Tanveer Bookwala at Landmark, Andheri, Mumbai
There is a long queue of media and fans. The red carpet has been laid out and everyone who's anyone is waiting patiently with bated breath. Then, with a rhythmic splendor, the elevator opens and the crescendo rises like an opera star hitting the highest pitch, as screaming fans know the wait is finally over.
No, this isn't a movie premiere and Shahrukh Khan did not get off the elevator. In fact, it is just a bunch of guys carrying a few boxes with the words `Bloomsbury' on it. But, it doesn't take a lightning bolt-shaped scar on the forehead to know that inside those boxes lies the most magical book ever written -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series of novels by J K Rowling.
The mother of all events occurred at 5.30 am on morning as people from seven to 70 queued up at various bookstores across the city.
"We have never seen such a crowd in the history of our stores; they've been here since 4.30 am," said the manager of the Landmark bookstore in Mumbia's suburban Andheri.
There was an energetic buzz in the air that had hyperactive children dragging sleepy parents, lovers quarrelling as to who gets to read the book first, old people waiting patiently with walking sticks; even a couple of foreigners sharing the same unbridled passion.
Twelve-year-old Sanjana argued incessantly with her father about how she should read the book before her seven-year-old sister who automatically claims first right to everything she owns.
The stores revved with a feeling of revelry as ribbons and balloons adorned the shelves while streamers hung longer than the serpentine anxious queues. Tea and snacks fed the hungry audience, as a Harry Potter look-alike smiled and clicked pictures with everyone.
Harry Potter fanatic, Natasha squealed, "I don't want Harry Potter to die. It would be the saddest moment of my life."
Echoing her sentiments was her friend, Monisha, who said, "Today is the best day of my life, I'm not going out of the house until I've read it.''
While the question on everybody's lips remained Harry's death, others had mixed opinions about the Dark Lord's defeat.
Thirty four-year-old software professional Siddhant had taken leave from work to read the book and said, "I have taken Saturday, Sunday and Monday off to finish the book, I can't hardly wait."
And then, the moment dawned. The floodgates opened. A thundering applause filled the merriment in the atmosphere as the crowd came alive and rushed into the store with a brouhaha that is hard to define in words.
"Tell us how it ends!'' yelled a voice from the crowd. It was the question on the lips of every fan, old and young, as they waited anxiously in line to buy a copy that would change their lives, for the last time, forever.
Earlier slide show: Quiz: Dumbledore's favourite jam flavour?
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