- On 21 July, I knew some of the book shops had specially arranged to bring the last part of Harry Potter series to Kathmandu – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
- On 22, I read news about it that Kathmandu natives –especially youth and children – were thronging to get a copy. Until the afternoon of 23, I resisted the lure but then gave away and tried to get a copy in the evening but I couldn’t.
- On 24, I got a copy and immediately start reading and what a great fun it was.
I do not call myself a big fan of Harry Potter though I have read all seven parts and seen all the films and frequently visit a few sites about it. People have looked at me with wide eyes when I told them that I love to read Harry Potter and most of them often asked ‘aren’t they meant for the children?’
‘Ya, but I too love reading them,’ my answer. After finishing the seventh and sadly the final part, I sat satisfied the boy wizard at the end won the battle and it was a happy satisfying conclusion. Then I started recalling what had happened in the story and asked myself, ‘how on the hell can I believe all that thrash?’
I just looked at the collection of seven Harry Potter books – each new version bigger than earlier and asked myself why I enjoyed the books so much. I turned the first page of the first book – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and read a few lines:
Mrs Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbours.
I smiled! The humour in those gripping lines is so simple yet powerful and I understand why I enjoyed the unbelievable story so much. JK Rowling, I see, has not only given the gripping suspense that makes me turn each page as soon as possible but has also put a huge amount of simple humour that keeps me smiling and satisfies me like nothing else.
The childish story with all usual message – good will win over evil and courage is everything needed for success – got the largest audience ever, earned Rowling a fortune and there are many fans like me who would never call themselves a big fan of her but will always read/see the Potter Magic with intense interest.
I don’t know if I would get another such series in my lifetime but I don’t see that coming in near future, sadly!
***
It was not Harry Potter that kept me away from blogging for more than a month rather it was a series of events and illness that surrounded me in the last few weeks. I broke my ring finger in a cricket match keeping me away from keyboard, then my wife was ill, then I was ill myself with severe cold.
In between I was kept busy with my master’s thesis, which thankfully has now completed, reporting of women’s cricket, the inauguration of Nepal Photo Agency from my photojournalist friends and I helped them in a few matters and then preparation for the Players of the Year Awards from my association – Nepal Sports Journalists Forum.
Blogging at the same speed is not possible – a bitter truth I had already experienced yet hopefully now on I will try not to be absent from it for so long.
