I couldn't let the day go by...

...without wishing Harry Potter and his creator, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, a very Happy Birthday.

When I think of the books, the movies, websites, games and other books that they have spawned, I am reminded of a couplet in Urdu:

Main akela hi chala tha janib-e-manzil magar 
Humsafar milte gaye aur kafila banta gaya
I had started alone on this journey
But people joined and it became a multitude

The best way to celebrate here at my blog would be to share with you a book that throws light on the literary influences on Rowling's iconic work.

Pic courtesy flipkart

Harry Potter's Bookshelf
The great books behind the Hogwarts adventures
Written by John Granger
Published by Berkley Publishing Group, Penguin.

As John Granger (no relation to Hermione Granger) says in his disclaimer, "This book is not authorized, prepared, approved, licensed, or endorsed by JK Rowling, Warner Bros., or any other individual or entity associated with the Harry Potter books or movies."

It is, however, an interesting treatise about the possible literary influences that clearly had their effect on Rowling's work. From classic mythology and folklore to Shakespeare, from Gothic romances to classics by Jane Austen, Dickens and their contemporaries, from detective fiction by the likes of Dorothy L Sayers, Agatha Christie, etc., to children's writers like Enid Blyton with her school stories and fairy tales, from the Christian scriptures to feminist writing, from war stories to the paranormal, there is all here. The author, John Granger, has gone genre by genre, explaining how the 7 books read in that particular genre, and how there are little things Rowling has taken from there, as well as the big picture.

This is a book to read if you are merely a lover of Harry Potter books, or only a literature buff. Or, preferable and happily, both. One understands the Potter stories from a completely different angle with each chapter, and is amazed at the range and depth of Rowling's knowledge and research.

Do read.

Filling the vacancy...

...left by finishing with the Harry Potter books.

I couldn't let yesterday go by without mentioning this. J.K.Rowling's first book for adults, The Casual Vacancy, was released yesterday worldwide. Under unprecedented security for a book, it was unveiled in bookstores across India at 2.30pm IST. Which would translate to 9am Greenwich time, the time when bookshops open in the UK. US citizens would have had an early morning opening, methinks. Haven't checked it out. This would be in keeping with the tradition around the releases of the last few HP books, hopefully without the associated 3-ringed circuses.

When asked in an interview about the book, "What sort of book is Vacancy?”, Ms Rowling's answer was “I love nineteenth century novels that focus on a town or village. This is my attempt to do a modern version.”

That sounds promising. It says Agatha Christie or Wodehouse to me, and I'm looking forward to an interesting read.

What do I think of it? Haven't got my hands on it yet. I pre-ordered my copy on flipkart, and it should arrive in a few days. Till then, then!

The Harry Potter Chronicles 13

Shouldn't it have been Harry Potter and the Seven (Eight?) Horcruxes? Why Deathly Hallows? Maybe this is Rowling's way of highlighting something that is not so obvious.

In the chapter King's Cross, there is a significant part of the conversation, where Dumbledore tells Harry about his trying to unite the Hallows to conquer death.

Dumbledore turned his whole body to face Harry, and tears still sparkled in the brilliantly blue eyes.
'Master of death, Harry, master of Death! Was I better, ultimately, than Voldemort?'
'Of course you were,' said Harry. 'Of course - how can you ask that? You never killed if you could avoid it!'
'True, true,' said Dumbledore, and he was like a child seeking reassurance. 'Yet, I, too, sought a way to conquer death, Harry.'
'Not the way he did,' said Harry. 'Hallows, not Horcruxes.'
'Hallows,' murmured Dumbledore, 'not Horcruxes. Precisely.'

This fits in well with their conversation about choices at the end of HP 2.

So we have here a triangle with Harry, Dumbledore and Voldemort at the three vertices. Both Dumbledore and Voldemort sought to conquer death. The paths they took, were, however, significantly different.

Voldemort chose to immortalize himself by making Horcruxes, living or non-living beings into which was incorporated a piece of his soul. He had to kill to be able to split his soul every time. Reminds me of an old fairy tale where a rakshasa (demon) could not be killed because he had lodged his soul in a bird, which was then kept under layers of security, and the protagonist had to breach each level of the protection to get to the bird, kill it, and so kill the rakshasa. The megalomania of the demon comes across in such a story, where there is complete disregard for the safety of or any pain suffered by anyone else. The deaths are deliberate.

Dumbledore, too, dreamt of conquering death. It was initially a nebulous wish, together with his teen-hood friend, Gellert Grindelwald. It begins with a common dream of conquering the world, of being the top-dog, so to say. Events that follow lead to a separating of ways for the two friends.

When Dumbledore defeats Grindelwald (now a feared dark wizard) much later, he wins the Elder wand, the first Hallow, from him. When he finds that James had the Invisibility Cloak, the third Hallow, he realizes that the legend of the Hallows is true. Consequently, he is tempted by the ring containing the second Hallow, the Resurrection Stone, and attempts to put it on. The ring is cursed by Voldemort, and it almost kills Dumbledore.

Note, here, that Voldemort had held in his hand a Hallow, and had turned it into a Horcrux. We realize that he had no knowledge of the Hallows, as he had been raised by muggles, and was later likely to be disdainful of 'mere children's stories' and anything to do with emotion.

Dumbledore, though, had never united the Hallows, though he possessed one or two of them at all times since obtaining the Elder wand. He had given the Invisibility Cloak away to Harry before he got the Resurrection Stone.

Harry, the third corner of the triangle, had never considered the possibility of doing either and conquering death. He, however, did possess all three Hallows after defeating Draco while escaping from Malfoy Manor. As Draco had overpowered Dumbledore on top of the Astronomy tower, he had won the allegiance of the Elder wand, and Harry won it on overpowering Draco.

So although Voldemort tried to kill him using the wand that he had forcibly removed from Dumbledore's grave, the wand gets snatched from his hand by Harry's signature Expelliarmus, and flies to its true owner, turning in an arc to hit Voldemort instead with his own killing curse.

The Invisibility Cloak belonged to him by rightful inheritance, and the Resurrection Stone had been bequeathed to him by Dumbledore. So, at the point where he walks into the Forbidden Forest, he has united all three, making him Master of Death.

The most important point to note here is that, he has not got any of these by killing or destruction. Even his overpowering of Draco had been an Expelliarmus in defence. He did not aspire to conquer death, and so he did, when he had all three Hallows.

Conquering death here could be looked at in two ways:
1) He had been frightened for his life until then, even until he finally walked into the forest. "He felt his heart pounding fiercely in his chest...Terror washed over him as he lay on the floor, with that funeral drum pounding inside him. Would it hurt to die?"

When he opened the Snitch and turned the Stone over, his dead loved ones appear and reassure him. This part is reminiscent of the end of Dickens' A Tale Of Two Cities where the poor seamstress requests Sydney Carton to hold her hand till the end.
"You'll stay with me?"
"Until the very end," said James.
Harry was no longer frightened of death and walked to face his death with a sense of detachment.

2) Now that he had the three Hallows together, he no longer could be killed. Voldemort's Avada Kedavra in the forest selectively destroys the Horcrux bit in Harry. That was the fussing mass of humanity in the bundle behind the bench at King's Cross. The killing curse sends Harry, too, to the place in transit, but he has the option of coming back, and lives.

Dumbledore had the right idea in HP 1 when he hid the Philosopher's Stone in the Mirror of Erised. "Only a person who wanted to find the Stone -- find it, but not use it -- would be able to get it. That is one of my more brilliant ideas. And between you and me, that is saying something."

Choosing the Hallows over the Horcruxes is the fork in the road taken. And that has made all the difference, to quote Robert Frost.

The Harry Potter Chronicles 12

Time to speak of the Pensieve. A wordplay on
pen:- the instrument used normally for putting down one's thoughts
sieve:- a pan like vessel with holes through which things can fall --one literally 'falls' into the memories and can 'see' them happening
pensive:- contemplative, reflective, thoughtful. When a person's mind is brimming over with thoughts and memories, and it all becomes too much for them, one can literally 'siphon off' the troublesome thoughts, calm down, and examine them at leisure.

The Pensieve, which has featured in HP 4 & 5, is put to maximum use here, and is significant even in the last book. A way of giving a flashback, or avoiding having a direct narrative in the story.

All the Voldemort related memories are shown by Dumbledore to Harry, building up a comprehensive, more three-dimensional picture of Voldemort's persona, rather than the linear persona of a terrifying monster that we have till now. We see the lonesome, strange child that he had been, the quick-witted and manipulative teen and the sinister, ambitious, smooth-talking adult with his quest for immortality.

**********************************************
The Horcruxes.

The Ring, the Diary, the Cup, the Locket, the Diadem, Nagini, Voldemort himself and Harry. That's 8, isn't it? So what was all that about 7 Horcruxes?

The first 5 were objects of consequence that Voldemort knowingly made into Horcruxes. Harry was made into a Horcrux by accident when Voldemort killed his parents, and Voldemort was completely unaware of that fact. The bit that remained in Voldemort was the 7th.

Since he was unaware of Harry becoming a Horcrux, and he had wanted to make 7, which is believed to be a magical number, Voldemort makes Nagini into one, after his resurrection. By that time, however, Harry had destroyed the diary unbeknownst of the existence of any such thing. So, at any one time till the beginning of HP 6, there had been 7 Horcruxes.

*********************************************
Dumbledore's death was a shock to me. I was quite upset, and somehow worried for the trio, as he is the one person who seems omnipotent. It is as if Harry had been orphaned once more after Sirius' death.

Snape's actions are the ultimate betrayal, and half-blood prince or not, he has never seemed blacker to us than at the end of HP 6.  

The Harry Potter Chronicles 11

A's bookshelves that I had included in this virtual tour on my collection of books have featured today on Papertigers under their Around the World in 100 Bookshelves feature. Please take a look.

***************************************
Today is the day for HP 6. Check out this review by A over at Zealot Readers.

***************************************
A new school year. Prefect badges. Harry is Quidditch captain. Having done well in their OWL, the trio is all set to take subjects of their choice. A new Potions teacher who accepts 'Exceeds Expectations' in Potions leads Harry and Ron to return to Potions. Books? Well, they just pick up old books from the cupboards.

A master stroke by Rowling, which puts an unusual book into Harry's hands. Now Harry is not only 'the boy who lived', he is also a potions whiz! Making him the top candidate for Professor Slughorn's page 3 ...err... gallery of collectible stars.

****************************************

All seems well, though it apparently is not. What about the strange actions of Draco Malfoy? Has he really been inducted among the Death Eaters? The recruits certainly seem to be getting younger- a comment on terrorism and the way very young children get pushed into it. Pawns in a war not of their choice. Certainly it is cause for worry for Draco's mother, who ropes in Snape to protect and assist him.

What makes Snape take on this responsibility? Is he a double agent? Pretending to be loyal to Dumbledore and acting for Voldemort? There is also the fact of his having overheard the prophecy, that Harry comes to know of purely by chance. Doesn't that make him blacker than he is, since it would undoubtedly be he who went to Voldemort with that information?

****************************************

Romance. How can we have a story involving 16-17 year olds without it? It blossoms in every heart. Dark theme or not. There is love, longing, infatuation, kissing, jealousy, hatred- the full range. There is also love potion and the brewing of it-
Amortentia: It smells differently to different persons, based upon their individual likes. Quoting from the Harry Potter wikipedia:


"It has a different aroma for everyone who smells it, reminding each person of the things that they find most attractive, even if the person themselves don't acknowledge or are unaware of their fondness for the object of their affection e.g. Hermione Granger smells fresh cut grass, new parchment and spearmint toothpaste. Harry Potter smelled treacle tart, a broomstick, and 'something flowery that he thought he might have smelled at the Burrow' (which he later realized as the smell of Ginny Weasley's hair). Ron Weasley smelled his mother's cooking, bacon and the perfume he gave Hermione in their 5th year for Christmas."

A question to my readers- what would it smell of to you?

For me- New books, jasmine and the first rains on parched earth.

The Harry Potter Chronicles 10

Sirius Black.

Came from a long line of dark wizards, and was the first to be sorted into Gryffindor. His family disowned him after he broke away to stay with the Potters.

The animosity between him and Snape is an example of childhood resentments carried over into adulthood. Both strong personalities, both hot headed, sworn enemies. It was probably only their loyalty towards Dumbledore and his instructions, and a bit of Remus Lupin's levelheadedness that kept them at bay against each other.

Even after his death, some of his bequests to Harry were instrumental in keeping him safe. His London house, Kreacher, the 2-way mirror are some of those things.

Sirius is named after the brightest star seen from earth- the main star in the Canis Major constellation. It is also called the dog-star, and is characterised as sparkling and scorching. Fits well with our character who is brave, hot tempered but loyal to his friends, with a ferocious dog as his animagous.

****************************************************

There are many old magical artefacts in the House of Black. Molly Weasley's efforts to clean and de-clutter the house, to make it more habitable after years of disuse throws up a lot of curious things. Among a long list that is recounted somewhere in the middle of page 108 is 'a heavy locket that none of them could open'. I had to open this chapter to re-read and locate it after reading the chapter in HP 7 where the trio are interrogating Kreacher about the locket Horcrux.

******************************************************
Luna Lovegood. We encounter her for the first time in HP 5. The complete antithesis of the pragmatic, competant, logical, scientific tempered Hermione.

"She had straggly, waist-length, dirty blonde hair, very pale eyebrows, and protuberant eyes that gave her a permanently surprised look. Harry knew at once why Neville had chosen to pass this compartment by. The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness. Perhaps it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of Butterbeer caps, or that she was reading a magazine upside down."

Named after the moon goddess, Luna is airy, slightly incomprehensible with a tendency to go off on a tangent, Luna nevertheless had the uncanny ability to cut straight to the heart of the matter, and an eerie sixth sense about other people's perceptions. Considered uncool, she is often picked upon by people, but remains unfazed by it all.

********************************************************
Harry's connection to Voldemort's mind gets stronger now, and even worse, Voldemort is now aware of it, and tries to use it to Harry's detriment. If only he had persisted at Occlumency, Voldemort would not have been able to lure him to the Department of Mysteries and Sirius would have been alive. If only Sirius had been kinder to Kreacher, he would not have acted against Sirius' interests, and Sirius would have been alive.

So many if onlys...

**********************************************************
Dumbledore's Army- In  the earlier war against Voldemort, the Order of the Phoenix had been formed. DA was the junior, students' version of it. Both are forms of underground resistance. It is finally the unfair sanctions put in place by Umbridge that spawn the DA.

Umbridge, her saccharine sweet unpleasantness, and the increasing sanctions are reminiscent, again, of the Holocaust, with its increasingly intolerable laws against the Jews, denying them their basic humanity. The connection Rowling has tried to make to the Holocaust is underlined by Hermione's comment in HP 7 on the statue in the ministry- the powerful witch and wizard sit on a throne which seem to have carvings on it. Only they are not a design. They are bodies, dead, dying, emaciated bodies of Muggles piled together.

*************************************************************
The battle at the ministry has one positive effect. Cornelius Fudge can no longer deny the existence of a resurrected Voldemort!

 

The Harry Potter Chronicles 9

Today is day 5 of Harry Potter week over at Zealot Readers. Check out this review of HP 5 by A.

********************************************************

At 766 pages(first edition, 2003, Bloomsbury), this is the longest book in the series, followed by the next two books, both having 607 pages in their first editions. It is also a very complex and detail intensive book.
We see Rowling, too, growing as a writer as the language, plot and characters become more complex, and more suited to an older readership. A lot of people began reading the series as 6 to 10 year olds. Sometimes older. Themes from HP 4 onward are darker, and sometimes incomprehensible by younger children. A case can be made here about too much, too soon. With A, I let her acclimatize to the changes in tone and did not let her rush into the later books. In fact, we began at the age of 8, that too, read aloud by me. That way, we enjoyed savouring the experience together: I was re-reading. We took a necessary break after HP 4, and took it a bit easy from there, taking the time to let some things sink in and understood. The series are too wonderful to just 'finish reading for the sake of it'. There is so much to learn and appreciate.

******************************************************
Right at the beginning, we encounter the vagaries of politics.

In HP 1, Harry had not yet made a mark beyond his history, so he was largely left alone by the powers that be.

In HP 2, he had been noticed as a possible adversary to the dark wizards, hence the 'plot'. After having proved his mettle at the end of that book, and restored Hogwarts' reputation as a safe place he had become 'someone to contend with'.

Hence, in HP 3, he got the full protection of the ministry to keep him safe from 'mass murderer Sirius Black'.

In HP 4, there is still a lingering protection from politicos and bureaucrats, camaraderie, even. Unfortunately, he appears at the end of the Triwizard tournament sobbing and injured, with the dead body of another student, and with an unlikely story of Voldemort having returned.

So, in HP 5, we see that those who know him well believe him. Hence the protection arranged for by Dumbledore. The ministry, however, goes into denial and makes things difficult for him. Political will also hoists someone from the ministry onto the school, Dolores Umbridge, the person more hated than even Voldemort.     

The Harry Potter Chronicles 8

The logical mind of Hermione Granger. A scientific temperament that works on a deduction based on observation and knowledge, and requiring proof. She cannot thus abide by Trelawney's star-gazing techniques.

In HP 1, it was the poisons puzzle. "This isn't magic, this is logic."

In HP 2, it was the solving of the mystery of the attacker's identity. "that faraway look in her eyes"

In HP 3, it was the decoding of the mystery of Lupin's condition, based on observation and the study of werewolves set by a malicious Snape.

In HP 4, it was her getting to the bottom of the bugging Rita Skeeter mystery. On an aside, this is another example of an interesting use of words by Rowling. A Skeeter is a mosquito. Rita Skeeter is as irritating as a buzzing mosquito, and the animagus form used by her is the beetle. And Hermione gets to the bottom of the mystery on the use of the word 'bug' by Harry in the context of an electronic eavesdropping device, which obviously does not work in Hogwarts.

******************************************************

Harry's scar, and the role played by it in the connection with Voldemort's mind, becomes a big thing in this book. We had a brief taste of it in HP 1 itself, when it would burn whenever Voldemort/Quirell were near. It plays a significant role in the subsequent books, and shapes much of the narrative. We shall look at it again later.

*******************************************************

The Hermione-Ron relationship. A time when feelings are still not crystallized or expressed. There is the classic 'taking for granted' scenario. And Hermione standing up for herself- 

"Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean that no one else has spotted I'm a girl."

********************************************************

Three more things that are significant. 

Voldemort takes in a bit of Harry's blood to cut across the protection his mother's sacrifice has provided. This has another, unexpected (by Voldemort) consequence, which would be significant in the last chapters of the last book.

The Death Eaters. The masks are off. Or, in the Death Eaters' case, the masks are on. We, and Harry, face Voldemort and the possibility of mortality.

Priori Incantatum and the phenomenon of the twin cores. These will play a larger role later.   

The Harry Potter Chronicles 7

Day 4 of the Harry Potter week at Zealot Readers. Check out a review of the book by A.

**********************************************
We've begun the story. Established the area of conflict. Established the major characters. The story is going ahead full steam.

In HP 4, Rowling takes a bit of a detour in the first few chapters, and treats us to a normal event in the wizarding world. A full scale, international sports meet: the Quidditch World Cup. Complete with a look behind the organizing scenes with the good, the bad and the ugly of bureaucracy, and an acid tongued (acid quilled) reporter.

Which leads us up to a sudden shock when things turn hostile unexpectedly. In a way, this mirrors the sudden turn of events in the last few chapters, when Harry is transported to Little Hangleton bang in the middle of a tournament.

************************************************
After going the detective fiction and thriller way in books 2 & 3, HP 4 becomes a school story again, sandwiched between the aforementioned dark parts. We have classes, Harry and Ron breaking a few rules, comic relief by the Weasley twins, one-upman-ships between different students, various classes, arguments, triumphs and trials.

A few things to mention:
Ron has to confront his monsters of jealousy as far as Harry is concerned, something that he never masters completely, and which plays a large role in the last book. There are also the yet unspoken feelings between him and Hermione that give rise to many misunderstandings.

The thread about discrimination and exploitation is picked up again. Hermione's championing for the rights of house elves leads her to start S.P.E.W., which has only 3 members- the trio. This disregard for the house-elves' feelings, wants, likes and dislikes; the generally held belief (even by the better people among the magical brethren) that 'they are happy with their lot' is somehow reminiscent of discrimination on the basis of gender. This is also somehow linked to the 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' attitude of Kreacher in the next book towards Sirius.

Being honourable: a British behaviour code where there is always fair play is highlighted in HP 4. It was expected, of course, as this is a book mostly about sports and tournaments. Cricket is supposed to be gentleman's game, and a real gentleman would rather give up an advantage than behave in an unfair manner. So also in the book. Harry is always given an advantage over the other contestants for whatever reasons, but he refuses to use it to his sole advantage. As Ron puts it- "You weren't being thick at after all- you were showing moral fibre!"

This characteristic, however, leads to the completely avoidable tragedy of Cedric Diggory's death. If Harry hadn't tried to be fair and encouraged Cedric to get hold of the Triwizard Cup along with him, he wouldn't have been killed senselessly. 

The Harry Potter Chronicles 6

Friendship in its various forms is the mainstay of the HP books. Here, we are confronted with what happens when there is betrayal in friendship. The tentacles of a betrayal can reach out far and ensnare the innocent bystanders along with the guilty. These things can destroy lives. It is brought to us keenly in the destinies of the four erstwhile friends: James, Sirius, Remus and Peter.

Here is a prequel J K Rowling wrote, for a short story competition, and she chose to highlight the camaraderie between the teenage James and Sirius. Click on the link to read it in Rowling's own handwriting, followed by a typewritten copy.

*****************************************************
In my opinion, HP 3 is the second best book in the series, the first being HP 7. The last few chapters, after Professor Trelawney's prediction, are a masterpiece. I am speaking of the whole Time-turner sequence, beginning with the trio going down to Hagrid's hut.It is wonderful how Rowling has crafted the whole sequence, where two separate time zones intersect, and she has to follow the rule of not being noticed by anyone.

"Don't you understand? We're breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! Nobody's supposed to change time, nobody! You heard Dumbledore, if we're seen...Professor McGonagall told me what awful things have happened when wizards have meddled with time- loads of them ended up killing their past or future selves by mistake."

We are entering here into the realm of science fiction. We claim that time is immutable. There have been studies, though, on alternate universes, that incorporate the idea of the fourth dimension, time, the bending of time and the concept of wormholes, kind of portals through which we can travel across time. Sci-fi books like The Time Machine and L'engle's Wrinkle in Time Series have tried to explore this concept.

This is also one of those portions of the series that have been filmed so wonderfully.

**********************************************************
Sirius Black. One of the main characters, but very under-explored. Black's character comes forth more because of all that is unsaid about him, than what is said. Something like the negative of a photograph. He is also that tragic figure- a promising life gone wrong. We shall speak more about him in HP 5.

Cross-posted at Zealot Readers.

The Harry Potter Chronicles 5

Today is the third day of our Harry Potter week over at Zealot Readers. Do take a look at A's review of HP 3.

*************************************************
Owl post. We have encountered only Harry's owl, Hedwig, till now. The various other owls that populated books 1 & 2 were anonymous. Here, in HP 3, we suddenly realize that they are just as dis-similar as human beings. Hedwig with her maternal, proprietary air. Errol, the old owl near retirement who just goes about his work because he has to. And at the end of the book, Pidgewigeon, or Pig for short, the highly excitable, obviously just into teenage owl who adopts Ron. Fittingly, the book begins with a chapter titled Owl Post. And ends with one titled Owl Post Again.

*****************************************************
Dementors. They provide a step up in dark themes in the HP series. Dementors 'suck out one's soul and leave an empty shell.'  Rowling, here, is alluding to and has derived the word from actual dementia. A person suffering from it becomes a shell of the person they were. All feelings, emotions and memories are lost when kissed by a Dementor. Rowling could also be alluding to depression, the severe, clinical kind, that destroys the person one is. She should know, as her mother was a victim of Multiple Sclerosis, and had passed away before Rowling became the literary phenomenon that she is.

So Rowling's counter-action or antidote to the Dementors? A powerful spell originating in a happy memory. Happy memories can keep depression at bay. The spell used, 'Expecto Patronum' is Latin for 'I await a patron'. A patron in ancient Rome was someone rich and influential who protected and mentored you.

********************************************************

We take another journey to the past in this book, and learn more about Harry's parents and their student days. We learn about the 'cool gang' of students comprising James(Harry's father), Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, their escapades through Transfiguration and their biggest invention, the Marauder's  Map. We are reminded of what Ollivander had said about James' wand: "Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration."     

The Harry Potter Chronicles 4

Just as HP 1 was more of a school adventure, HP 2 is a whodunit. What's a whodunit? A detective story.

Most of what I write now will sound like a lot of gobbledygook to those who haven't read the book. Then again, it might compel them to pick it up!

It has all the ingredients of detective fiction. There is a plot. The protagonist is in danger. Someone in the know warns the protagonist, but to no avail. There are strange, unexplained sinister things that happen. The culprit is unknown, but there is a theory about them. As always, the culprit cannot resist leaving a cryptic message. There are several bodies left at the scene of the crime. Not dead bodies here, but petrified. That, of course, is even more inexplicable, though one smart detective gets to the explanation. Hot on the trail, the detective too becomes a victim. More red herrings, as the suspicion falls on the most obvious person, who, of course turns out in the end to be innocent. Lots more action and drama, before the mystery is solved.

*********************************************
In HP 2, Rowling introduces a few things that will be significant later.

One- Tom Riddle as a 16 year old preserved in the diary. He disappears when Harry stabs the diary with the Basilisk fang. "There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream." Obviously, there was something alive in the diary, which had just been destroyed. Moreover, a Basilisk fang could destroy it.

Two- Harry drew the sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat just as the Basilisk was attacking him and he had to do something to kill it! Only under conditions of need and valour could the sword be drawn from it.

Three- A wand that is broken may be repaired, but it does not gain back its power, and may not work as earlier. Sometimes, in fact, spells may even rebound! Also, another's wand may not really work for someone, though spells could be cast.

***********************************************

There is are distinct similarities between Harry and Voldemort. "There are strange likenesses between us, Harry Potter. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself." (Wonder what that says of Slytherin's bloodline until Tom Riddle. They clearly were Parselmouths, but equally clearly weren't tutored at Hogwarts!) "We even look something alike-" 

Other than their wands sharing the same core, surprisingly from Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes' tail, they were poles apart! "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."  

Crossposted at

The Harry Potter Chronicles 3

Today is day 2 of Harry Potter week over at Zealot Readers. Check out A's review of HP 2 at the site.

************************************************

The cover pictures on the first and second Harry Potter books are a tribute to the ubiquitousness of technology. Never mind the magic.

Witches and wizards have unique means of transport. Magical creatures that fly, broomsticks, portkeys, floo powder, magic carpets (Arabian Nights?) and of course, Disapparition. Why, then, should they require cars, trains, buses and such? And if there is a reason for that, what did they use before these technological advances came to be?

In the world of Hogwarts, too, there is such a thing as being underage. There is also the concept of having to learn how to disapparate-apparate. So those who haven't yet mastered the art have to use other means.

All the other means listed above have the disadvantage of getting noticd by muggles, thus breaching the Statute of Secrecy. So, to be able to travel without standing out, as well as having means of mass transport, the said vehicles must have been adopted. How, then, could a car accomodate more than its capacity? Undetectable Extension Charm!

And before these came along? Why, I suppose the magical people simply used what the muggles did- carriages and stagecoaches!

***********************************************

In HP 2, we are introduced to one of the most loved characters of the whole series. Dobby. Children love him. My daughter does, so do I. He is the underdog, the enslaved house-elf of the Malfoys, who is serendipitously freed by Harry.

The book begins with Dobby getting Harry into trouble. Ostentatiously for his own good. For Dobby knows something due to his position in the Malfoys' household. The servant who is taken for granted, and who we never take into consideration when we openly speak about things. We take their loyalty for granted, and consider them less than human with no feelings of their own at the same time. This is a recurring refrain throughout the series. The house-elves Dobby, Winky, Kreacher, all with their different personalities, reacting differently to similar situations. A point to be discussed again later.

****************************************************
HP 1 was all about introducing us to the world of Hogwarts, a child's view of it. Things become more serious from HP 2. Here, JK Rowling plunges headlong into her message about discrimination on the basis of birth. The whole refrain of pure-bloods and mudbloods that continues to the end of the series comes forth here. We had just a glimpse into it in HP 1, through Draco Malfoy's comments and behaviour, but that was just a child parroting his elder's beliefs. Here, it comes into its own.

JK Rowling has very obviously alluded to the Holocaust. The idea is woven very intricately in the books. The ganging together, the name-calling, the hatred that further breeds hatred and distrust, the muggle hating, the degeneratin of the whole thing into segregating of magical folk into death-eaters and those who are not. The sheer force of destruction that such hatred can engender.

******************************************************
We have some interestingly named characters that come to our notice in this book.

Peeves: A peeve is something that irritates or causes vexation. Peeves, here, is a poltergeist who loves to play practical jokes, and is uncaring of people's feelings in the matter. He is the one character who is bold enough to be rude even to Dumbledore.

Argus Filch:  Argus, in Greek mythology, is a giant with one hundred eyes who was the watchman for the goddess Hera. Filch means 'to steal', usually in a sneaky manner.
So we have Argus Filch, who snoops around, steals around Hogwarts, patrolling its corridors, and trying to catch anyone breaking the rules. He is a squib, a non-magical person born into a wizarding family, and he is consequentially a disgruntled person. A passive-aggressive sort of personality, who comes fully into his own when assisting someone who is respectably evil, like Umbridge, in HP 5.

Gilderoy Lockhart: To gild means 'give a specious or false brilliance to'. Gilderoy is all words and no substance, the proverbial empty vessel. A show-off with no achievement of his own. The dandy who talks glibly, and takes complete advantage of the effect of his looks on gullible women!

The Harry Potter Chronicles 2

Hagrid. What do you think of him?

Hagrid was clearly on Harry's and Dumbledore's side. But does that make him good?

Both Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall are aware of his failings. We realize that in the first chapter, even though we don't know exactly what they mean at the first reading of the series. As with most things in the books, this comes home to us as we move ahead in the series or even on a re-reading.

"'Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?'
'Yes', said Professor McGonagall."

And later-
"'But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?' 
'Hagrid's bringing him.'
'You think it- wise - to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?'
'I would trust Hagrid with my life,' said Dumbledore.
'I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place,' said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, 'but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to- what was that?'"

Hagrid is careless, divulging secrets to all and sundry without regard for the consequences. Especially if he is drunk and tempted with his one passion- monstrous magical creatures. He gives away the secret of the 3-headed dog to a stranger in a pub who offers him a dragon's egg.

He is thoughtless- towards humans and his beloved monsters alike. Hatching a dragon egg and keeping it hidden in a wooden hut which could easily catch fire.

In later books, we see how he hatches the man-eating acromantula inside Hogwarts. How he gets his half-brother, Grawp, and hides him in the Forbidden Forest, putting all creatures in there at danger. Even when Grawp clearly did not want to come there from the mountains. How he is more concerned about the spiders in the last book than about the people they may kill.

One can say that this is all because of his ancestry- being a half-giant. He comes across as just a little better than those other problematic Gryffindors, Mundungus Fletcher and Peter Pettigrew. One of the few things we can say in his favour is that he was unflinchingly loyal to those he considered his friends. Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, etc.

As we read the whole story mainly from Harry's point of view, we learn to have a positive take on Hagrid, who is Harry's first friend in the wizarding world. Half-giant, yes, but as flawed as any human being.

Cross-posted at Zealot Readers.

The Harry Potter Chronicles 1

It is the long awaited Harry Potter week over at one of the other blogs I write for, Zealot Readers. We shall be tackling the 7 HP books over the next 7 days, from 11th August- 18th August. We have thoughts by the adult contributors, as well as by children who contribute. Check out this review of HP 1 by my daughter A.

*************************************************************

The first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, begins with the sentence: "Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." The ordinariness of the Dursleys is the perfect foil, the main counter-point to the magical world of Harry and Hogwarts. Making the wizarding world larger than life. The 'other' to our Muggle lives. The perfect adventure for children who are wont to believe in magic.

Harry carries the echos of the muggle world with him into the wizarding world. When he is unaware of things (like Quidditch, the gateway to platform 3/4, etc.) that a wizard would take for granted. When he gets startled by the moving pictures on the Chocolate Frog Cards. When he receives the 50 pence that the Dursleys send him for Christmas 'sellotaped' to the note.

When he is not intimidated by Voldemort's name, as it is just another name to him. Even if he is told that Voldemort is the one who killed his parents, he is not weighed down by the collective memory of terror that everyone in the wizarding world is.

"'...and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort-'
Ron gasped.
'What?' said Harry.
'You said You-Know-Who's name!' said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. 'I'd have thought you, of all people-'
'I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name,' said Harry. 'I just never knew you shouldn't'"

***************************************************

The protagonists of this book are at just the right age. Not only does the age match with that at which children in the UK start grade school, but it is ideal for the premise of the book. 11 is an age when children are able to be without their parents. It is also the age when they are able to handle the strangeness of a new circumstances on their own. As it certainly would be for children which came from muggle backgrounds. It is also the age when children haven't yet come out of their childhood, and there is yet a belief in the possibility of magic. Again ideal for those from muggle households.

HP1 is very much in the mold of the school stories like Tom Brown's Schooldays, What Katy Did At School or the various school books by Enid Blyton. This appeals a great deal to children who find it familiar ground.  With a difference, of course!

Cross-posted at Zealot Readers..

In which we wish Harry and JKR a Happy Birthday

Before we go on to the topic of our post, let me also tell my readers that today is also the birthday of another literary great, Munshi Premchand a.k.a. Dhanpat Rai,born on 31st July 1880 in a village near Benaras.

******************************************************************
In my mind, there is clearly a before Potter and after Potter.

Rowling is one of those beautiful people who think of humanity beyond the me-and-mine, and for that, she is my hero. Every Potter reader knows the story of how it all happened. Not many know of the rest.

1990: The idea for the Potter books came to Joanne, a single, impoverished mother of a daughter.

1997: Seven years later, the first Potter book was published by Bloomsbury in June 1997. The consecutive books were published in June 1998, July 1999, July 2000, June 2003, July 2005, July 2007. The release of each book saw unprecedented frenzy at book-stores the world over. JK Rowling had truly wrought a miracle: reading had become cool!

2001: Rowling wrote : Quidditch Through The Ages and Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. Both purport to be curriculum books followed at Hogwarts, and contain interesting back stories about Hogwarts, the game of Quidditch, and detailed references to magical beasts, most of them from actual mythology. Both books are supposedly copies belonging to Harry, with a lot of amusing marginalia by Harry, Ron and Hermione. Worth picking up for a true aficionado.

All proceeds from these books until 2009, and a percentage of all published after that goes to Comic Relief, a UK based charity working for eradicating poverty.

2008: Tales of Beedle The Bard was published. Initially published as a limited edition of 7, six were given away to persons closely associated with the Potter books, and the seventh was auctioned to raise a whopping 1.95 million pounds for LUMOS, a UK based charity founded by Rowling herself, that works towards bettering the lives of disadvantaged and institutionalized children. The book was then published for the public by Bloomsbury in collaboration with LUMOS, and a percentage of the sales goes to the charity.

She has also set up the Volant Charitable Trust, named after her her French great-grandfather Louis Volant a decorated WW1 hero. Quoting from the objectives of this trust:
The Trust has two broad areas of funding:
1. Research into the causes, treatment and possible cures of Multiple Sclerosis.
J K Rowling is supporting major research into neuroregeneration and Multiple Sclerosis at the University of Edinburgh. The Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic is being set up in Edinburgh with the substantial donation J K Rowling made in 2010. The Trust is therefore not considering any health care applications, including other medical research, for the foreseeable future.
2. Charities and projects, whether national or community-based, at home or abroad, that alleviate social deprivation, with a particular emphasis on women’s and children’s issues.
At present the Trustees consider the funding of major disaster appeals and this is the focus of the Trust’s International support; therefore, applications for other projects overseas are not being considered for the foreseeable future.

***************************************************************

Over the years, JK Rowling has been the recipient of a multitude of honours and awards, notable among which are the OBE, 2001, for services to Children's Literature and Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award, 2010, which is given to a writer of enduring and rich children's literature.

Come September 2012, Rowling will be releasing her first book after the Hogwarts books, this one for adults. The Casual Vacancy, published by Little, Brown, promises to be quintessentially British.

Other than all of this, there have been the Harry Potter movies that have spread the magic of the Potter books further. I know of at least six of my daughter's friends who are not big-time into reading, but who have been inspired by the movies (and the constant nudging by A) to pick up the books and read them through. Enjoy them thoroughly too.

The spell of Potter has gone to enchant the online world, too. A and I are members at Pottermore, which gives one an insider's experience of Harry's world. This is a safe site for your children, where one joins, gets a wand, gets sorted into houses, all based on questions one answers about what one would do given a particular situation. One then goes on to discover exclusive and intriguing back stories on the various characters, places, spells, events, etc., that comprise the wizarding world. No personal information is asked, and one is even given a magical username, so that one can be anonymous.

There will be much more that happens around JK Rowling in the future. I leave you here with the Commencement Address given by her to Harvard Graduates of 2008, the full text of which can be read here: The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and The Importance of Imagination.

For those who would rather listen to it directly from JK Rowling, here is the video link..

One is struck by the honesty, humour and humanity of feeling.

"So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life."

Think not just of the books she has created and the charities she has given so generously for. Think of the worldwide phenomenon that has created so many jobs, fed so many mouths, and interested people again in the art of reading. She is truly a hero.


Have a very Happy Birthday, Joanne Kathleen Rowling! And a very Happy Birthday to Harry, too, the Boy Who Lived!

Of work, books and Harry Potter

So what have I been upto?

My house-help was on leave for many days due to seasonal illnesses in her house- first her daughter, then herself. I have just this one lady who comes to clean- washing vessels, sweeping and mopping. I have never had a full-time maid or cook- I do all the rest myself as a matter of course. But it is a real drag when I have to do the washing vessels and sweeping-mopping. Not really complaining, as it is my house, but one wishes it didn't have to be for so many days at a stretch. I did all of that when we were out of the India, of course, but then there were things like dish-washers and vacuum cleaners that made life easier, leaving one with enough time to pursue one's interests, and of course one was younger and nimbler!

Anyway, as a consequence I wasn't really upto blogging by the time all the chores were done. Reading- yes, I've been reading, of course. It was my way of unwinding.

I have been reading 3 books in parallel. One is In Search of Sita - Revisiting Mythology, edited by Namita Gokhale and Malashri Lal. An anthology of essays on and discussions about Sita, that much misunderstood and iconic figure from our epics.

Another is Looking for Enid - The mysterious and inventive life of Enid Blyton, by Duncan Mclaren. Biographical, but not your everyday biography. More a discussion on the incidents and influences in her life that made Enid, Enid, and the association of what was going on in her life with what she wrote then. An interesting read, one that was a must-read for a Blyton fan like me.

And the third is When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, by Judith Kerr. Autobiographical fiction, based on the real-life incidents during the childhood of the author, when her family fled from pre-Hitler Germany.

I would like to review all three books at length, in later posts, if I may.

What has A been reading? On her own, three books lent to her by Choxbox's FB. (I must read them before we return them, they seem to be delicious!) And more.
1. Play Time by Julia Donaldson.
2. Return of the Hundred Mile An Hour Dog, by Jeremy Strong.  Which made her want to get the prequel, The Hundred Mile An Hour Dog, which we did, and she read- with lots of giggles.
3. The Perfect Hamburger, by Alexander McCall Smith.
4. St Clare's series by Enid Blyton. And identifying with a lot of it- the friendships, the fights, the bickering, the feeling left-out, the dynamics in class with the teachers- she's in middle grade now, so she can really get under the skin of the characters and is really enjoying it. Although I do try to bring to her notice some of the politically incorrect things Enid Blyton writes, and how they may be wrong if imbibed!

Reading together- of course Harry Potter. We finished Half-Blood Prince around the end of the holidays, and are on the verge of finishing the last book, Deathly Hallows, - nicely in time for the last movie, which she wants to watch on the big screen. She wants to watch it with her friend, Choxbox's FB. Let us see how that works out.

Which brings us to the movie itself. We are so looking forward to it. I don't know when we will get to watch it, as this weekend is booked for something else already, but maybe next weekend? With A, and hopefully with Choxbox and her FB. I probably will watch it one more time, as I can't just watch it once. The trailor promises a great experience. How different it will be from the book, has to be seen.

Other than all this, A has been back at school for about 6 weeks now, and we have settled down to our routine more-or-less. Remember the homework monster? Well, we have been trying out charting, a time-table, and it has been working- somewhat. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for the pointers, Starry!

A also had a music examination. She did OK according to her, and came out a bit bemused, as the examiner had been a little intimidating. She has been learning Hindustani Classical vocal music for a few years now. Much as I would like her to learn it purely for the love of music we all have, for the sake of the pleasure a knowledge of music can bring in her life, and the discipline such a training instills, her teacher would like to measure it by exams. So be it.

My househelp turned up for work since yesterday, and I immediately took the opportunity to make a visit to the ongoing Strand books sale at the Institute of Engineers on upto the 17th of July. It wasn't as great as it normally is. There was a lot of stuff for the preschool and early readers, plenty of Dr Seuss, Martin Waddell, Magic Tree House and such. Not much for A's age, not unless you count the Harry Potter books, Ruskin Bond, and Enid Blytons. We have a lot of those. There was also a whole load of Tulika books, but we have or have read most of that which were on display. So after spending some time in the children's section, I turned to the rest.

What did I pick up? These.

On the love of books - and a giveaway!

First: My friend Zoe, over at Playingbythebook has a fabulous new giveaway that I would love to get my hands on. It is a children's movie, Eleanor's Secret, a must-see for those who love books, and those who would love to see a movie which promises some lovely 'un-adult-rated' fun (Zoe's word, not mine!) You may go over to her post to view details of the giveaway! I have put in my claim, too, and am keeping all fingers (and toes) crossed!



Pic courtesy flipkart.com

Talking about love for books, I recently came upon this wonderful book that I would love to share with fellow book lovers.

THE GROANING SHELF
and other instances of book love
Written by Pradeep Sebastian
Published by Hachette India

This is that ultimate fantasy for me- a book about books and about love for books- that explains a lot about my inexplicable book-lust:

Why I need to explore every book shop there is in any place.

Why I need to visit every book sale.

Why I need to own every book that I feel A or I would love to read.

Why I have more books in my house than an average person would need in her/his life, lying around in piles.

Why I need to read and re-read many of my books.

Why I need to shuffle my books around on shelves periodically, taking them off the shelves, sorting through them, opening those that I haven't looked at in a while, losing track of time, and then putting them all back over a period of weeks, by which time it is again time to sort through them!

Why I do not consider the above described work as a chore, but enjoy it thoroughly, spinning it out.

Why I start the work with an intention to clear clutter, (shame on me for considering books clutter, but an excess of even books takes up space.) but end up putting most of the books back, as I cannot bear to give them away. Yeah, Sangi, I need the Serenity Prayer too!

Why reading a well-loved book, caressing the pages and breathing in the fragrance of paper and ink is the ultimate sensual experience.

"This pleasurable, absorbing ritual of rearranging books, even trying to downsize one's library, now seems to be really about getting to know these books all over again. To pick up one from the shelves, remember where and when you bought it, and recall the pleasure that finding the book gave you - this is why a book collector gets all her books off and on the shelves every year."

Pradeep Sebastian speaks of the collecting of books, even of first editions, and brings to our notice the difference between a bibliomaniac (...has a rage for collecting and possessing books) and a bibliophile (a book collector of refined judgement, the quality of whose library reflects his or her exacting bibliographical standards). Where do I stand? Somewhere in between.

We come to know of the different reasons we buy a book - not just for its content. The edition, the cover design, illustrations, paper quality, the font used, the whole look and feel of the book, too matter. Ask me- I often buy whole lots by a favoured author, and favour certain publications which add to the overall experience of reading.

First editions, especially if in a pristine condition with their book jackets, and if they are signed or inscribed by the author, could become valuable additions to one's collection par with rare pieces of art by masters.

We have chapters on rare books, history of books in the world, and in India.

A whole section on notable works by his favourite authors, which include works by Pico Iyer, J.D.Salinger, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ayn Rand and Ira Levin. He discusses both the life and works of these writers, giving us a peek into how their creative energies worked.

A whole section on noteworthy bookshops in India, book museums and a chapter on books in movies. Yes, 'You've got mail' is one of the movies discussed, as are '84 Charing Cross Road', 'The Name of the Rose', 'The Mystic Masseur', 'Fahrenheit 451' and 'The Jane Austen Book Club'. There is also a real story, about how a documentary about an out of print classic, the only book by that author (The Stones of Summer by Dow Mossman) resurrected that book in print.

Some of the chapters on the actual experience of reading gave me an eerie sense of 'he's reading my mind'!.

"The books we read make us part of a larger (invisible) community of readers. Could the opposite be true as well? That our reading makes us lonely. Wrapped up in a book, we shut the world out, cutting ourselves off from those who cannot share in our private world."

Maybe. But then I find that my reading can also open up a world of like-minded friends, where we can share our mutual love of, and impressions of different books, enriching us all. I think the reading-aloud of books shared by A and I is a part of this process, as is this compulsive sharing of a book I loved with all of you in my reviews. I want to convey what I loved about a book, maybe compel you to pick it up!

There is an interesting chapter on re-reading. I'll quote - "What a commited reader has with a book is a relationship. And like most relationships, it is sustaining, volatile, vulnerable...the question is - does the book remain the same book the second time around? Are we even the same readers when we revisit these books?...it seems to me that our experience alters the book even as the book alters our experience."

Very true. A book that I have loved reading could not be read just once. One reads it rapidly at first, then mulls over what one has read for a while- which could be anything from a few hours to a few years. One then HAS to return to the book and read it over and over again, finding things one has not noticed or noted at the first reading, somehow managing to internalise the book, until it becomes a part of one's self.

As J.K.Rowling said while announcing PotterMore: "the experience of reading requires that the imaginations of the author and reader work together to create the story."

There is obviously more to reading than just a pastime, just a gleaning of information or learning of something. It is a whole experience that has to be, well, experienced. Even books that one has loved and lost, or books that one has encountered in a store or library, found interesting, but not gotten around to really reading through, never to find them again, are part of this experience.

Let me end with one more quote from this wonderful book by Pradeep Sebastian. This one for non-readers, too!

"I often envy non-readers for all the wonderful books out there that they have never read. Imagine the number of books that await them and the joy of encountering these great works for the first time. A favourite literary fantasy of mine has been to turn amnesiac for a year and read all my favourite books as though for the first time." 

I am entering this review for the 2011 Global Reading Challenge under Asia and in the 2011 South Asian Challenge at S.Krishna's books.

Reading to A- and a 100 stars in my sky

THIS IS MY 100th POST.

I thank you, all my friends, for reading what I needed to say, and encouraging me along the way. I have learned a lot along the way, and have got to know some wonderful people.

And what better way to mark it than to speak of some books A and I have loved reading together?

But first, an update: We have already received all five of the picture postcards that we were expecting as part of the 2011 international postcard swap for families hosted by Zoe over at Playingbythebook, a wonderful person who blogs about books for children, and the fun her girls have working with those books.

And now for the rest of our post, on reading aloud to A, and- you guessed it- Harry Potter.

*Spoiler Alert * Do not read the rest of the post if you want to find out for yourself what happens in the seven books!

Recently Prabha, a co-contributor at Saffrontree wrote to me about her daughter K, all of 9, beginning to read the books, and how she was a bit apprehensive about it. Understandably so, as the books have much that could be 'iffy', depending on the POV. They are unslottable to a large extent, as the age spectrum of those enjoying them seems to stretch from kids as young as 6yrs (it makes me wonder how many GET them? Isn't it a disservice to them if we let them read this stuff at such a young age, robbing them of the pleasure of discovering them when they are actually old enough to grasp the full import of what they are reading?) to adults.

Prabha says, "I thought it offered a lot of meat to go over. The sheer number of characters, the plot, the writing and to carry the reader through seven books- kudos to JKR!...Do let me know your thoughts, S, about your experiences...K will continue reading them this year...I didn't mind letting her watch the movies before finishing up the books...the movies have given a lot away, but I am glad she now has a frame of reference and can absorb things better and all those that the movie hasn't covered, and enjoy it for the pure writing aspect alone!" 

Some time back, Starry had made this comment on one of my Potter posts:  "Nervous about introducing HP to Div...we'll start from Jan, I think we will go slow anyway with books 1 and 2, which are relatively lighter. Like the question A asked, I guess there will be many q's...I love the intricate plot and logic of every single thing in these books."  Div, too, is 9.

So here's what I feel.

I have always read aloud to A, ever since she could sit up on my lap. She loved it. So even after she could read on her own, we continued with our habit, except that I would choose books that were meatier, or were a little bit above her age group, either in terms of the language, or the content.

Language was handled easily enough, and there would often be a word, or a phrase/idiom that would baffle her. I explained these to her in terms she understands, and she often used them subsequently, sometimes with pretty hilarious results, but usually correctly.

Sometimes, the language of a book, usually an old classic, would be simple enough, but the narrative would be a bit tedious. At such times it helped that I was reading aloud, so that I could tide her over the boring bits in anticipation of what I knew would come. Sometimes, the old English would be difficult to understand, with quaint words not much used these days. That, too, could be rephrased while explaining it to her.

Content was a bit difficult. We have often embarked on a book, sometimes to abandon it after a chapter or so, as she could not really relate to it. Sometimes it was the genre- I found that currently she does not enjoy anything to do with horror; it gives her nightmares. It was not necessary that there be anything graphic- she didn't enjoy Morpurgo's 'The Giant's necklace'. But she enjoys the cousins of horror- she likes suspense, action and black humour, for example- a case in point are the books by Roald Dahl, a master of black humour.

Sometimes it was just that the content was too much for her age- she could not visualise what was happening, or relate to it. I would then just shelve the book, to return to it at a later date when I thought she might appreciate it better. We had to do that with 'Anne of Green Gables', which we had attempted at 8 yrs- I think the time may be right for it sometime now.

So at the age of 8, when she showed an interest in the Potter books, seeing as she would see me reading them, I wondered if they could be the next ones to be read aloud. We were reading aloud the two Alice books by Lewis Carroll at the time.

She loved them. She had already read Enid Blyton's Naughtiest Girls series, Tom Brown's Schooldays and What Katy did at School, so she had a fair idea of a boarding school system. This was like a natural continuation of that, with magic, just darker.

Books 1, 2, 3 were fine. She was a bit distressed by the targeting of Harry, the ostracizing that he has to suffer from his classmates, the mutterings, etc., in book 2. It did give us an opportunity to discuss how her peers perceive her as 'different' on account of her disinterest in bollywood, fashion, etc.

She would introspect a lot on what we read, and would throw up many interesting questions, which showed her insight into many complex aspects of the books. Some would not have occured to me, too, till then, and I needed to do a bit of thinking and analysing of my own to answer her. She does this with everything we read aloud, and sometimes it is troublesome- for eg., if the questions are asked at 7am, when we have a school bus to catch at 7.25, and I have lunches and breakfasts to prepare, the mind working on the next thing to be done on the schedule!:)

We finished book 3 around the time she was 8.5, and we discussed the options. I told her book 4 was a bit distressing, and that each subsequent book increases in its distress quotient, so we needed to take it a bit slow. She is to tell me if I needed to pause for a while or stop. She was fine till the chapter where Voldemort is resurrected, and then she didn't want me to read near her bedtime. So we finished book 4- and moved on to book 5.

In the meantime, we were also watching the movies as we progressed. I can understand about having a frame of reference while reading the book if the movie has already been watched. Can be helpful in placing the details in context. We have done that for so many books- notably those based on the classics- we saw Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, Heidi, The Little Princess, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, and many more on screen before we read the books- and have enjoyed them thoroughly.

But HP, I think is about more than just the story, the incredibly wonderful characterisation, the rich imagination and impeccable English. Not all of it has come across in the movies.

It is also a story with a philosophy, with a lot of logic, the interlinking of plots, the way Rowling never introduces anything which may not be significant at some other stage, the way even her comic relief has a place in the larger picture. That mountains can be moved by faith, hope, love, compassion, courage, sacrifice, loyalty, team work and hard work. That even those considered too far gone can get back on the right track if only they wanted to. That there is always a choice.

Difficult for grown-ups, too, to grasp, to realise, to internalise. I am trying, too, and believe me, it is not easy.

I wanted A to absorb all that- which, I feel she is, and sometimes more, going by the questions she comes up with. I am sure these lessons will have to be reinforced many times over before she can internalise them, but they have been introduced.

She has all that in her mind while watching the movie- as also this interesting concept of alternative ways in which the story can go- since Warner Brothers have made their own changes to the story when adapting it to the screen. Changes I don't really like, being a purist of sorts as far as this series is concerned, since Rowling has got a tight plot, with all ends tied.

Anyway- back to the books. We went through book 5 with a lot of interest, as there are so many details here, and sometimes it feels as though Rowling is rambling, but isn't. As we reached the middle of the book, I prepared A for the unexpected ending. We spoke about how now that Voldemort is back, there are bound to be distressing things happening, sometimes quite unexpectedly- but how that has to be accepted, and even taken as a mark of the author's wonderful storytelling skills, the way she keeps one on the edge, wanting to know- what next? And packing a punch just when least expected. Inspite of this she was distressed on the death of Sirius, more for Harry than anyhing else, as she saw him as orphaned once more.

We finished book 5 sometime in March this year. She was quite upset, so I told her we'll put the rest on hold for a while. But kids are very resilient, and do a lot of growing up in a very short time. It is amazing. After we were back from Mumbai, she told me she wanted to finish the last two books before the last movie is released, as she wanted to watch it on the big screen. It helped, that two of her closest friends- Choxbox' FB and another girl at school had also finished reading all the books and were keen for A to read them so that they could discuss them. I would give full credit to both girls for restraining themselves from putting across any spoilers- just egging her on.

So I told her to expect more deaths, more distressing ones. We have just finished book 6 yesterday, and she seems to be handling it quite well. Book 7 is going to be bit different. It has a lot of philosophy packed into it, so I'll have to see how much of A really 'gets.' I think she is mature enough to handle just the story, and it wouldn't hurt to read it so that she can really enjoy the movie on the big screen.

A needed a bit of hand-holding through many parts of the series, but it might not have been this easy on her if she had had to read it by herself. While reading to her, I always omit reading out some distressing graphic bits- like yesterday when I skipped over the vivid description of the inferi creeping nearer to attack Harry and Dumbledore in the cave- stuff sure to have triggered nightmares. It will keep for when she reads them on her own- she is already through books 1-3 on her own.

Even if she had read the books on her own, I am sure she would have come to me with questions, but I would not have been able to anticipate her distress and prepare her for it. Although I am sure that the whole series has made her look at books and storytelling in a different way, and she has matured considerably in her reading- can go on to stronger stuff- reading to her or even on her own. Am happy about it.

Next on the cards- The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books.  She can read Percy Jackson, Diane Wynne Jones, Cornelia Funke etc. on her own.

Will be getting back to the topic after we are done with the reading aloud of book 7. Till then!

Pottermania to be continued- and a new trailer

With all the other Pottermaniacs (this is one association where I do not mind being a maniac- the other being a bookmaniac!) I too am waiting eagerly for the 15th of July, when Deathly Hallows part 2 will be released. This time, my excitement is being transmitted to A, and she is keen to finish reading books 6 & 7 so that she can experience the movie on big screen. I am not so sure myself, but she does seem to have grown up a bit over the vacation- I suppose having to hold your own against five boy-cousins ranging from 18 yrs to 10 yrs, a comparatively protected kid like A does grow up a bit.

So we are four chapters into book 6 now, and proceeding the reading aloud at breakneck speed- with time in the holidays on our side. Better now than in termtime. I'll let her read them on her own at her own pace later. But- I am firm on her reading them before she watches the movie.

Here's the new trailer. It's amazing! Watch it on the full screen of your comp. I was tongue-tied for some time after watching it. It reminded me of the technological finesse of the Lord of the Rings.

And I do hope this time we can have 3D viewership in India.



There is also this bit of news posted on "Hogwarts Professor", a blog by John Granger, who is a Potter scholar, and author of many interesting books based on the Potter series. Apparently the last chapters of book 7 may be stretched into another series of 7 movies. Seems unbelievable, and a bit too much for even a fanatic like me. Check it out.

Pic courtesy amazon.com

And while we are on the subject of Harry Potter, here's a bit on the Hogwarts game, CLUE, that A got for her birthday.

It is a board game. A student from Hogwarts has mysteriously disappeared, and the players can move around Hogwarts with the help of dice, making suggestions, and have to finally go to Dumbledore's office to make a final accusation to win the game- complete with Help Cards bearing spells, and items like portkeys, Felix felicis, brooms, bezoars, etc, and Dark Mark cards, and allies...we both were enchanted with it! OK, even though it has a snake-and-ladderish feel to it sometimes, making an accusation does require a bit of sharp thinking, and also a good memory.