City youths' tryst at mask party

LUDHIANA: "Take your turn, take a ride, on the merry-go-round ... In an inhuman race ... Eye of gold ... Thigh of blue ... True is false ... Who is who ... ?" — Andrew LLoyd Webber.
In the 15th century, masquerade balls were an integral part of all the carnival seasons celebrating marriages and other dynastic events of the late medieval court life. Later on, gaining popularity, these balls became famous as costume parties.
Celebrating royalty and mysticism, city youngsters today are seen eagerly experimenting various party themes and disguise seem to be a hit among them.
"Masquerade balls are such an interesting theme. You spend half the time guessing who is behind that mask. And its so exciting to look at curious faces while they try to figure out your identity," laughs 21-year-old Sheeba Kwatra from Civil Lines.
Bored of silly pool parties and regular get-togethers, the youngsters say that theme parties like these, add the much-required flavour to normal parties. "I am a big fan of such parties after I watched the second season of Vampire Diaries. While such masks aren't available here in the city, we can at least have a feel of those events and enjoy," says Deepika Dhaliwal, 21, from Dugri.
The movie 'Phantom of the Opera' has a song with the same name — Masquerade. The scene as a lavish dance where everyone is hiding behind their masks. And the lyrics are about how everyone is busy guessing who is behind the mask.
"Dancing alone cannot provide the much-needed excitement, required after an entire week of work. That is where the real essence of parties lie — where you don't just shake a leg, but at the same time relieve your stress as well. In one such party, I wore a black feather mask and my friends took a long time to find me out of all those wearing masks," says 26-year-old businessman Vipin Sharma from Civil Lines.