1) In the first book of the Harry
Potter Series, Albus Dumbledore tells that he has a scar above the left knee
that is a perfect map of the London Underground. While we can dismiss it as
been coincidence it is very unusual if one considers the history of the London
Underground Map.
The London underground maps the
Metro rail system and is inaccurate except for 2 details. The distances in the map are wrong, the
routes are full of twists and turns unlike the depiction of the map. Besides
the map is not to scale and misleads on the directions as well. Only accurate
information that can be obtained from the map is if the station is a junction
and if the station is to the north or south of River Thames. (The London
Underground.)
The map was created by Harry Beck in
1931 doodled in his spare time. So the incredible thing is how did Dumbledore’s
scar end up as the map by Beck?? Did Dumbledore confound him??? Or even
hilariously allow harry access to his scar?? (was kidding on that… :o) )
2) The Minister of Magic is a very
powerful position in the wizarding world.
Seeking to keep the existence of wizards
a secret the Minister is armed with an array of frightening powers. He
is the Head of the Executive, assigned with subordinates to help him in his
various tasks, also deals with the Muggle PM as a subordinate on a need to know
basis (thus ensuring his supremacy). He can also influence the Daily Prophet to
not report the news he deems unworthy as seen sometimes. But people tend to
forget that he also has a say at the Judicial hearings in determining the guilt
of the convict and can single handedly influence the outcome as observed in the
case of Harry Potter. The lack of distinction among the Judicial and Executive
role is seen to boost the power of the Minister of Magic. Unlike the PM off the
Muggle World (Great Britain) who is overwhelmed with responsibility, the
Minister of Magic is powerful position who can seek the aid of his subordinates
to oversee any task. Besides he is not the Prime among the Ministers but THE
Minister of Magic.
3) Gringott’s Bank eerily reminds me
of the same manner of functioning of the Central Banks as in 1914. It’s single
most important task is to preserve the value of the currency quite similar to
the Yesteryear Central Banks. Presently Fiat based currencies are used, however
in the yesteryears Gold Standard was used where the currencies were pegged to
the gold to keep inflation at bay and preserve the value of the currency. But
in the wizarding world, Gold, Silver and Bronze nuggets are used. This will
protect the value of the currency and keep inflation at minimum. This practice
of use of Gold as currency existed for
millennia and continues till the present in the Wizarding World.
While the Gold Standard had its Busts and Booms , such a scenario is not
reported at all in the Wizarding world.
Most of the gold did not circulate but lay buried in the form of ingot
in the Central Bank’s underground vaults a la Gringotts. While in the 1914 this
was the reserve for the banking system that determined the supply of money,
credit and even anchor for the economy. The Wizarding World had the supply of
money limited to the supply and the reserves of Gold, silver,Bronze and other
metals that the bank may deem fit. There was no doubt that the Gringotts Bank
functioned as the central Bank in the Wizarding World. However this practice by
the Gringotts would safeguard the wealthy at the expense of the poor. So it is
hardly surprising that the Weasleys find Hogwarts Education to be very
expensive. But the other unreported aspect is that the muggle money based on
fiat gets regularly devalued
vis-à-vis the Galleons just as
there were no safeguards for fiat currencies against inflation. Since
Hermione’s parents were well to do dentists neither she nor they did dwell on
that fact.
4) There was no doubt the Prof.
Quirrell , the man with the 2 faces ( a term reserved for Janus) followed
Hagrid when he went to fetch Harry under the instructions of Prof Dumbledore.
Quirrell's Behaviour and talk later only serves to confirm this, while we tend
to push it away from our consideration on the revelation that he and not snape
is the villain of the book.
5) Whenever there is the mention of
Pig Snout Harry is surrounded by people who are always eating. In the first
book Pig snout is the password used to gain access to the Tower where he
befriends Hermione. In the 5th book he asks Tonks during dinner to imitate
Dudley wherein she gets a pig snout.
No comments:
Post a Comment