Padma Bhushan Pandit Sadashiv Buwa Shrotri, a renowned Hindustani classical vocalist, is fighting against the rising challenges to save his esoteric art of music, defying the odds against age, doubt, and uncertainty. As tradition fades at the margins, his fading hope rests on Kartik, his wife’s nephew, who secretly pursues classical music against his father’s will.

Everything was nice and gentle, life was smooth and fair, until one night he vanished. The sudden disappearance of Kartik reopens some hidden layers in the stories of his dear ones – old wounds, estranged family histories, confronting patriarchy, silenced ambitions, and buried dreams.

As new tensions resurface, the struggle between artistic devotion and personal freedom intensifies. Thus, The Music Makers by Rohini Paranjpe Sathe explores the redemptive power of music through the lens of the worshippers of music.

Book: The Music Makers

Author: Rohini Paranjpe Sathe

Genre: Fiction

Format: eBook and Paperback

Publisher: Om Books International

Pages: 356

My Rating: 4/5 *

Buy the book here.

Book Cover:

I would like to give the book cover design full marks. When I unboxed the book and took it in my arms, it instantly uplifted my mood. The vibrant crimson background, the silhouette of the singer holding a tanpura, and the rising sun behind have brilliantly complemented the content of the book. According to me, the book cover designer has done a brilliant job by choosing a simple, minimal yet powerful and attractive design. Kudos to The Book Bakers for designing such a beautiful book cover.

What’s Waiting Inside:

If you read this book, the more you delve deeper into the story, the more you start pondering the questions we often avoid asking ourselves. The question that arises when we stand between our life choices and legacies. The question that arises when we leave our dreams behind to chase our life’s goal, and then, one day, standing in the middle of nowhere, we realize that the dream was buried within the silence of our soul’s deepest devotion to something else that was never meant for us.

Moreover, the book serves as a mirror to the quest of self-discovery, rebuilding the broken relationships, and making music as the anchor to life’s voyage.

Writing Style:

I loved the writing style of the author, because the narrative was simple to understand, yet the language was not-so-simple. She has used a rich set of vocabulary, and the main thing that drew my attention to her writing style is her beautiful descriptive narrative. At times, she has used intricate details to describe a musical moment, the hidden emotions, or a long-cherished bond. Thus, her narrative becomes alive with the moments she has created with the touch of magic and music.

A Glimpse of the Book:

Some moments caught my attention, and being a trained classical singer myself, I could resonate with the moments and the emotions related to them. For me, the most memorable moment in the book was when Sumati Tai took her tanpura on her lap after a long time, and, dusting it like her baby, slowly, she started playing it. As the strings produced the sound, the resonance of the tanpura seemed to resonate with her long-lost dreams and the homecoming of them once again.

A Quote to Remember:

“Outside, the sun was traveling on its northerly path as was its daily wont, delivering as always on its promise to the world, giving them that new day full of hope.”

What Makes the Difference:

The Music Makers is very much like any other novel; at the same time, it is not like other ones. The storyline is simple, at times, predictable, yet it offers twists in every turn when life shows us its miracles, unfolding the magic of dreaming, the magic of determination, and the magic of aliveness.

The moments when someone discovers her dear ones facing challenges, hardships, and fighting against the odds in quiet, that makes the person know life’s other sides with all its harshness, unfolding its realities all at once.

And this is beautifully shown through the lives and stories of the characters of the book, The Music Makers. At the end, the book tells us that it’s not about living life, it’s about how you live your life. It’s not about the legacies and sacrifices; it’s about your truthfulness to yourself and your dreams. It’s not about the music makers, but it’s about the music that endures a long journey for survival, and at the end, it begins all afresh, to journey towards a new destination.

My Recommendation:

If you are looking for a novel that is written in simple language, with a soothing narrative and heart-touching instances, then this book is for you. If you are looking for a book that offers a story that makes you pause, ponder, and fall in love with your dreams at the same time, then this book is definitely for you. Whether you know singing or love to listen to music, you are going to love The Music Makers for its own grace.

(This review is powered by Blogchatter Book Review Program.

I received the review copy for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.)