The trumpkin capers: a halloween story

For a certain generation, Trumpkin is a Red Dwarf. For another, it is a 6’3” orange haired — and hued — presidential candidate, or at least pumpkin carvings of him for Halloween 2016.

Some others probably regard all diehard followers of Donald Trump as Trumpkins, though a far cry from the eponymous benevolent if occasionally irascible (but never vindictive) Narnian Red Dwarf (apologies to C S Lewis).

Indeed, the Republican presidential candidate seems to have inspired pumpkin artists like no other US politician — not even his Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton — although the traditional Jack O’Lantern in this avatar has been dubbed Jackass O’Lantern. Maybe that has something to do with mottled orange hues coupled with a rather fleshy persona.

In India, the pumpkin, especially going by its local name, kaddu, has rather unfortunate connotations. The weighty vegetable is most often derided for being pulpy but tasteless, and a cheap alternative to tomatoes in that very Indian condiment referred to as kaddu ketchup. The US is kinder, with pies and spiced lattes based on pumpkins.

A famous 1949 spy case in US hinged on the so-called Pumpkin Papers: incriminating microfilm and documents found inside a pumpkin. Perhaps the tumultuous account of one US presidential candidate will end up being called the Trumpkin Capers.