25 Things If Harry Potter Was Based In Kolkata

Image Courtesy: Aparajita Ganguli

Harry Potter, the chosen one, the boy who defeated Lord Voldemort, the symbol of good and most importantly, the boy whose stories have captivated our childhood.
Has anyone ever wondered, what if Harry Potter resided at our very own City of Joy instead of Privet Drive,Surrey?
For the next few minutes, let’s explore the possibilities of this consideration…

 Before writing this blog, many of my friends have asked me to modify the names of the characters and add a Bengali flavour, but the consequent results have been hilarious as Harry Potter had undergone a transfiguration charm to be called Hori Poddar. Lily Poddar(sounds surprisingly bengali) and James Poddar( no bangla name for James yet, suggestions are welcomed in comments).

 Alipore jail can be Azkaban.

 What other station can usurp King’s cross station than our very own Howrah station. Where the ministry of magic would allot specific coolies/porters to carry the students belongings,and obviously there would be strikes and bandhs.

 Professor Dumbledore would have a bengali name, Professor Damodar Dhor, with Kolkata’s very own magic man P.C Sarkar joining the teaching staff( imagine magical tricks like ‘Water of India’ and ‘Indrajal’ in practice)

 Hogwarts would have month long holidays for summer and Durga puja.

 Puja pandals would have 3 entrances, namely Pure-bloods(VIP entry); Half-blood entry and a mundane entry for muggles.

 ‘You-know-who’ and ‘He-must not-be-named’ would be replaced by a single word, ‘juju’.

 Hori(Harry), along with hoimonti(Hermione) and rohon(ron) would be our famous trio.

 Flying Ford Anglia would definitely be a classic ambassador car.

 Parents would be reluctant to send their daughters to Hogwarts as no parent in india wants   their daughter to become a witch (with their inverted feet).

 Rita Skeeter would be the correspondent of ‘anandabajar patrika’.

 Bappi Lahiri would be the manager at Gringotts, Because gold.

 The Mirror of Erised would have names of lovers etched into it.

 Ginny would spend most of her pocket money on buying rakhis for her brothers. The numbers of which are abnormally high.

 Parseltongues would be called Sapuré, notable among them would be Bapuram Sapuré.

 The Writer’s building can be used as the new building for the ministry of Magic, given its own share of spookiness.

 Diagon Alley, would be obsolete as kolkata is blessed with spots like New market, Gariahat and Esplanade market where everything can be bargained.

 College street would serve the demand for books, where the Marauder’s map would be given free if you shop over a certain amount.

 Along with kolkata’s sleuths, Harry will not have any problems locating the Horcruxes as Feluda and Byomkesh would happily do the hunting for him

 Mad eye Modi( Mad eye Moody) would encourage the use of broomsticks for ‘Swaach Hogwarts Abhiyan’ instead of flying.

 Dobby, Kreacher and other house elves would never be called by their names instead they would be called chotu, kaka, etc.

 The Merpeople would have their own campaign named, ‘Adiganga bachao’ in a desperate attempt to save the city’s lifeline Hooghly river from pollution.

 Kalighat and Dakkhineshwar temple would be the spots for Hogwart’s students before the final examinations, many would offer the gods a sacrifice of hippogriffs to please them.

 Hagrid would be at alipore zoo, where tigers and lions would be replaced by Acromantulas and dragons.

 There would be a candle light march over park street in the memory of Cedric Diggory’s death.

Besides all these subtle changes, the magical world of harry potter would perfectly settle at Kolkata. For magic exists here in the streets, in the mishtis and cuisine, in the addas and in the way of life.

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This blog post is an entry to the blogging contest, a part of the book launch of Harry Potter And the Cursed Child, inassociation with Kolkata Bloggers.

Want to have your own copy of, ‘Harry Potter and the cursed child, click the image below: