Harry Potter casts a spell on Indian kids
15th July 2000
21.15 IST
Child wizard Harry Potter cast a spell on children as the newest book in the fantasy series sold like hot cakes on its India debut on Saturday.
Bookshops in the Indian capital New Delhi sold more than half of their stocks on the first day as children made a beeline for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by British author J K Rowling.
''Books disappeared fast despite the high price," said Suparna Vaidik of 'The Book Mark' at the upmarket South Extension.
The intimidating prize and size of the Rowling's fourth book did not deter Harry Potter fans who had been waiting since the International launch of the book on July 8. The 37 chapter 636-page hard cover book is priced at a prohibitive Rs 550.
''Harry Potter is exciting, he is magical,'' said Abhiudev Jindal, a class seven student of Sri Ram school.
Abhiudev and his sister Urvi, a year older, have read all the three previous books by the celebrated British author who rose from social security to become one of the richest women in Britain.
Abhiudev just shrugged and smiled when asked how we would read such a voluminous book.
Even adults have been attracted to the book, which narrates the adventures of Harry a fourth year student at the Hogwarts school of Witcraft and Wizardry. A Singapore Airlines crew member insisted on buying the book before flew out at the 'Crossword', which arranged a copy from the distributors a day before the launch.
The India launch has been handled by Penguin India who bought the India rights from original Publishers Bloomsbury. The book, which cost 14.99 pounds in the UK, is recommended for the 9-12 age group.
Half of the 10,000 copies Penguin India received were distributed in the national capital. It is expecting another 5,000 copies by the next week, said senior sales officer, Anantha Padmanabhan. Most of the shops, which sold more than half of its stocks today, have ordered further copies, he said.
Though nothing compared to the 360,000 pre-order at shops and on-line in Britain and the United States, enthusiastic readers, children and adult alike, had been calling up shops ever since the word broke out on the launch in India.
-UNI
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