Kolkata: All the Potterheads from Kolkata had assembled in great strength at Jadavpur University’s Alohomora – Unlock the Magic, to relive the memories of growing up with Harry Potter. The two-day magical extravaganza organised by the muggles of JU kicked off in style at the University’s Vivekananda Hall.
Alohomoro – Day 1 began with the anchor, Kamilini Mukherjee, Student of Economic, JU, stating, “Harry Potter is much more than a childhood fantasy. It has an inherent social message, so we wanted to bring Harry Potter onto the socio-political map of India to make all the Potterheads to take charge of the society. For, if an 11-year-old Harry dared to bring about social change then we too can.”
The excitement level ran high in all those who are organizing the event. “It’s an integral part of my childhood and I am very excited about being part of the organising team for the event,” said Arup Mondal, a student of International Relations, JU.
Taking on from there was Pramit Sarkar, who beautifully evoked the spirit of Harry Potter film series by playing on the violin. The audience in the auditorium memerised by the music seemed to be teleported to the magical world of Harry and his friends.
Watch the violin performance by a JU student:
This was quickly followed by the screening of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, to set up the momentum for the concluding day, when a panel discussion on Institutional autonomy will take place.
With the idea of removing the disparity in the society, they even invited Nilanjan Saha, a student of English Literature, who holds a musical show between 7 to 8 pm in front of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark. “Let me tell you that Musical Sandwich we sell are not sandwiches which are musical. They are the regular edible stuff you get. But what makes it tastier is the guitar performance of mine, which the buys get as a bonus. This is an attempt to create an open air platform for any artists to perform.”
Apart from the on-stage competition, two offline events – Shutters and Daily Scribe paper presentation were organised. Shutters, was a photography contest, to express what participants perceived as Magical in their daily lives.
Two short Iranian films – My Tree and One Problem Two Solutions, were also screened on the occasion. Both the films were thought provoking and had a deep social message.
Once the film screening over, it was time to test the HP quotient of the Potterheads. Quizzitch, a quiz based on the Harry Potter series had over 60 participants.
