The World is flat!
    Well, I know you question my sanity, now. Obviously, the world is round and that’s a proven fact, from the moment Galileo stepped out of his ship. And now, there’s a question again. Is the World really round? I hate that word, really. The word which gives rise to a lot of questions and seeks for explanations.
    ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge,’ said a wise man once. And, it’s true. Well, you need not be aware of the complications of four-dimensional space fabric to accept this theory. What all you need to know is the record made by two international best-selling books of this century and the mounds of money the authors made from these books.
    You can guess the books. The first is the Harry Potter series written by the most loving author of all time – J. K. Rowling. We all know the inexplicable effort she took for the publication of her very first novel which was later proved to be one of the stunning books of the century. “Harry Potter is the creation of genius,” said one of the leading magazines of Great Britain. And, you bet it is.
    Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone was published in 1997 and hit the international-bestselling status in a short period of time. The next parts of the series were unraveled one after another until every American child’s mind was blacked out by Harry. Nearly all the teen-agers were enthralled by the beautiful zigzag flow of the action-packed adventure of Harry Potter. Now, the guy who says, ‘the world is flat’ and the guy who says, ‘I don’t like HP’ are looked upon the same.
    Do you see a child or a teen-ager is acting weirdly? Does he have feathers at the back of his pen? Does he say ‘Lumos’ whenever he’s in dark? Does he have a password for his room and makes you say that before you enter? These are the symptoms of a common-form of disease called Harry-O-Mania. Well, nothing to worry, until you read Harry Potter yourself and join him in his world of Wizards.
    The second is the Twilight saga written by Stephanie Meyer. The books also made the record and one of the leading news-papers said, “Move over, Harry Potter.” It wasn’t until then that the chaos reigned. Ever since the start of the literature, people usually compare books. Narnia and The Lord of the Rings were compared and criticized although Lewis and Tolkien were best-friends.
    And today, it’s Harry Potter vs. Twilight. A lot of American high-schools have teams named after these two books and the reports tell that they fight with each other often.
    Now, we really should know what’s happening. Twilight portrays the love of a teen-age girl for a boy who later turned out to be vampire. Now, the V-word should be scared of. On the contrary, after the publication of this book, people – especially girls – started to love it.
    What’s the source of the uncountable money made by these two books? Imagination. Solely, imagination. ‘Imagine, this is an unimaginable situation.’ A boy living in the world of wizards? A girl living with vampires and were-wolves? What are these two called? A grown-up man would say all these as insane theories. But, I must confess, that there’ve been moments when I’ve yearned to be in the company of Ron and Hermione fighting bravely against Lord Voldemort.
    The fantasy of Harry Potter is hard to explain. The spells, the castles, ad the countless other heart-binding theories are the reasons HP has been successful. The plots are absolutely phenomenal. You will not know it, until you read the book.
    When that versus word comes, I’m sorry to confess that Harry Potter is better than Twilight. The reason is very simple. Values. Both the books give beautiful explanations for true love. Twilight has this basis: without you, I’m a dull Zombie. But, Harry Potter has rich values which rely on the incredible power of love. We all have seen Bella and Edward attempting to suicide. That quality which says, “Dying for love.” I do not know where Meyer is taking the teens with this. But, Rowling has portrayed another quality. “Living for Love.” The perfect example here is Severus Snape. Snape became a better man for his love for Lily, even after her death.
    That phenomenal power of love which destroys the darkest of forces has been perfectly annotated in Harry Potter. ‘Harry’s undeniable weapon is love – just love,’ says Dumbledore.
    However, these books have made it! And the World is now fast changing. A transition of imagination from reality.
    And now, what if the world really is flat? Really?