Bookworms Compete: Spooky Story-telling Competition

On Halloween night, the Rooftop Garden of Al Jimi Avenue was one of the most spooktacular places to be in Abu Dhabi... an unbelievable number of ghosts and pirates, witches and warlocks, spiders and pumpkins, and all things eeeeee-eerie had descended onto the rooftop to convene under the moonlight and give us the creeps.

All the moms huddled, scared into a corner, wondering what this strange group of mysterious peeps was going to get up to, when suddenly, they began to stretch and flex and do some yoga poses. It was both mind-boggling and hilarious to see everyone from the shrewd-est little skeletons and the most mortifying mini mummies to the vile-st red-faced monsters in perfect coordination, doing the downward dog and tree pose and what not!

As they finished up their impromptu yoga session under the guidance of their chief Aunty Komal, some of the bolder ghosts and witches then gathered to regale the audience with scary tales for the Spooky Story-telling Competition. Neil, Jay, Aviv, Mahima, Ara, Kavni, Shraddha and Nevyl all did a fantastic job of making the audiences shudder with their spine-chilling accounts. Even more ominous than the tales was the judge of the competition... a floating figure lurking quietly amongst us and giving goosebumps to even the bravest of moms and dads.

It was a tough job to pick just two winners for the Spooky Story-Telling competition because each of the children were creative, confident, and used voice modulation like pros, all while staying within the time limit. However, the ghost was forced to decide and has left prizes for the following winners: The prize in the Big Bookworms category was bagged by Neil Varun for his tale about the three greedy men who tempted death, and in the Midi Bookworms category by Mahima Alex for her hilarious story of the rogue trick-or-treats handed out by Mrs Anderson. Finally, a special award for our Little Bookworm Nevyl who had hands-down, the cutest Halloween tale about a kitty who scared the daylights out of his big brother and himself but followed them home to become their friend. Nevyl, all of 4.5 years old, confidently told his story along with actions and volume control. A big congratulations to these three amazing story-tellers!

And finally, the melee of menace-makers could only be warded off by the promise of candy! So our wonderful group of volunteers took the children Trick-or-Treating door-to-door within the building and here's the fun that ensued:

Now for the big reveal... the judge of the Spooky Story-telling Competition was Ms Deepthi, Senior Research Writer at NYUAD, who took time out of her busy schedule to be part of our Al Jimi Halloween Celebrations.

It's time to recognize the immense efforts backstage to put on this spooktastic event for 60+ children... Prachi's initiative led to us forming a fabulous team of volunteers. Superstars Elza, Tinu, Remya, Neelu, Prema, Ritika, Smita, Amita, Sruthi and Kashaf were the core team who did mind-blowing decor preparations, planning, and executing the event. A shout-out to Komal Somaia for the creative Halloween themed Yoga session that was enjoyed by all the children. Srini, Varun and Mehul were pillars of support at and after the event, helping to tidy up and leave the Rooftop Garden spotless after such a large gathering. Thank you to all the wonderful households who welcomed the children for trick-or-treating and all the moms in general for their whole-hearted participation. 

Happy Halloween! 

- Words by Maitri Saxena, Photos by Srini and Maitri, Video by Elza