My tryst with Harry Potter began at a very young age and since then I have been hooked to the world created by JK Rowling. Growing up Harry and identifying with each problem he faced at Hogwarts, I cried, gasped, laughed and lived with the entire tale. The books were like a talisman for me and many more who still swear by “mischief managed” and know exactly who Prongs, Padfoot and Wormtail are.
So while many may criticise the newest book “Harry Potter and the cursed child” I thank Rowling for giving me a window to recollect my childhood again. I thank her because now as I pull out all the other volumes, I realise that Harry wasn’t just the “boy who lived” he was a lesson to kids like us who were grappling with friendships, love lives and all the madness of a teenage life.
The last part of Harry Potter series ended in 2007 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, putting an end to the story of the boy who lived. Nineteen years later, Rowling has another spellbinding work, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The story continues with his son Albus Severus Potter who is Harry’s reflection in the most unexpected manner. The troubled relationship between him and Albus reaffirm what the series has always maintained, Harry is not a hero and neither is he perfect. He had his friends then, he has them now and in fact new friends who help him heal in the most unexpected manner. His son happens to befriend his dad’s old foe, Draco Malfoy’s son Scorpius and being Harry’s son, he knows how to value his friendship. The story is written in the form of script and is this makes it a major disappointment as there are confusions over sudden transition. Lack of depth and some endings being lose take the charm out of the book and even though it is not ‘the conventional’ way, for me it is a change and perhaps and evolution into something new and better.
I have always felt that each book has a core lesson behind it, just like the Gryffindor sword or the sorting hat of Hogwarts which said “help will always be provided to those who need it” and even this one has a very important lesson- never regret what is lost and never try and change it. Because past is a closed chapter and “what ifs” never help, this story also goes back to the initiation of the series-the Godric’s Hollow and to a prophecy that will change the entire wizarding world. Harry’s troubled son Albus travels back in time but to save the world or destroy it remains the question.
