A friend of mine asked me the other day, “You’re reading Harry Potter? How can you read the same book again and again??” He probably thought I was stupid.
I have lost count of the number of times I have read each of the books in that series and I am one of those who loves to read her favourite books more than once.
Feb 16th was the dreaded date I had marked in my mental calendar, to start studying. I was prepared for the mood swings and frustration.. the urge to fling my books out of the balcony would be overwhelming! It would be like having to endure Double Potions with the Slytherins every day of the week! Oops, sorry for that correlation! Offlate I can’t talk about anything but Harry Potter, though you can hardly blame me!
I’m appearing for my CA final exams for the 6th time. I’m at my wits’ end and there’s no choice but to finish this course before it finishes me. Il need something to keep me sane. To divert my mind. To entertain me.
My friends are working, I can’t meet them. They stay far away, I can’t meet them.
I don’t enjoy watching TV.
I don’t feel the need to go out. Besides it’s unbearably hot.
Then came to my rescue my most prized possession; My Harry Potter series! That’s what I love about books. There’s never a need to depend on anyone else for entertainment!
So every afternoon since Feb 16th I have been reading them to help me survive and what do you know, I’m alive and my studies are proceeding too! (At a pace that would put a sloth to shame!)
Lost in thoughts..
Rewind to childhood…
Before Harry Potter was born there was Enid Blyton with her Famous Five, Secret Seven, Malory Towers and many more wonderfully engaging series! With a mother who loves reading herself and cousins who have similar tastes, I grew up to love books.
Being a single child wasn’t all that bad!
I didn’t have to share my toys, my food and my parents! At times when my real friends weren’t available I had my fictitious friends! The books had an hypnotising effect that each time I’d open a page I would fall into it like Alice into the rabbit hole!
Maybe I’ve mentioned this episode in one of my earlier posts but I still like to relieve the moment when I changed my mind! I was twelve when I was introduced to Harry Potter. Actually a friend of my dad had offered me the 4th book in the series to start with. For someone like me who was freshly out of the Enid Blyton world, I found HP extremely tough to comprehend and I took an instant dislike to it. Just imagine! Had my sister and aunt not forced me to give it a second chance and start with the 1st book, my life wouldn’t be half as wonderful as it is today! For all those Muggles (non readers/ non HP fans, you don’t know what a little bit of magic can do to your ordinary lives!)
My life changed overnight. All I could talk about was Harry and his wizard world! People around me thought I was mental. Well, this wasn’t the only reason for them to think I was mental so I didn’t care! I was no longer a part of the real Muggle world. I had discovered a wizard inside me! Each character I read about, I found a little bit of myself in them. I lost my sleep over their fears, their worries. I basked in the glory of their victory. I experienced every emotion as if they were mine!
Fortunately for me, few of my best friends were equally addicted to the series and we took it to another level altogether. Each of us became a character that we believed in (I, Sirius Black). Each night we prayed for the Hogwarts letter to be dropped at our doorstep. When any of our characters in the book died, we mourned. During boring lectures in school, we sat in the last bench and listed out all the spells, all the characters we knew by heart! Most of the times it was a race to see who had produced the longer list! All this we did with utmost dedication and passion for the series.
Harry Potter and his world thus became an integral part of our lives, my life. Those books have seen my tears, my fears and even my food!
Fast forward to present…
Once again I dive into the magic world where my friends are waiting, where there’s always so much to do and learn! Where’s there’s emotions, adventures, trouble, food and of course loads and loads of magic!
Reading the series for the nth time has got me wishing for a job in the ‘Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ at the Universal Park, Orlando. Wouldn’t that be a job to die for! I’d do what I love and love what I do!
If only…
Though you never know! If you really want something, it may happen! All you need is a little magic!
P.S. Thanks J K Rowling on behalf of millions like me.
C.A.: Confused Aquarian 