Ever since he penned his own true love story in 2008, Ravinder Singh (picture right) has become the buzzword in romance. So much so that the 30-year-old author of I Too Had a Love Story and Can Love Happen Twice, was given the task of choosing 25 love stories from among hundreds, while juggling his job as a senior programme manager at Microsoft in Hyderabad.

The ‘Love Stories that Touched my Heart’ contest presented by Penguin India, as part of its 25-year celebrations, ran from August 3 to 31 and prompted Indians from across the country to script that one story closest to their heart. Proof that their love’s labour is not lost lies between the covers of the Love Stories that Touched my Heart anthology to be published by Penguin Books India.

t2 brings you the list of 25 straight-from-the heart stories that Ravinder picked and a little bit on why he picked them.

Selecting 25 love stories from among hundreds — how was the experience?

Very hectic! I completed going through the last few stories, 13 I guess, in the first four hours of a morning just after my morning tea. Right after, I told my commissioning editor, Vaishali at Penguin, that finally here was an end to the marathon for me. But I learnt a lot of good things from it....

Like?

There was something to learn from each and every story. If some stories were good in technique, some were good in description or narrative style… the storytelling technique of each and every author was really good. Maybe there were some grammatical errors, but they could easily be overlooked for first-timers. The style of writing, I found was fabulous.

What exactly were you looking for?

I lay a lot of value on the aspect of diversity. I was looking to read a variety of love stories rather than just a campus or an IT-guy love story. Some out-of-the-box plots like elderly love stories maybe….

How many stories did you end up going through?

I only took it up from Level 2, which meant going through some 150 stories I guess. But at Level 1, there were around 3,000 entries that was cut short to 150 by Penguin first. At the end of the day we are coming out with 25 stories. So it’s almost like selecting one story out of every 10.

I Too Had a Love Story found Ravinder pouring his heart out to the reader; did you find any of the new authors doing it like you had…

Lots of them. When the book comes out you will be surprised. There is, in fact, a bunch of stories from Calcutta itself.

How about sharing a Calcutta story from the many entries?

I can’t take names, but there was a story with the Howrah Bridge in it and a girl standing on it. Then there is the typical Calcuttan mini-bus and the story carries on from there, being told by the narrator in the bus. I really found the narration amazing. Then there are also stories centred on Durga Puja and on Bengali food.

Was yours the final word on the 25 stories to be published?

No, I just gave my decision on the stories that were given to me. The final 25 to be published was completely Penguin’s call. But I can promise you one thing — each and every story is bound to leave a smile on your face.

You had promised us that your love story will be coming out with this book...

Since the results will be announced on September 21, just watch over the weekend and you should be able to figure out my love story too (laughs).

[t2 had chatted with Ravinder on Thursday. A little birdie — or maybe bookworm — told us he tied the knot on Sunday. Time for a new love story, we say!]

Sreyoshi Dey