Potter unvisited 01/30/2009
 

Whatever happened to the world’s collective Harry Potter obsession? Forget collective, what happened to my obsession with Potter? From picking up Deathly Hallows at 7 in the morning (after having booked it two months earlier) to reading it while still on the bike (which Siddharth, as amused and stoic as ever, drove steadily), reading it standing bang in the middle of Shanti Sagar’s darshini hustle (like they show in bad Telugu movies, when the hero first spots the heroine, the rest of the crowd is fuzzy...I felt exactly like that on that July 21 morning and well, felt so fuzzy that while walking back to the bike from the restaurant, while still reading of course, I bumped into a stray stone lump and my glasses fell. My pretend nonchalance reached absurd peaks at that point as I picked it up and continued to read. And continued reading the entire day till I turned the last page late evening, while it rained heavily outside and my back almost broke with the effort. And my bewildered parents wondered and siddharth sat waiting, the am-amused-but-am-resigned-to-my-fate smirk intact. Somewhere in the middle, I remember weeping when Harry buries, without using magic, what’s-his-name..sheee I have even forgotten names!
Reading the ‘Tales of the Beedle the Bard’ recently did nothing to excite my Potter instincts again. If anything, I was getting slightly irritated with the typical Rowling digressions and long un-contextual sentences (basically where she assumes that everybody remembers every character and every event in all the seven books). I still remember so many enjoyable re-read sessions with a big fruit n nut in hand, sitting curved on our divan and watching TV sideways at the same time. And joyful night shifts spent answering Harry Potter quizzes, downloading the Harry Potter countdown clock, walking and walking in London keeping my eyes open for any little Potterish thing I can spot...
Today, I don’t even feel like looking at my collection, forget picking up the books for the next re-read. Is this just fatigue? Or horror, horror! had I plain succumbed to the publicity machine? Are muggles around the world feeling like me? Perhaps it was magic enough for a lifetime...my instincts are warning me to leave it unvisited. Thanks Wordsworth. When in doubt, turn to Yarrow Unvisited. Works for me every time.
But, but, I want my Potter addiction back. I have lost an escape route, perhaps for ever.


 


Comments

srinath

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:43:20 am

'Kumbaaranige varusha onakege nimisha'-it takes ages for making a pot and a second to break it. hari kumbhaaras or harry potters come and go. But it is always fun to part of mass hysteria. Afterall we all together make a 'mass'. Wait till JKR runs out of her millions that she earned or wait till a column(Row?)ling arrives in the arena

Srinath

 

Ankit

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 8:38:25 pm

Hey Rashmi,

I also do feel the same some times but you in the life you need to move on, i know what harry potter addiction is because i was also once suffering from it. But i would agree to the fact that u, me and many more muggles were just caught in the publicity because in all 7 editions i like just 3-4 rest were written just to make money like the last one and Order of Phoenix.

I am sure you will find something else, sometimes when i feel that i just flick my wand and as soon as my thunderbolt appears i just go to Hogsmead and order a butter beer at "The Three Broomsticks" and sit and gossip with Hagrid...... you know that really helps :-)

Why dont you try Lord of the rings.

 

parvathy

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 6:27:09 am

Sorry!!! don't really agree with you rashmi. J K Rowling is a phenomenal mind. The ability to weave so many ideas together across seven books and at the same time not sound pat...to move from the Bible to Tolkein without any change of gravitas...leaves me with something new to think about each time. must confess I have not read the Beadle book and don't think i will...

 

Jyothi heddese

Thu, 28 May 2009 12:16:00 am

You might have heard of the saying "ಹೊಸತರಲ್ಲಿ ಅಗಸ ಗೋಣಿ ಎತ್ತಿ ಎತ್ತಿ ಒಗೆದ" or it's english version " New broom sweeps clean"..I guess the same applies here too:-)

 



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