21 July 2009

Pottermania

I was discussing the latest Harry Potter flick with a friend today. He has not read all the books, but summarized his interest(or lack thereof) by saying that it took seven books to finish off the bad guy! This comment incensed me so much that I decided to write about why I love the Harry Potter series. Ever since I read the first book back in 2001, I've been an ardent fan. My husband and friends used to laugh at my obsession with the books but humored my 'childish' whims by buying me books or tickets to the movie. But after watching the first two movies, my husband too got hooked :) By then 4 books had come out and he read all 4 over a weekend! How I used to wait with bated breath for the next installment back when all the 7 books were not out! And how much speculation went around for the ending of this historical series of books! I am grateful to have witnessed the publishing of these books in my lifetime for it is without doubt the most popular series of fantasy books ever written for either children or adults.

Full marks to JK Rowling for coming up with an extremely vivid depiction of a parallel wizarding world in contemporary times and making it credible too! Her writing skills, interesting character sketches and talent for continuity make the books unputdownable once you start reading. There was some controversy about the dark content in subsequent books, but apart from that there is little that can be found objectionable in the books. The concept is refreshingly original. The whole idea of having an entire syllabus of seven years for a school of wizards and witches is mind-boggling. The sheer imagination regarding various eccentric members of the school staff and different magical plants, animals and species is remarkable. There is even a sport and an entire ministry of magicians complete with dirty political agenda. As they say in hindi - "Isme action hai, emotion hai, drama hai aur comedy bhi hai!" No wonder the authoress is the richest woman in UK currently; such a book was bound to be a bestseller :) There are many life lessons to be learned too - Dementors sucking out the happiness from people and the Patronus spell that dispels the dementors reiterates the power of positive thoughts. The facts that one has to 'mean' the Unforgivable curses for them to take effect and that the soul is ripped apart when one kills someone are so true!

If you have reached upto here, am sure you are a fan, or at least an admirer too. Here's a small quiz to tickle your brains-
  1. How many goal posts are there on a Quidditch pitch?
  2. What is the name of Hagrid's dog?
  3. What form does the Patronus of Hermoine take?
  4. Ginny is the nickname of Ron's younger sister. What is her given Christian name?
  5. Who does Ron think he is in love with under the influence of the love potion?
  6. What is the last Horcrux and who destroys it?
  7. Who was killed by the Basilisk?
  8. Name the Hogwarts school flying teacher?
  9. Who teaches Harry how to play wizard chess?
  10. Which person was the first out of Voldemort's wand when Harry and Voldemort dueled?
Post your answers in comments!

7 comments:

Veena said...

Hi Neel, Extremely good review on the Harry Potter series.. Enjoyed reading every bit of it.

Though I must say that I have read only one of the Harry potter books :)

Shruti said...

I solemnly swear that I did not revise any of the books to answer this quiz. :) Nice blog Nilu.

1. How many goal posts are there on a Quidditch pitch? - 3 on each side - so six
2. What is the name of Hagrid's dog? - fang
3. What form does the Patronus of Hermoine take? - I forgot - an otter?
4. Ginny is the nickname of Ron's younger sister. What is her given Christian name? - I remembered at one time but cannot recall now
5. Who does Ron think he is in love with under the influence of the love potion? - Romilda Vane
6. What is the last Horcrux and who destroys it? - isn't this giving away the end of the book, kind of? Let me say the second last one is Ravenclaw's diadem and Crabbe or Goyle destroy it with cursed fire - unintentionally of course :)
7. Who was killed by the Basilisk? - Moaning Myrtle
8. Name the Hogwarts school flying teacher? - Mrs. Hooch
9. Who teaches Harry how to play wizard chess? - Ron???
10. Which person was the first out of Voldemort's wand when Harry and Voldemort dueled? - the silvery hand then the old gardener at Tom Riddle's house

Serial Thriller said...

Well, I'll still maintain:

1. JK Rowling should have hatched an imaginary military school.
2. Harry Potter should have been trained to become a sniper
3. He should have been given a nice long range rifle instead of a stick / wand.

That would have taken care of Voldemort alright.

:)

Serial Thriller said...

Nonetheless, the write-up is good. You may have added a message in the end for HP critics (like me) that says,

"Abhi ek picture baaki hain mere dost !!"

Shruti said...

question number 10: just finished the fourth book so realized that the first person to come out was Cedrid Diggory but that has always confused me. It is clear that Voldemort asked Wormtail to 'kill the spare' which logically he must have done using his own wand so why did Cedric come out of Voldemort's wand? Another question regarding the same - why did his dad come out before his mom? I thought the spells should have come in reverse order so his mother should have come first. Rowling fans out there? Please answer.

Azra said...

Yes. Jai Ho Harry Potter!!
Pottermania got me too.. I have read the entire series twice and dont mind going thru again... Tho yet to watch the latest movie....

Perceptively analyzed, and lucidly written......

Keep going lady....

Unknown said...

With my limited reading (till HP4) here are my answers

1. 6
2. Fang (and not fluffy - which is just a three headed dog he got from a stranger). Fang is the boarhound thats with Hagrid atleast till HP4
3. Out of my syllabus ;-)
4. Should be in my syllabus - but dont remember
5, 6. Out of syllabus
7. Moaning Martyl
8. Dont remember
9. Ron
10. If this refers to what happend in HP4 - then its Cedric Diggory

So whats my score?

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