Who is Banu Mushtaq, Kannada writer who made history with International Booker?
In a historic achievement for Indian literature, 77-year-old Kannada writer, lawyer, and activist Banu Mushtaq has bagged the prestigious International Booker Prize for her short story collection, Heart Lamp.Mushtaq scripted history by becoming the first Kannada writer to win the prestigious prize. The anthology -- a collection of 12 stories -- chronicles the everyday struggles of Muslim women in Karnataka, spanning three decades from 1990 to 2023.advertisementIn her acceptance speech, Mushtaq, hailing the stories of the women she poignantly portrayed in her work, said, "This is not just my victory, but a chorus of voices often left unheard."
Deepa Bhasthi, who translated the collection into English, was also awarded the International Booker Prize alongside Mushtaq.With this achievement, Mushtaq now joins an elite list of Indians who have won the coveted prize since its inception in 1969 -- including V.S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai, Aravind Adiga, and Geetanjali Shree.WHO IS BANU MUSHTAQ?Hailing from Karnataka's Hassan, Mushtaq wrote her first short story in middle school. She took the writing world by storm when her first story was published at the age of 26 in a popular Kannada magazine, Prajamata.According to her profile on The Booker Prize platform, she has authored six short story collections, a novel, an essay collection and a poetry collection.advertisementIn an interview with the Booker Prize Foundation, Mushtaq revealed that she drew her inspiration from the Dalit movement, farmers' movement, language movement, women's struggles, environmental activism in the seventies while growing up in Karnataka."My direct engagement with the lives of marginalised communities, women, and the neglected, along with their expressions, gave me the strength to write. Overall, the social conditions of Karnataka shaped me," she was quoted as telling the Booker Prize Foundation.When questioned about her work, Mushtaq told the Booker Prize Foundation that she doesn't engage in "extensive research" as she draws inspiration from real-life interactions. "...my heart itself is my field of study," she said.
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