City Potterheads reminisce Rowling’s magic on her Birthday

JK Rowling turned 52 and social media was abuzz with birthday wishes and tributes. Chennai Potterheads too celebrated with movie marathons, re-reading the series and sharing fond memories. 

“I was introduced to the series at the age of five by an aunt who told me about the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone movie. I really enjoyed the movie and ever since, I have been a die-hard fan of Harry Potter. I even enacted Harry in Class 3, dressing up and taking a cage with a picture of an owl in it! Two of my favourite moments from the series is when Harry first meets Hagrid and Harry battling the dementors in Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry Potter taught me how the love between true friends can support you in your worst of times and it can make your good times even better,” says Sahil Hussain, a journalism student of Madras Christian College. 

Fashion designer Kruthika Ravi, who still dresses up like her favourite characters from the series for special Harry Potter occasions, says she was hooked to the books thanks to a friend. “My friends and I were arguing about which was the best summer release that year when we were in Class 7 – Lord of the Rings, Spiderman or Harry Potter. I was a huge Spiderman fan back then. But when my best friend narrated a small part of the Harry Potter series, I knew I wanted to know more. As the characters grew older in the series, we grew alongside them and as they learned something new about friendship, love and bravery every year, so did we. Now, we follow all her magical books, like Fantastic Beasts. JK Rowling’s writing turned me into a bookworm.” 

Aditya Kumar, a marketing executive with a city-based start-up, adds, “My favourite memory about the series is finding out I was right about Snape. I knew he wasn’t evil. The most important thing that I learned from the series is that people can do the right thing for the wrong reasons and the wrong things for the right ones. Nothing is as simple as black and white. We all have shades of grey.” 

But it was not just the memorable characters that she gifted an entire generation with. “JK Rowling’s tweets against homophobia, transphobia and misogyny are all inspirations for us. But it’s especially her tweets against Trump that have us in splits. We admire her courage for calling him out and sticking to her stand even while facing so much backlash online,” says Rahul, a creative writer.