I met Manali in Bombay for a Blogchatter meetup this year and she was kind enough to give me her latest book Heartstrings and Harmonies. I knew the book combined fiction, love stories and of course music. But reading them, especially the lyrics and trying to figure out which song they were from, was an adventure I thoroughly enjoyed.
Heartstrings and Harmonies by Manali Desai is a collection of 29 short stories that have lyrics of songs sprinkled through them. Though love is the central theme, there are many interpretations of the theme like: romance, friendship, hope, revelation and life. There is also a glossary of the songs used in each story – which was a great addition for someone like me who could only guess a few of the songs.
I have read a lot of Manali’s work thanks to her blog and blog hop, and the various blogging challenges we have participated in. So, diving into this book felt like having a conversation with a long lost friend, someone you know and yet don’t.
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The above line is from the story It’s the Magic of the Season from the romance section. Much like the girl the line was used on, it made me shriek with laughter. This section has some sweet meet-cute scenes ranging from an arranged marriage to a beauty and beast retelling. There is an old world charm to them, their idyllic start and finish making you want to believe in the power of love.
Human interactions more complicated than Algebra
The first story in the friendship section was a rewrite (of sorts) of the famous Ja Simran ja scene from DDLJ and it made me so happy. My Heart has started to Love You has a sweet twist and is perhaps one of my favourites from the book. Though the section is called friendship, the friend angle, in my opinion was downplayed a little.
Love is hope
This was my favouritest section. The bittersweet spectrum of life’s challenges and the human spirit of finding hope, light and laughter among friends, family and song definitely tugged on the heartstrings. The Moonlight is Raining was another of my favourites.
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The familial love in this section, the nostalgia of giving prelims exams, of being away from home, wanderlust, keeping secrets and sharing gifts – another sweet section that left me smiling.
Zindagi aur kuch bhi nahin, teri-meri kahaani hai
It shouldn’t surprise you that a book with song lyrics should remind me of this line from a song, that too for the last section called love is life and beyond. The stories in this have a wider tapestry, something I greatly appreciated. Two stories that stood out to me were My Shadow Will Follow You and This Intoxicating Evening.
If music and love is your cup of tea, then you should definitely check out Heartstrings and Harmonies by Manali Desai.
Now a question for you: What’s your favourite romance novel of all time?
This post is part of Bookish League blog hop hosted by Bohemian Bibliophile.
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