Hundreds of children in the city spent a sleepless night on Friday in front of city bookstores just to grab the first copy of the seventh and final book of J.K. Rowling's fantasy series.
KOLKATA: Potter mania here reached a feverish pitch as children queued up overnight to grab the latest instalment of their favourite book. And thousands of copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" sold like hot cakes within few hours of its release at 6.30 a.m. on Saturday.
Hundreds of children in the city spent a sleepless night on Friday in front of city bookstores just to grab the first copy of the seventh and final book of J.K. Rowling's fantasy series.
"I am eagerly waiting to buy one copy of the book. I am very excited about the story as there was a buzz Harry will die this time," said Manish Agarwal, an enthusiastic fan who spent the entire night standing in front of a city bookstore.
In Oxford Bookstore here, about 2000 copies of Harry's new book sold within two hours from the time of its release.
Many book lovers and children celebrated the eve of Harry Portter series' new book release and took part in the nightlong fashion dress party at another city bookstore - Crossword. They also took part in a quiz and many other entertainment activities till the wee hours of Saturday.
Popular musician Bickram Ghosh launched the book at Crossword followed by more events from noon. Simon Wilson, the British deputy high commissioner, would narrate J.K. Rowling's life story at Oxford Bookstore Saturday evening.
"Children are pouring in and nationally we have sold over 10,000 copies in the first three four hours," said Sidharth Pansari, managing director of Crossword, Kolkata.
While the entire city was busy taking a journey of fantasy in the Potter world, popular Bengali writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay refused to term the Harry Porter series as children's literature.
"I don't know why people are considering Harry Potter as children's literature. The volume of the book and its complicated storyline cannot be the content only for children. It's written for a universal audience, especially for the young generation," Mukhopadhyay told.
"I think people between the age group of 20-35 better enjoy Harry Potter book than school children," he added.
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