnips, and the jack-o’-lantern became one of Halloween’s most recognizable symbols.
Now, whenever I see those carved faces glowing on American porches, I can’t help thinking about our Indian traditions.
We also have frightening faces displayed outside buildings, especially the Dishti Bomma (దిష్టి బొమ్మ).
And in some Telugu traditions, a pumpkin itself is used for protection from Drishti.
Of course, Halloween pumpkins and Indian Drishti pumpkins don’t have a documented common origin. They come from different cultural histories.
Still, I find it interesting that an ordinary vegetable can have such different meanings.
For one family, a pumpkin is a Halloween decoration.
For another, it is something used in a ritual to protect the home.
And for someone like me, who grew up in India and has spent many years in America, it becomes a reason to start asking questions.
Drishti — That Familiar Word From Our Childhood
If you grew up in a Telugu family, you probably heard this expression many times.
“దృష్టి తగిలింది!”
“Drishti tagilindi!”
Something goes wrong, and someone immediately wonders whether it was Drishti.
A new house, a new car, a successful business, or even a happy occasion can bring up the subject.
We hang lemons and chilies. Some families use pumpkins. Others display a Dishti Bomma.
The idea is that someone’s envy, excessive admiration, or negative attention might bring misfortune.
I don’t know how many of us actually stop to think about these customs while growing up. We see our elders doing them, and they become part of everyday life.
What is interesting is that the evil eye isn’t only an Indian belief.
In Turkey, people use the familiar blue Nazar amulet. Similar beliefs are found in Greece, the Middle East, Mediterranean cultures, and many other places.
Different objects, different rituals, but often the same concern: can another person’s attention somehow affect our happiness or good fortune?
Science hasn’t found evidence that a person’s gaze can cause supernatural harm.
But knowing that doesn’t necessarily erase the stories we grew up hearing.
Sometimes all it takes is one unexpected incident to bring those stories back.
Which brings me to my tea.
Now, Let Me Tell You About My Tea!
Anyone who has visited my house knows that I enjoy having people over.
I love sitting with friends and family, sharing food, having conversations, and making people feel comfortable. I enjoy those moments when everyone is sitting around talking, and nobody is watching the clock.
And my tea is usually part of the experience.
I make tea almost every day, often twice a day for my husband and me. Over the years, it has become something friends and family look forward to when they visit.
We have had so many conversations over cups of tea that I sometimes think my kitchen has heard more stories than anyone else!
Recently, we had family visiting from India.
We don’t get to spend much time together, so we wanted to make the most of their visit. We picked them up from the airport, took them around the Bay Area, spent time together, and introduced them to our friends.
Our friends were wonderful, too. They welcomed our guests and even invited us over for dinner.
I enjoyed seeing everyone together.
For me, welcoming someone into our home is not about what they bring or what we get in return. I have always believed that relationships are worth making an effort for, even when they don’t always turn out the way we hope.
I like people to leave our home with good memories.
Anyway, during this visit, something unusual happened.
My tea spoiled!
Now, I know what you are thinking.
“So what? Tea can spoil!”
Exactly!
But I have been making tea for so many years that I could practically make it with my eyes closed. I couldn’t remember having this happen before.
I stood there wondering what had gone wrong.
Was it the milk? Did something change in the ingredients? Did I do something differently without realizing it?
I didn’t have an answer at that moment.
Then another incident happened.
I was taking photographs when I hurt my left thumb. It became swollen and painful.
Photography is something I do all the time. Whether it is professional work, family gatherings, or simply capturing a moment, I am very comfortable with a camera.
So the injury caught me by surprise.
First, my tea. Then, my thumb.
Two small incidents that could happen to anyone.
But because they were unusual for me and happened close together, a familiar word entered my mind.
Drishti?
And that made me think.
Here I am, living in America, surrounded by technology, science, and artificial intelligence, and suddenly I am remembering the same word I heard growing up in India.
Why?
I didn’t have any reason to believe that someone had caused those incidents or wished anything bad for us. Tea can spoil for perfectly ordinary reasons, and people can get hurt while doing familiar activities.
Still, I found it interesting that my mind went to Drishti at all.
I began wondering whether this is how some superstitions survive.
Not necessarily because we are convinced they are true, but because they have been part of our thinking for so long.
Why Do We Look for a Connection When Something Goes Wrong?
Have you ever noticed how our minds work?
When everything goes normally, we don’t think much about it.
I make tea every day. Nothing unusual happens. I don’t stop to wonder why the tea turned out perfectly.
I take photographs all the time. Nothing happens. I don’t think twice about it.
But when something unexpected happens, suddenly I want an explanation.
And if two unusual things happen close together, my mind starts connecting them.
Psychologists have studied this tendency. Our brains naturally look for patterns, and sometimes we see relationships between events that may have nothing to do with one another.
There is even a term for it: illusory correlation.
That sounds very scientific, doesn’t it?
But the experience itself is so ordinary.
Something goes wrong, and we ask, “Why now?”
Depending on where we grew up, the answer that comes to mind may be different.
In India, someone might say Drishti.
Elsewhere, someone might call it bad luck.
Another person might simply shrug and say, “These things happen.”
I think our emotions also play a role.
When relationships or situations are complicated, we may notice things more closely. An ordinary coincidence can suddenly seem meaningful.
That doesn’t mean there is an invisible force behind it.
It means we are human, and our minds carry memories, feelings, and experiences along with facts.
Sometimes We Forget That Relationships Are Complicated Enough
There is one part of the Drishti belief that makes me a little uncomfortable.
The idea that someone’s jealousy or negative thoughts can cause bad things to happen to us.
How do we know what another person is thinking?
We really don’t.
Someone may be quiet, distant, or different from us. That doesn’t automatically mean they are jealous or wishing us harm.
And if something unfortunate happens afterward, it doesn’t prove anything about that person.
Over the years, I have learned that relationships don’t always work the way we wish they would.
Sometimes we want to be closer to people than they seem to want to be with us. Sometimes we make an effort and don’t receive the same effort in return.
It can be disappointing.
But I don’t want those disappointments to decide how I treat people.
I would rather welcome someone warmly because that is what I believe in, not because I am expecting them to behave a certain way.
At the same time, being generous doesn’t mean we have to ignore our feelings or forget our boundaries.
We can be kind and still be realistic.
And we certainly don’t need to blame people for a spoiled cup of tea!
From Halloween Ghosts to Our Own Chandramukhi and Arundhati
While thinking about Halloween and Drishti, another thought came to mind.
We Indians don’t really need to borrow scary characters from Hollywood. Our movies have given us plenty of sleepless nights already!
Remember Chandramukhi?
That unforgettable expression, those intense eyes, the dramatic music, and the mysterious mansion?
And what about Arundhati?
Jejamma sitting on her throne, looking powerful enough to make even the ghosts think twice before approaching her!
I remember how these movies made supernatural stories so fascinating. Even people who don’t believe in ghosts can get completely absorbed in them.
Chandramukhi is especially interesting because it explores the relationship between fear, belief, and psychology. Arundhati, on the other hand, takes us into a world where supernatural forces are real within the story, and courage becomes the weapon against them.
Two different approaches to the unknown.
And isn’t that similar to how we react to things in real life?
Sometimes we look for a logical explanation. Other times, the stories we grew up hearing are the first things that come to mind.
So, with Halloween approaching, I thought, why should Hollywood have all the fun?
Why not bring a little Telugu cinema into my October celebrations?
And that is how two new characters entered my world.
Meet Praveendhati and Praveenamukhi!
[Insert the square “Meet Praveendhati & Praveenamukhi” cinematic poster here.]
Yes, both are me!
Meet Praveendhati, inspired by the powerful Jejamma from Arundhati, and Praveenamukhi, inspired by the unforgettable Chandramukhi.
One sits on her throne with the confidence of a queen.
The other looks like she has a few unfinished conversations from another lifetime!
And both have my face.
I had so much fun imagining myself in these two dramatic characters. With a little creativity and AI, I could step into the atmosphere of the movies I remember and give them my own playful twist.
As someone who loves photography and visual storytelling, I find this side of technology fascinating. We can take an idea from our imagination and turn it into something we can actually see.
Of course, these are just creative Halloween interpretations, not a claim that I have suddenly developed supernatural powers!
Although, if Praveenamukhi could make my tea perfectly every time, I wouldn’t complain.
And if Praveendhati could protect my thumb while I am taking photographs, that would be even better!
Jokes aside, creating these characters made me think about something else.
Why do we enjoy watching ghosts and supernatural stories on a screen, but when something unexplained happens in our own lives, we sometimes become uncomfortable?
We know we are watching fiction.
Yet those stories still connect with fears, memories, and beliefs that feel familiar.
Maybe that is why Indian horror movies stay with us long after the credits roll.
They don’t just show us frightening faces. They borrow from the stories, rituals, and questions that many of us grew up with.
And for this Halloween, Praveendhati and Praveenamukhi are my little tribute to that world of imagination.
Are Halloween and Drishti Really That Different?
Coming back to Halloween, I started looking at the decorations a little differently.
In America, people carve frightening faces into pumpkins and display them outside their homes.
In India, we have frightening-looking Dishti Bommalu, and in some traditions, pumpkins are hung outside houses or rotated in rituals to remove Drishti.
There are important differences.
Modern Halloween is mostly about celebration and entertainment. Indian Drishti rituals are often performed with a genuine belief in protection.
Their histories are different, and we shouldn’t assume they are directly connected just because both involve pumpkins.
But both made me think about how people respond to the unknown.
Long ago, people had fewer scientific explanations for illness, accidents, changing seasons, and natural events. Stories about spirits and unseen forces became part of how communities understood the world.
Today, we know much more.
We understand why milk curdles. We know that injuries have physical causes. We have scientific methods to investigate things that once seemed mysterious.
Yet some old beliefs remain with us.
Maybe because traditions are not just about explanations.
They are also about memories.
About our parents and grandparents.
About the homes we grew up in.
About the things we saw people doing long before we were old enough to question them.
And when we move to another country, those memories don’t disappear.
We carry them with us.
Sometimes we don’t even realize it until something reminds us.
Like a pumpkin on an American doorstep.
Or a Telugu horror movie character appearing in our imagination during Halloween!
A Pumpkin Is Just a Pumpkin. Or Is It?
I find it amusing that the same vegetable can mean so many different things.
In my kitchen, a pumpkin is food.
In an American front yard during October, it is a Halloween decoration.
In some Indian homes, it becomes part of a Drishti ritual.
The pumpkin itself hasn’t changed.
We have given it different meanings.
And perhaps that says something about human beings.
We are constantly giving meaning to the world around us.
An object becomes a symbol.
A coincidence becomes a story.
A family practice becomes a tradition.
And after enough generations, we sometimes forget to ask where it all began.
That is why I enjoy learning about the history behind these customs.
Not because I want to prove one culture right and another wrong.
But because I find it fascinating how people in different parts of the world can be so different and yet share some very familiar ways of thinking.
This Halloween, I Will Be Looking at Pumpkins Differently
As October 31 gets closer, the Halloween decorations will only get bigger and more creative.
I will enjoy seeing the pumpkins, costumes, and decorated houses.
But I know that this year, every time I see a pumpkin outside someone’s house, I will probably remember our Indian Drishti traditions.
And perhaps I will smile at the thought of how one pumpkin can connect two completely different cultural experiences in my mind.
As for my tea, I am still making it.
And I am still taking photographs.
The spoiled tea and injured thumb were unexpected, but they gave me something interesting to think about.
Would I say it was Drishti?
I don’t know why those two incidents happened so close together, but I have no evidence that the evil eye had anything to do with them.
What I do know is that our childhood beliefs have a funny way of returning when we least expect them.
We can question those beliefs without disrespecting our traditions.
We can appreciate the stories our elders told us without accepting every explanation.
And we can enjoy another culture’s celebrations while noticing little connections to our own.
That, to me, is one of the interesting parts of living between India and America.
You get to see the world from more than one perspective.
And sometimes, all it takes is a pumpkin to get you thinking.
Next time my tea spoils, though, I think I will check the milk before worrying about Drishti!
Looking Beyond What We See
I have always believed there is more than one way to look at the world. Sometimes, changing our perspective helps us discover something new in things we have seen all our lives.
That curiosity is also part of what inspires Pravision. Through photography, creativity, storytelling, and the ideas we share, I hope to encourage people to look beyond what they see at first glance.
Creating Praveendhati and Praveenamukhi was another way of exploring that curiosity. It brought together my love of Indian cinema, photography, storytelling, and the creative possibilities of AI.
After all, sometimes a pumpkin is not just a pumpkin. It is a story waiting to be discovered.
And sometimes, behind a familiar face, there are two completely different characters waiting to come out!
Happy Halloween! 🎃
With love, a little curiosity, and just a touch of Telugu cinema drama,
— Praveena Jogi
Sharing stories, perspectives, and creative ideas through Pravision.
What About You?
Did you grow up seeing pumpkins hung outside houses to ward off Drishti? Have you seen people rotate a pumpkin to remove the evil eye?
And if you live in America, have you ever looked at a Halloween pumpkin and thought about our Indian traditions?
One more question for my Telugu movie lovers.
If you had to choose, would you rather be Chandramukhi or Jejamma from Arundhati?
And tell me, which of my Halloween characters do you like better — Praveendhati or Praveenamukhi?
I would love to hear your stories!
A Little More About the History
For anyone curious about the historical background, these are useful starting points:
Indian Drishti practices vary by region and household. The comparison with Halloween is a personal cultural observation, not a claim that the traditions share the same historical origin. Praveendhati and Praveenamukhi are creative, AI-assisted character interpretations inspired by Indian cinema.
