I was introduced to Harry Potter when I was nine and I have been obsessed ever since. I remember reading it for the first time and being awestruck thinking that such a magical world actually existed out there.
Though rationality has taught to acknowledge that the Harry Potter world isn’t real, nothing has stopped me from escaping to that imaginary world once in a while. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what kept me hooked to this fantasy land but it is true the great simplicity with which these books wee written leave me panting for more.
Also because in Potter we have a hero who is so relatable that I can place myself in his shoes. There is also a very stark demarcation between the good and the evil, the right and the wrong. A child’s mind craves such simplicity. I must also admit that the faint inklings of romance from the fourth book onwards only fuelled my hunger. I found the robes fascinating, I immediately wanted a wand of my own and all the food from Hogsmeade and the Great Hall made me ravenous (Treacle tart and Butterbeer!).
I’ve spent my school years playing Potter trivia games. At one point, we even decided to enact Potter as a play. We used phooljharis for wands and bedsheets for robes. It also helped me make friends at new places — all one had to do was to bring up topic of Potter and hitherto strangers became buddies. Growing up, I began to count the days till the next book release, the next movie release. It was imperative that the movie be seen on the very first day and the books be bought on the day of release.
When the last movie released recently, it was a strange experience. The happy ending wasn’t enough to compensate for the sadness of saying the final goodbye.
Yadav is a student of SRCC
{{/usCountry}}Yadav is a student of SRCC
{{/usCountry}}