Harry Potter’s mesmerizing journey to Kolkata

He looked around and he was amazed to see the place which was as magical as his wizarding world. Some street vendors were trying to sell their goods. He had a problem understanding their language. He concentrated on what they were talking and he soon realized that their communication language was Bengali.

For Harry, it wasn’t difficult to switch from one language to another and he fluently conversed to one of the street vendors. The street vendor told the place is called ‘Kolkata’. At this time both were amazed. It shocked the street vendor that a foreigner could speak in fluent Bengali whereas Harry wondered how he reached to this place. He tried to recollect hard but his efforts went futile. He thought not to overstress himself but to roam around this magical place.  

The air was crisp and cool but the hot winds didn’t bother to flow in between. Harry was about to start his journey but he hesitated for a while. He wanted somebody to accompany him. He quickly realized that the street vendor wouldn’t mind if he asked to. He turned back and asked the vendor. The street vendor whose name was Subodh readily agreed. Harry introduced himself to Subodh and after exchanging the pleasantries Subodh was very comfortable to talk with Harry.

“So how come Harry you could speak so fluent Bengali?”

“My mother married to a Bengali guy and so I can.” Harry lied as he did not want to arouse any suspicions that might scare this muggle.

“Oh, I see. Come, Harry, I will show you around our city that you’ll never forget.”

Harry was too excited and quickly nodded in affirmation.

Subodh called one of the autos. Harry was surprised to a three wheeler with its green-yellow pattern. Subodh wanted to show city’s one of the artistic masterpieces known as ‘Howrah Bridge’. Suboth took Harry to the exact point of Howrah bridge from where the view was simply breathtaking. Next on Subodh’s itinerary was to introduce Kolkata’s rich Bengali literature.

Image courtesy: wikipedia.org 

He took Harry to one of the ancient libraries and asked Harry to read Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray, and Amitav Ghosh’s popular books. Harry quickly browsed through these popular books. The more he read, the more it amused him. However, he had less time and Subodh had many things on his itinerary. They left the library.

When Harry arrived in Kolkata Durga puja celebrations were in full form. He could see people were all joyous and very happy. Subodh took Harry to famous Durga temple and allowed him to witness the magnificent Durga puja. 

Now Harry was feeling very hungry. Subodh took this opportunity to introduce Harry to Bengal’s cuisine. They both entered the premises of a small, cozy hotel. 

Image courtesy: wikipedia.org 

Subodh ordered Hilsa fish fillets and Kati Kebab rolls. Harry relished on these mouthwatering dishes. If that wasn’t enough, Subodh tempted Harry by offering popular Bengali sweet, rasgullas. Harry literally burped and thanked Subodh for offering such delicious food.

By this time, Harry was quite fascinated by the charm of the city and he realized that there are many magical places other than the wizarding world. He wondered if he was based in Kolkata, life would have been a simpler and uncomplicated. The city used simple magic to strengthen bonds between locals and others.

"This blogpost is an entry to the Blogging contest, a part of the book launch of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, in association with Kolkata Bloggers."