A Beating Heart for an Everlasting Love
I too had a love story, is one of those novels that will remind you of all the times you’ve spent watching movies that held the tales of love and emotions. As the name suggests, this is a love story but of course, not an ordinary one.
What’s impressive about this love story is that it doesn’t contain some sugar and spice, but a lot more than that. It’s about the simplicity of love, about pure and innocent emotions a person goes through when in love.
It’s about two strangers, the main characters, Ravin and Khushi. They both meet each other on a matrimonial site. And from there, they fall in love with each other establishing a soft feeling of adoration for the novel in the reader’s heart.
This story isn’t the one where love happens at first sight. But, it is about love happening on the first phone call. It is a tender and heartfelt, real-life story of the author Ravinder Singh who poured his heart out for love.
We get to know love from his perspective. We unravel that even if complicated, love stands out. Revolving around love and sacrifice, the story of I too Had a Love Story will take you on a roller-coaster ride.
It will touch the vastness of Indian cultures with development of characters beautifully. Being a real story it will make you smile at some points and other times will leave you in tears. This story will break your heart but at the same time will be an absolutely breathtaking read.
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Author: Ravinder Singh
I Too Had a Love Story is an English autobiographical novel written by Ravinder Singh. It is the debut novel of the author. The book was first published in 2008 by Srishti Publishers and in 2012 republished by Penguin India.
Ravinder Singh was born on 4th February 1982 in a Sikh family in Burla, Odisha. He is a software engineer and a bestselling Indian author today. After having spent most of his life in Burla, Ravinder is currently based in New Delhi. He has also started a publishing venture called Black Ink, to publish debut authors. Beyond his love for words, Ravinder is a fitness freak.
Some of his other novels are:
- I Too Had A Love Story(2007)
- Can love happen twice? (2011)
- Love Stories That Touched My Heart (2012)
- Like it Happened Yesterday (2013)
- Your Dreams Are Mine Now (2014)
- Tell me a Story (2015)
- This Love That Feels Right (2016)
- Will You Still Love Me (2018)
“After the unfortunate incident, I was looking for a reason to live. And I started to pen down the moments I had been through.” “I can’t deny that. I had to go back in time, close my eyes, relive the moments, tears rolled down and I wrote the words.” — Ravinder Singh on a launch event of I Too Had a Love Story.
This book was published in 2008, but it still continues to be loved by everyone and when read still strikes the chords.
I Too Had a Love Story Book Review
Have you ever acknowledged a story so simple yet the one that stood with you forever? The one that has its ups and downs but those complications are nothing because love exists till the very end?
Do you want to read something that holds the innocence of love? But yet powerfully depicts how even if simple, love will stay forever with you. Love will keep your hands till the very end if you selflessly love someone.
This is the story told from the perspective of Ravin, a software engineer. He ends up joining one of those matrimonial sites where he meets his soulmate Khushi. Khushi also happens to have the same profession and goals like that for Ravin. They both talk as strangers and later as the book continues, they fall in love, but? And the sentence after that but is something you will have to find out on your own.
As it’s the real-life story of Ravinder Singh, most of the times you’ll find yourself all lost in it. You’ll know it is real yet you’ll wish it wasn’t.
The amazing thing about the story is that it’s not written in dramatic form. It is not the kind that will give you shocks after every page turn. Yet it is the kind that you will want to read till the very end.
Expect pure emotions, the awkwardness of two strangers falling in love. The youth of two love birds and the reality of life in the few hundred pages of I too had a love story.
Beginning of Love
The story begins with the friends-reunion. Ravin and his three male friends, namely Manpreet, Amardeep, Happy meet after a very long time. They all happen to be college days best friends & were now meeting in Kolkata for the first time after ending college.
As we read ahead, we watch Ravin remembering his time at college. How he met these friends as a stranger and now, how they all mean so much to him.
When they all finally meet, nostalgia kicks in, and they all spend time remembering memories. The moments they have lived together as friends. Sharing secrets, leg-pulling and knowing what is happening is everyone’s now live.
That is how they were spending all time when out of nowhere the talk took the turn towards seriousness. About life, about what’s next? And exploring these topics, they all landed on marriage. How will they find the perfect partner in this messed up world? How will they know that she’s the one? Love marriage or arranged? What kind of girl?
As time passed their topic shifted on the different matrimonial sites that exist in today’s internet world. The maturity and sensibility that the four of them show here are what makes you want to connect to them. They make fun of each other still within those moments they discuss life.
Pondering over these thoughts, Ravin finally joins one of the matrimonial sites. He scrolls through the faces, likes them and from there his journey of meeting Khushi begins. Now, the question remains who makes the first move and how it all turns out? What makes them like each other on the very first call? And how do they eventually fall in love?
Why I too had a love story?
The question that is bound to pop inside your head is what the story is behind the title? Why should you read this when it has such a cliche title? What’s so good about the story that it still happens to be the novel, many love?
Well, the answer to this is, because it’s about the simplicity of love. I too had a love story is one of those novels where the author was successful in making readers able to understand the depth of the word, relationship.
The story contains Khushi and Ravin’s lively conversations they spend typing into love. Feelings and emotions. It has tears and smiles they shared. It holds the throbbing curiosity they have to meet each other for the first time.
You may know the pain of a long-distance relationship. If not, try it someday. And, the consistent feeling of holding hands for once. The impatience of waiting for phone calls, little surprise gifts and late-night conversations. And the gorgeousness of pure love makes it a read-till-finish book.
This story touches the concept of long-distance relationships in a wonderful way. Like how it is so difficult in today’s world when mostly all couples are far away from each other. How do they communicate? How do they make each other feel loved? The humour they share to make each other laugh even when away.
The journey Khushi and Ravin go through until they finally meet each other face-to-face is adorable. And what happens after they finally meet? The story touches emotions and feelings on a different level and keeps the reader hooked. And lastly, how the author has described the thoughts he used to go through is heartfelt.
Pain or Happiness?
Even though this may sound cliche to you, yet this is one of those stories that will stay with you. It has many normal simple things happening around but still, it has the beauty in those little things that you will love later.
I cannot talk about the ending but you should know that it will leave you either heartbroken or with contentment. In the end, it will make you want to understand life. Every love story has a cliche attached to it but still, each one of them holds a sense of warmth and compassion.
After Khushi, the female lead and Ravin male lead meet, the story takes a different turn. Not like until now when we saw them only talking on a call, now they are together. It makes the reader feel the enthusiasm and delight for Khushi and Ravin.
The story takes a disastrous turn after the few 100 pages. And that is where the story takes a new road. What could go wrong when they both loved each other so much? What happened to them? What happened to love? Will it leave you in pain or happiness?
The best thing is that it is a real story about the author himself and so it is bound to have the rugged touch of happiness and grief. You will feel the writer in every part of the story. And yes, if you want something light yet intense to read then this the best book to pick.
What I like the most in I too Had a Love Story
I too had a love story, is a simple yet capturing tale without lavish or extravagant stuff. I loved many things about this novel. The writing style being the first, the author has used free simple words.
He has not tried to express things by using big words or adjectives. Yet the story has a fantastic feel-good experience. Even with simple words, the author has bestowed the reader with intense emotions.
The writing feels real as if the author is himself narrating everything sitting beside you. You could feel what the characters are going through. You relate to them, understand them and sense their sentiments.
The little part where the Indian’s life is flashed, digs out the understanding of a girl’s life when she is getting married and leaving her home for an another one.
The character growth is also something that keeps the reader intrigued. The way Khushi and Ravin grow as characters throughout the story is impressive. Both the characters even though have certain differences of opinions show understanding.
Another thing that impressed me is the depiction of long-distance relationships. And the emotions both Khushi and Ravin went through when they met for the very first time. The author has succeeded in making the reader feel what he would have felt during those days.
What I didn’t like
The story overall was phenomenal, yet it could have certain flaws attached to it. There were things I did not like as a reader but this is just my opinion and we all are meant to differ sometimes.
The story connects us to the friends of Ravin in the beginning during their reunion. But later as it moves ahead we are nowhere told about these people.
We don’t get to see more of them. Ravin mentions that he told his friends about joining a matrimonial site but that’s it. We don’t get to see their reaction or what they said. Later also as the story proceeds, the author does not show any contact he had with those friends.
Another thing I, as a reader, did not like, was that we are not told how exactly Ravin and Khushi fall in love. We know the after story but no mention of what were those little things that made them fall in love in the first place. What did they talk about at the beginning of their relationship?
At some point, the story looked fictional or dramatic due to the incidents that happened, but it is based on a real story. And, when you realise that, you can do nothing but think what the author must have gone through.
The story moves forward at a good pace, but certain things might make you want to have more moments of the characters spend together. But still at last, whatever the story held, keeping the little flaws aside, it is a beautiful tale of love.
Conclusion of I too had a Love Story:
“Not everyone in this world has the fate to cherish the fullest form of love. Some are born, just to experience the abbreviation of it.” – Ravinder Singh, I Too Had A Love Story
At last, I would only say that this story has an essence of hope and optimism mixed with it. As we follow Ravin’s journey of meeting Khushi, we find happiness along the way.
We go through thousands of emotions, ranging from enthusiasm to elation, from contentment to devastation. And finally a sense of calmness, and we see it all through Ravin’s eyes. I too had a Love Story will always stand with you during emotions of life and love, victory and defeat.
Liked it? Read another story authored by Ravinder Singh: Your Dreams are Mine Now.
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