Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Mumbai-based mother-daughter Potterheads relive the generational buzz around the books

Twenty six years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone first released, city based mother-daughter Potterheads relive the generational buzz around the books and face off in a Potter quiz

Strengthening the blood pact  

Dhwani Nagda and her mother bonded over the Harry Potter franchise; (right) Nagda’s first-ever Harry Potter book was a gift from her US-based relatives

Dhwani Nagda, 30, brand strategist
I WAS probably four years old when the first book was released on June 26, 1997. My mother was the one who introduced me to the Harry Potter world. She was an avid reader and wanted me to pick up the habit. My first book was Philosopher’s Stone, which my uncle and aunt had bought from the USA. They wanted me to read it. But my mom read it first to check if it was children-friendly. And later, when I started reading it, I was hooked. My dad used to stand in the long lines to make sure I got the books on the day they were published in India. The day the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released, my dad procured it after standing in the queue of a bookstore at 10 am; I remember that I sat with the book till 7.30 pm of the same day and finished it in one go. I only stepped away for bathroom breaks. Harry Potter mania is very real. I know many parents and children who read the books together. I bonded with my mother while reading the books and watching the movies. We still host a Harry Potter movie marathon every year. It’s our go-to thing. 

It wasn’t an immediate hit 

Pomley Maheshwari, 53, professor
The book wasn’t an immediate hit. It took time, and more so in India. Our first books here came out only in the early 2000s. There was something about the children’s book that I always admired. I wanted my daughter to read it but when my brother and my sister-in-law bought it from the USA, I was a little sceptical. This was a book written in the West. I had my doubts. But I remember the long queues during the initial release in the country. The mania here increased drastically after the release of the first movie. And even 26 years after the first release, every time I open the door, my children will remind me to say “Alohomora” [for muggles: It’s a spell used to open locked doors in the wizarding world]. 

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