Tracing the journey of channeling magic and nostalgia through the universal favourite Harry Potter in his debut novel was the author of Accidental Magic, Keshava Guha, at the session with Somak Ghoshal.
All the four characters and the aspirations of the work were pondered upon and a deep insight of the book was previewed without letting out spoilers. When asked about what made him link Harry Potter to this work, Guha answered that he grew up with Harry Potter and though he was not a 'Potterhead', it was one of his favourites and also that he believes that Harry Potter is one of the world that link the world unbiased.
Dwelling into the plot of the work, all the characters were shed light on, especially 'Kannan' who according to Keshava is the only one close to being a protagonist and says that he is an unconventional one at that. He said that 'Kannan' and 'Curtis' were the two characters he began with as for him a book begins with the characters. He also says, talking of all these four characters that Malti and Rebecca had a better family life than that of Kannan and Curtis and so they had more deep relationships than the other two. As well as they were more in reality than the two, who lived in the fantasy world. When asked why did he write about Kannan and not Malati, who could be related more to by the readers he said that he feels there are more books about Malatis than about Kannans.
When asked about the readers and how they reacted towards the work, he said that most of the people who took a liking for his book, were those who had never read Harry Potter before and those who were in love with Harry Potter felt that is was not much like the book. He also added that the book is not about Harry Potter rather it's more about four people who were linked through the love for Harry Potter. He then recalled how during his young age when he couldn't really connect to those around him of his age, Harry Potter was what connected him to people.
The session ended with a list of Keshava's favourite writers and works and how it influenced him as well as his works, and with a very active interactive session with the audience.