No Vandals, Just Pandals

Harry Potter Is Hero-Worshipped In Calcutta

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Want to see the greatest tribute to Hogwarts? Go to Calcutta. That's right, Calcutta, India. This is the Hindu festive season in Calcutta, and the season is synonymous with "pandals" or temporary structures encompassing a unique blend of celebration, relegious rites and worship. The pandal-makers of this amazing city can build anything - and this year they have erected their version of the wizard school, at FD Block in Salt Lake.

It's not without controversy, though. A few hours ago, the New Delhi High Court on Friday overturned a legal challenge and compensation claim against the pandal. The photograph I've posted here was taken a year ago, but it gives you an idea of how much work goes into the construction. This structure goes from one side of the street to the other, and I chose to focus on the bamboo cross-poles tied together with jute rope.

To see the Harry Potter pandal, go to The Telegraph.

Hurry Potter

France Puts Boy Wizard On Postage Stamps

The French have Harry Potter licked – literally. According to CBSNews.com, French mail service La Poste is celebrating Harry Potter and friends with a set of stamps and stationery. Starting this weekend, the bespectacled schoolboy wizard appears on stamps for domestic priority mail. Ron Weasley appears on stamps for slow domestic mail, and Hermione Granger appears on stamps for international mail. France isn't the first country to put Harry Potter on a stamp. Australia, the Isle of Man and Taiwan, have already issued stamps honouring the hero of J.K. Rowling's books.The seventh and final instalment in the series, `Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, which tells the story of Harry during his final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, will be published on July 21.

Transpotter? No, It’s Trains, Potter

Film Factor Boosts Sales Of Steam Engines

It’s all thanks to Hogwarts Express, methinks. Sales of model trains are picking up steam again, thanks to deals linking them to the `Harry Potter’ and `The Polar Express’ movies. According to Reuters, the trend has brought a welcome boost to model train makers Lionel.
The company, one of the big names in the business in the 1950s, had to serve an older but smaller hobby market after children’s interests moved away from train-related purchases. The Reuters articles notes that entertainer Neil Young, who is passionate about trains, bought a fifth of the company in 1995.
It was a good move indeed. Now, the company is bringing trains back to young people, and sales are up 40 per cent in the last two years. Lionel signed deals to bring out `Harry Potter’ and `The Polar Express’ trains, and filled shelves at department stores such as Macy's and Target, instead of just hobby shops. ``We're a resurgent brand based on nostalgic appeal,’’ said CEO Jerry Calabrese.
Last Christmas, the company advertised toy trains as the ultimate gift by setting up displays at Macy's Santaland and Grand Central Terminal in New York. The sales pitch had great results, as 40 per cent of Lionel's sales of $70 million in 2006 came during the Christmas season.