20 years of the world’s most popular wizard

Alittle over a week ago, the world celebrated 20 years of the world’s most popular wizard — Harry Potter. It is hard to believe that it’s been more than two decades since the first Harry Potter book hit bookstores across the world. Life for youngsters has never been the same.

I remember the day I watched the first Harry Potter movie on the big screen. It was a dark and stormy night and as we drove back home, I secretly wished Hagrid would stop our car and pronounce me a wizard. What I got instead was a volley of laughter as my parents mocked the world of Harry Potter for being an English ripoff of Indian fairy tales such as Vikram Aur Betaal.

It is with much shame that I admit that I read my first Harry Potter book as late as 2006, when at an inter-school debate on Harry Potter someone pointed out that I had not read a single book from the series. I took it to heart and read, in a month, all Harry Potter books that had been published till then.

What followed was a love affair with the Harry Potter universe which exists even today. Like every other teenager, I named my email IDs (some of my friends still know me as ‘rupertron’) and passwords on characters from Harry Potter, and bought everything related to the magical world of wizards.

As a sixth grader, I happened to attend the book launch of one of Ruskin Bond’s books. I vividly remember how a young man stood up and thanked Mr Bond for his novels and said he had grown up with Rusty, one of the most identifiable characters from the writer’s books. As Harry and his friends matured into young adults who sacrificed everything to fight Voldemort, I too felt I had grown with them. Like so many of my Muggle friends, I rejoiced at the main trio’s birthdays, felt sorry for Harry when he received no Christmas gifts, and was elated when he finally found his Godfather, Sirius Black.

We got so involved with the Harry Potter world that we felt we were on first-name terms with the characters. They were an integral part of our lives. Harry, Ron and Hermione, together with as cast of whacky, lunatic, mischievous and brave characters taught our generation, and many others to follow, a lesson in bravery, loyalty and friendship. They taught us to believe in ourselves and fight for what is right.

On my last day in Chandigarh before being packed off to Karnataka for the four years to pursue engineering, I convinced my parents to watch the last Harry Potter movie with me. They slept through the film, which was fortunate as I struggled to control my tears at the impending finale. It was the end of an era in more than one way.

Despite being only a few years away from my 30s, I still read the Harry Potter books with the same amazement and earnestness with which I first read them. I still cry at Dumbledore’s death, weep when I read of Snape’s true loyalty towards Harry, and rejoice when I see Harry and Ginny seeing their children off on the Hogwarts Express.

My bookmarks from the Harry Potter World in Florida have pictures of Hermione and Ron, while my keychain is the crest of the house of Gryffindor.

And yes, I am still waiting for an owl to deliver me my letter of acceptance at Hogwarts.

WE GOT SO INVOLVED WITH THE HARRY POTTER WORLD THAT WE FELT WE WERE ON FIRSTNAME TERMS WITH THE CHARACTERS. HARRY, RON AND HERMIONE TAUGHT OUR GENERATION A LESSON IN BRAVERY, LOYALTY AND FRIENDSHIP