The Boy who will "Live on"

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2 was just premiered in London a couple of days ago and I felt a rush of sudden uninhibited emotion.As 15th July nears,I get mixed feelings-both of excitement and a tinge of sadness.It will be last we hear of  the bespectacled and gritty wizard ,of his mysterious and long bearded headmaster ,of the beautiful undercurrent of Ron and Hermione's feelings for each other.The last time that we will be seeing the bumbling and clumsy Hagrid or the curt and yet so courageous Snape.If you feel that I am treating Harry Potter as something more than just a book,I cannot help it.The bottom line is that IT IS NOT JUST A BOOK.
Like scores of others my age,I have grown up with Harry Potter.There are vivid and clear memories of that summer in 1999 when Dad gifted me The Sorcerer's Stone saying that the book was a rage according to a well read colleague of his.Thank you Dad and his colleague for filling me childhood with such enchanting memories.The  first book was a total joyride.Speaking portraits,moving stairs,wands,spells,potions and the battle of good against evil-Now that I think of it,Harry Potter is just an elaborate tale based on a very simple premise.Yet,at that age it connected with me so strongly that the bond remains.Every book that came out since then has been chased and relishingly devoured by me like a greyhound.And like so many of my posts,Kota and Nirvaan Baid deserve a mention.Renting Goblet,Order and Half-Blood Prince at Rs 25 a day and then reading them all through the night just to relax after those review tests was after all,his ingenious idea.I remember crying like a baby when I finished with Hallows,realizing that indeed this is it. Voldemort is dead and as J.K Rowling so fittingly ended it with-All was well (Which Raju Hirani plagiarised :P ) and there is no doubt in my mind,that the movie will also end with me all blurry eyed and lumpy in the throat.
There are just so many memories that they will render this post incessantly lengthy so I'll just list my Top Ten Harry Potter moments across all the 7 books/movies in no particular order.They will involve a lot of Voldemort as I believe it was him along with Dumbledore,who really made the book what it is.

• That night when Voldemort comes back in that grave .Fast paced,thrilling and dark.I remember having feared for Harry's dear life.
• Dumbledore vs Voldemort in the Ministry of  Magic.The Only One He Ever Feared
• Dobby dying and Harry digging a grave for him.Touching.I loved that elf for his innocence.
• All the Pensieve moments.A glimpse of James and Lily, Snape's childhood and his past,Voldemort's past in that orphanage and his early interactions with Dumbledore,The Horcruxes-It always left you yearning for more.J.K Rowling could so easily write a prequel to these books.
• Hermione would never be what she was if not for Emma Watson.The Ball in Goblet and the Wedding in Hallows were when she looked her absolute best and I hope no one disagrees.
• The final duel between Voldemort and Harry.For the first time,I could feel that weakness in Voldemort.
• The Quidditch matches and that one with Luna Lovegood's commentary.You could tell that J.K Rowling had quite a sense of humour.It prevented HP from becoming a dark and dreary tale like the latter parts of Eragon became.
• The Dragon fight and the Battle with the Basilisk.Harry at his gritty and brave best.
• Dumbledore' s conversations with Harry at the end of each book.It was a pleasure listening to those mysteries unfold from his mouth.A chalice of endless wisdom.Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (Don't you just love the ring his name creates)
• I had to do one involving Hagrid (Used to love him as a kid) and none better than when he bursts into the Dudley house to take a young Harry to school,scaring the wits out of Vernon and Petunia.

"Don't count your owls before they are delivered." 

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." 

"It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends." 

"Gryffindor , Where Dwell The Brave at Heart"

"Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure"

 "Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." 

Where art thou,Bearded Lord Brahma

I have lived on earth now for precisely 20 years , 6 months and 16 days , and I simply cannot grow a beard.My chin does provide hope from time to time but cheeks are adamant in their non-affinity to any kind of hair.This is for all those brothers of mine in their twenties who are themselves devoid of that feeling of a razor' s touch against their face.It is for those who understand what it feels like to suffer such grave injustice at the hands of the Almighty and can relate to my story.

Maybe you’re a woman or maybe you’re like me – a hairless dude in a world of hairy dudes Maybe you too, have a face as smooth as velvet and  you prefer to call it your "chocolate boy" look in self consolation.Maybe you too had bought a full shaving kit and taken shaving fundae from Dad before leaving for college three years ago ,thinking that you'd need to shave when you get there.Maybe after all this,you finally accepted the truth six months ago and loaned that shaving kit to a friend in your hostel.Maybe your college festival had Nivea as a sponsor and you hoarded a lot of merchandise,only to realize that all you had nicked was shaving gels and aftershaves.Maybe you now have people coming to your room all the time,picking up tube after tube,pack after pack,while you sit there proud of the social service.Maybe you do not have a problem with them taking the stuff,but get pissed when they ungratefully prefix their thank you with a "You won't need it anyway" reeking of derision.Maybe girls don't take you seriously and treat you like the kid among men (You know what I'm talking about).Maybe.

We rank lower on the manly-meter. That’s right, we’re apparently less manly. We, the smooth-cheeked, are not axe-carrying,blue-ox befriending and fighting with fire kind of people. No. We are not the type of guys who answer the phone, “Go,” or answer a knock on our door with “It’s open!” We’re more “Hello?” and “Please come in” people, as we have more time to soften our etiquette with all the time we save not shaving.

I actually don’t want a beard, but I want the option to grow a beard. Because every man, whether he wants a beard or not, loves the idea that if he were in a plane crash and has to live on a deserted island for, like, six years, when the rescue chopper comes, he will emerge from the forest with just a big bushy beard bearing testament to all that struggle,with crab shells and coconut milk all in it. The kind of beard that makes animals no longer fear you. The kind of beard that says, “Yes, I’m wearing a loin cloth, but maybe I can kill a lion.” Not me. I’d scamper out of the bushes all baby-faced and cute.The rescue chopper would leave me there itself because I’d look like a guy who was a tourist on a deserted island for a couple of days,and is just looking for cheap publicity.

Also ,when I get ditched by a girl,I'd want to grow a beard so that I can look depressed and lonely like the guy in 500 days of Summer or The Notebook.I would be the jilted lover,the Devdas and people would cite my example while narrating one of those timeless tragic love stories.But no,All that would never happen with me.I would still be the same Chikna.People would even doubt the veracity of the love I had for the erstwhile bitch just because of the lack of a beard.There would be no visible emotional scars from my torrid breakup and I would look like an ordinary mature chump who can handle his own life.

And yes,I can never become a Professor.Not that I desire such a sad career but I should at least have all  options available.The “intellectually graying professor-beard” with the coffee-stained moustache is a prerequisite for teaching literature, science or math. What will I scratch when you ask a tough question? I can feel people thinking about the alternatives, and then thanking the beard.
Curse you-Androgen
American History X taught me that finishing with a quote adds weight to an article.

"Tradition wears a snowy beard, romance is always young"
John Greenleaf Whittier