Fitting Finale...

I intend to make this post as lengthy as possible.. the only kind of tribute I can pay to Harry Potter, and JKR..

Its been just a little over 2 hours since I walked out of Sathyam and handed over the 3D glasses, with tears in my eyes, after witnessing the end of an epic saga, which has been captivating readers, young and old alike, for more than a decade now.. Four years back, when the final book in the most successful franchise ever, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, came out, I was one of the first to have laid my hands on the book.. I had pre-booked for it a month back.. Now, I am reliving a kinda deja vu.. When I finished reading the epilogue of the book, I was met with a sense of loss. And with the final movie out, that sense is a bit more pronounced. I practically grew up with Harry Potter.

Though the first book made it to the shelves in 1997, I laid my hands on a copy of Philosopher's Stone, only in 2001, when I was eleven. And perhaps, that was indeed the right and best time to have read the book, cause Harry too was 11..;) And since then, there was just no looking back!!! I was real quick in completing the first four books in 2 years.. not much to boast about now, but it was something real great back then. At that time, to be entering your teens and having completed the first 4 books of Harry Potter was something to brag about.. and to this day, I am proud of it.. :):) And among the various memorable things of my first year as a teen was the anticipation I had for the fifth book of the series to release!! :P .. though the books in the middle came at different intervals, somehow, when book 7 hit the market, I was 17, so was Harry. People may laugh at me when I say this.. but I find a way of being able to connect easily with Harry and his friends.. (I don't mean the fantasy part, I mean the emotional part).. When I feel down, I pick up one of the seven books to read.. When I am ecstatic, I do the same.. Harry has become part of my life, whether I want it or not.

The movies which came at fairly regular intervals, were a treat to watch.. There used to be so much discussion on whether the director was justified in editing this part, deleting that, including this, etc etc.. The debate never stopped!! Some say the movies are better, others say the books have a touch of originality. Whether the movies or the books, the true winner is the entire series!!!

When you tell the outside world that you are a POTTER-MANIAC, you'll definitely make a few eyebrows shot up.. People stare at you to check if they heard you right... that, being in your final year of college, you still tell out that you read Harry Potter.. Well, to all those who mock the Potter fans out there, no matter whether I am 20, or 80, I will proclaim loudly to the world that I love Harry Potter, and that even now, I would give all my time just to sit and read the series all over again.

When I finished the 7th book for the first time, I was upset. Upset that I will not have another of the books to read.. But, I was consoled by the fact that I can atleast revisit the sense of acceptance and belonging through the movies. But, now that the final movie is out, I am completely lost. A void feeling runs through me. Maybe I am not the only feeling so.. But sure as hell, I will miss Harry, Hogwarts, Hagrid.. everyone!!! The final movie, HP-7-part 2, is definitely an awesome one.. I never had a single regret during the 2 hour span of the movie!! When the end credits rolled out at the theatre today, I refused to leave the hall.. my friends and myself were the last to exit, well after the credits were done...well after the enchanting and bewitching music died down... :(:(

According to me, there are two kinds of people in this world.. one that reads Harry Potter, and one that doesn't.. And I take it as a source of pride to say that I belong to the first category!!

Love you Harry Potter.. You'll live on forever!!!

SIVAKASI!!!!

This was one trip that was in the planning stage for more than a year!! Of course, better late, than never!!!

So it was that we planned to head for Sivakasi from Dindigul.. We were to go to Virudhunagar and then catch a bus to Sivakasi.. and the bus journeys were forgettable ones..;) We reached the place at around 7 in the eve.. and from the minute we arrived at one of our best friend's place, there was never a dull moment!!! We immediately felt at home at her place!! Here is a 'small' account on the fun we had..;)

Day 1:
Since we arrived only at 7 that eve, we stayed at home and did nothing but talk our heads off!! We were to sleep upstairs in a spacious room all by ourselves and once we settled, all that we did was to talk like we'd never talked before!!! If not for the fact that we had been travelling for most of the day, we'd not have slept as early as at 12 that night..;);)

Day 2:
As against the usual roosters cawing at dawn, it was peacocks that did the job in Sivakasi!! One can know it is 6am from their morning cries!!! The city is crowded with our national birds!!! But despite their wake up call, we never woke up a minute before 10!! A lazy breakfast, followed by a lazier bath, made our morning session. We then paid a visit to my friend's school. That evening, we paid a visit to the Bhadrakaali Amman temple over there. After the temple, we headed for having ice creams!!! We didn't sleep till 5 a.m. that day!!!

Day 3:
Having slept only at 5, we were even more lazy that day!!! That eve, we went to watch Avan- Ivan at BIG cinemas. The movie was a forgettable one... but we had a good time together, munching pop corns and drinking pepsi.. we were joined by my friend's sister and her mom.. it was a family outing.. :):) My friend's mom was shocked when we screamed our lungs out during Suriya's guest performance in the movie(the lone good part in the film!!!)

Day 4:
A quite sunday.. Much of the time went off exploring the streets of Sivakasi. My friends would be able to give a better description of the day..;) That night, we went to dine at BELL Hotel, a 3 star restaurant.. Our hosts made sure we were completely full!!! Another bite, and we would have burst!!! So full of food were we!! I had to sacrifice the jelly-ice cream combo cause of this.. :(:(

Day 5:
The day was reserved for eating Chaat!!! We headed for Malgudi Mittai.. I love the name of the place..:):) Over chaat, we discussed to get some souvenir from sivakasi. The brightest idea we could come up with was to get a kurta each..:):) Thats how we ended up getting the same design-same pattern kurta for the three of us from a store over there..:):):) The night went off playing cards..:):)

Day 6:
We were to return back home that night. Most of the day went off in packing our stuff.. The most memorable event that day was our train journey back to Chennai, when the 3 of us sat on the top berth, chatting, smsing mutual friends, pulling each others legs- even after the lights were off!!!;);)

Day 7:
We came to our respective homes!!!

Hope I did justice highlighting the important happenings of our stay at Sivakasi.. This post is dedicated to Subha, Shruthi, Aunty and Uncle.. Never did I think Sivakasi could be so much fun. I'll cherish the time I spent with you guys forever!!!