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In an event marked with engaging conversations and exchange of ideas over the recent Harry Potter book, the Hindu College literary society organised one of its kind discussions over the text that saw participation from across the varsity. The event, which was conducted in a room decorated with fancy lights and posters, went on for over two hours.

With over 30 participants, the discussion was moderated by Nidhi Srivastava of the Bring Your Own Book (BYOB) club and Swati Daftuar, Special Correspondent with The Hindu and a core member of the Lit for Life team. The discussion began with the moderators revealing the ways in which they laid hands over their copies of the text with Daftuar claiming that “In bookstores in general, it is rare for one to not find a Harry Potter book.” The discussion progressed with the participants discussing the plot and characters of the text and why the book doesn’t fall in the same literary canon as the other Harry Potter books, “I wouldn’t keep my copy of the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the same shelf as the other Harry Potter Books. This one belongs to a different convention”, exclaimed Daftuar.

Many participants, who were addressing themselves as members of different houses of the Harry Potter series, complained over the genre of the text which is the form of a play and the restrictions it places over delving into the psyche of the characters, “The text lacks elements of Naturalism. It doesn’t offer readers any chance to create mental space and see the characters as organic beings” claimed one participant. Various plot holes were also investigated alongside the back and forth movement in time, a trope extensively used in the text. Nidhi brought out an analogy from the TV series Dr. Who which employs similar techniques.

The discussion ended with the moderators remarking about the very adult centric instinct of finding plot holes in a text, comparing it with the mind of a child which cares only for thrills in a story.

Sidharth Yadav

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Released on 31st July 2016, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is already the UK’s fastest selling book of the decade. The book picks up right where the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ended: at platform 9 ¾, with Albus Severus Potter worrying about being sorted into Slytherin. The familiarity of the words is overwhelming – a theme that resonates throughout the book. It does not feel like nine years have passed since the penultimate HP book was released, and the nostalgia that comes with this realization is both enthralling and plaintive. Right off the bat, the language and dialogue are strikingly appropriate and allow the characters to stay true to themselves, which gives credibility to both the characters and the book. The Golden Trio are exactly as we remember them – brave, hilarious, and setting unattainable friendship goals since 1991. While many may describe the HP series as one of good over evil, to me it has always been a tale of friendship. In that sense, the Cursed Child continues that trend and highlights an unlikely but extraordinary friendship between the two protagonists – Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy. On the other hand, the actual plot promises more than it delivers, and is unfortunately a letdown. The storyline turned out to be redundant and while there was definite potential for a more wholesome story, the plot in itself was underdeveloped. The primary twist was a welcome relief and added not only purpose but also pace and intrigue to an otherwise stagnant setup. This may be simply because the Cursed Child is not a novel. It is the script of a play, and while it may read like an oversimplified text, I do believe that the play would be an entirely different and more rewarding experience. Image Credits: www.pottermore.com Vineeta Rana [email protected]]]>