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The Hindu
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq feted in Shivamogga
Leaders of various progressive organisations, activists, elected representatives and officers of Hassan joined hands together here on Monday to felicitate writer and advocate Banu Mushtaq, who recently won the International Booker Prize for her collection of stories, translated into English, Heart Lamp. Baragur Ramachandrappa said the International Booker Prize was an honour to the Kannada's intellect. 'Ms. Mushtaq wrote stories in Kannada, and Deepa Bhasthi translated them into English. Both writers deserve appreciation,' he said. The district enjoys the distinction of contributing the first Kannada inscription found at Halmidi village in Belur taluk and the first International Booker Prize for Kannada. 'Ms. Musthaq wrote stories that she picked from the world around her. The prize she won is recognition of her involvement in struggles for the emancipation of the working class, women, Dalits, and all downtrodden sections. She has been actively involved in the Bandaya movement in the State', he said. Ms. Musthaq said that India is known for diversity, and it was the duty of every individual to uphold this (diversity). 'Literature is one of the forces that celebrates diversity and, with that, it keeps the country united,' she said. The prize, she said, was not only for her contribution to literature. 'I have participated in the protests and struggles for social justice and equality. My writing is not separated from my these activities. I consider this prize as a recognition of all such activities,' Ms. Mushtaq said. H.S. Anupama, writer, spoke about the contributions of Ms. Mushtaq. Lok Sabha member Shreyas M. Patel, MLA Swaroop Prakash, Deputy Commissioner C. Sathyabhama, Superintendent of Police Mohammed Sujeetha, Dharmesh of CPM, Kannada Sahitya Parishat district president H.L. Mallesh Gowda, and others were present. Earlier, the writer was taken to the programme venue at Hasanamba Kalakshetra in a procession from the Deputy Commissioner's office.
Indian Express
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
International Booker Prize win for ‘Heart Lamp': Through her work, Banu Mushtaq reimagines feminism, faith and literary resistance
Written by Manu V Devadevan 'Being in a body, he craves for food; being in a body, he spreads the lie. Beware! Don't slight me for being in a body. Get into a body like me for once, and see for yourself, Ramanatha.' These words of Devar Dasimayya, the eleventh century weaver-saint from Karnataka, come to mind as I read the last lines from the English translation of Banu Mushtaq's anthology of short stories, Heart Lamp. 'If you were to build the world again, to create males and females again, do not be like an inexperienced potter. Come to earth as a woman, Prabhu! Be a woman once, oh Lord!' Mushtaq, who won the International Booker Prize 2025 for Heart Lamp, is no Dasimayya. Unlike him, who rejected gender binaries with a ruthless masculine resolve, Mushtaq is a feminist who is self-conscious of her womanhood in almost everything she writes. Her work also reminds us that in the 900 years that separate her from Dasimayya, the world might have changed beyond recognition, but there are still things that remain unchanged. Born in Hassan, Karnataka, in 1948, Mushtaq is an advocate by profession and has been an activist associated with various progressive movements for nearly five decades. Her flair for writing, which goes back to her school days, received a clear direction during the turbulent years of the 1970s that led to the surge of Dalit, Bandaya (dissident) and women's writings in Kannada. Mushtaq was part of the Bandaya Sahitya Sanghatane (association for dissident literature) and has also been its convener. Her participation in the peasant and Dalit movement seems to have rekindled the anger against injustice she had developed in her younger years. When Mushtaq began writing, there were no Muslim voices in Kannada writing about the community. She recalls that Muslims figuring in the works of Hindu writers were all bright as angels or dark as demons, with no grey shades to them. Exceptions weren't unknown (there is Poornachandra Tejaswi's unforgettable Dare Devil Mustafa), but they hardly left any mark. Earnest feminist voices had begun to be heard in the 1970s in works such as Srikrishna Alanahalli's Parasangada Gendethimma (1974), M K Indira's Phaniyamma (1976), some poems in H S Shivaprakash's Milarepa (1977), and Devanur Mahadeva's Odalala (1978). In her writings, Mushtaq brought feminism and Muslim representation in literature together, being aware that a Muslim woman had special challenges that cry out for a space of their own. Mushtaq's oeuvre consists of a novel and six story collections, in addition to Kannada translations of an assortment of legal texts. While her writings are emblematic of the Bandaya school in which she was trained, they are neither bestsellers nor texts that have invited Kannada literary criticism's sustained attention. Mushtaq tells stories of Muslim families, often from an upper-middle-class economic stratum. At the heart of the stories are the womenfolk living mundane lives, but with a not-so-mundane and generally unfulfilled desire to live lives on their own terms. There is a restless calm in their everyday lives, which is made restless because the men and women in Mushtaq's stories have political awareness. The politics of religion occupy considerable space in Mushtaq's stories. The quotidian conversations are often about issues such as the Shah Bano case, a Muslim's unceremonious funeral in a Hindu graveyard, a kafan from Mecca soaked in the holy Zamzam water, reading the Qur'an three times a day, and a tomb for one's wife that will put the Taj Mahal to shame. And it is not long before things assume a dogmatic air, making many a sensitive reader wonder if art should only remain political or become politics itself. In this sense, High-Heeled Shoe is a remarkable story because of the balance it succeeds in striking between art and politics. It is a moving treatment of a pregnant woman who ends up wearing high-heeled footwear. Behind the calmness of everyday life, there are great waves of dissatisfaction with a range of catastrophes in the waiting. In the stories, many a woman appears cheerful, sensitive and reflective, but feels, like a few men at times, that she is a stranger in her own house, unable to make a choice. As the narrator in one of the stories says, 'I am a prisoner of a soul whose doors and windows are shut.' She is, in fact, ready to 'become an exploding volcano' at any time. Mushtaq's primary commitment is to the Muslim women, and it is a deeply humanist commitment. She is essentially telling stories of betrayal, loneliness and longing for love. A student of Indian literature of the last five decades isn't unfamiliar with such stories. We live in times when the importance of listening to multiple voices is recognised more than ever before. But these are also times when the multiple voices we hear are increasingly filled with the same story. This sameness tends to prevail in Mushtaq's oeuvre too, but a piece like High-Heeled Shoe more than underlines her gift for telling stories that were never told before. One waits for the day when Mushtaq will have many untold stories to tell. The writer is a historian and teaches at IIT, Mandi
Daily Tribune
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Tribune
Indian Writer Banu Mushtaq Makes History with International Booker Prize Win
Indian writer, lawyer, and activist Banu Mushtaq has made literary history by winning the International Booker Prize for her short story collection Heart Lamp. This marks the first time a work written in Kannada — a language spoken in the southern Indian state of Karnataka — has received this prestigious international award. Heart Lamp features 12 short stories written by Mushtaq between 1990 and 2023. The stories, translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, focus on the lives and struggles of Muslim women in southern India. In her acceptance speech, Mushtaq thanked her readers and spoke about the power of storytelling. 'No story is ever small,' she said, emphasizing how literature helps us understand each other's lives. Deepa Bhasthi, who became the first Indian translator to win an International Booker, expressed hope that this achievement would inspire more translations of regional Indian languages like Kannada. Mushtaq's award comes after Geetanjali Shree's Tomb of Sand (translated from Hindi) won the same prize in 2022. Although Mushtaq has long been respected in literary circles, this international recognition shines a brighter light on her career and the powerful themes she explores — especially the challenges faced by women in conservative and patriarchal societies. Raised in a small Muslim neighborhood in Karnataka, Mushtaq studied the Qur'an in school but was later enrolled in a convent school by her father to ensure broader educational opportunities. She learned Kannada and began writing early, eventually choosing it as the language for her creative work. Her writing career took off during a difficult time in her life. After marrying a man of her choice at age 26, Mushtaq faced domestic pressures and depression. She has openly discussed this period in interviews, including a moment of deep despair when she nearly attempted self-harm. That painful experience became a turning point in her life. Her characters in Heart Lamp reflect this same spirit of resilience and resistance. According to a review in The Indian Express, 'Mushtaq refuses to portray Muslim women as mere symbols. Her characters endure, push back, and find strength in everyday acts.' Mushtaq has also worked as a journalist and later as a lawyer to support her family. She was involved in the Bandaya movement, a progressive literary movement addressing social justice. Her outspoken views on women's rights have not been without consequences. In 2000, she received threats — including a fatwa — after speaking in favor of women's right to pray in mosques. She even survived a knife attack. But none of these challenges stopped her from writing. 'I've always challenged narrow-minded religious interpretations,' she said in an interview. 'The core struggles for women and marginalized communities remain, even as the world changes.' Mushtaq has authored six short story collections, a novel, and an essay collection. Her contributions have earned her several honors, including the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award. Earlier in 2024, the translated compilation Haseena and Other Stories — featuring works from 1990 to 2012 — won the PEN Translation Prize, further cementing her legacy as a powerful voice in Indian literature.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Muslim author, Hindu translator: Duo ignites Kannada literary pride
The International Booker Prize win for Heart Lamp has triggered an outpouring of joy across Karnataka, with Kannadigas hailing it as a watershed moment for regional literature. The recognition comes at a time when Kannada literature , despite its rich legacy, has not seen a Jnanpith Award since Chandrashekhara Kambara win in 2010. Kannda once held the record for most Jnanpiths, but it has been overtaken by Hindi. The Booker win, therefore, is being celebrated as a long-awaited moment of global recognition. Mushtaq's literary journey is rooted in rebellion. In the early 1980s, she penned a powerful article rebuking a fatwa issued against a Muslim woman. The only publication bold enough to carry it was Lankesh Patrike, the tabloid run by literary icon P Lankesh. "This award has undoubtedly put the spotlight on Kannada," said Basavaraju Megalakeri, Mushtaq's colleague at Lankesh Patrike. "But one cannot overlook the symbolism; a Muslim woman author and a Hindu woman translator together bringing Kannada to the global stage. Whether intended or not, it is powerful." Renowned literary critic Prof Asha Devi MS, who wrote the foreword to Heart Lamp, said the award will resonate with women writers. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Tunisia: New Small Electric Car For Seniors. Prices Might Surprise You. Electric Cars | Search Ads Undo "Women writers have been congratulating one another ever since the news broke. It feels like a victory for every woman," Devi said. "The male-centric myth often claims women lack unity. That notion has been shattered by this collective celebration." Heart Lamp draws from decades of Mushtaq's writing, transcending religious and gender identities. "Sara Aboobacker gave us context for the struggle of Muslim women. Mushtaq took it beyond that. Her work speaks to universal human experiences, not just experiences of women or Muslim women," Devi added. In one of Mushtaq's most evocative stories, Omme Hennagu Prabhuve, the protagonist with God to become a woman for a day to understand the dangers women face. "This is not plea of just Muslim women, or women from one region or country," Devi said. "It's a plea rooted in shared human experience. The greatest impact of Banu Mushtaq is her ability to bring women characters out of boundaries set for them. She gives them dignity and a stamp of human experience." Though often associated with the Bandaya (rebel) school of literature, Devi argues that Mushtaq's style is more reflective than angry. "The essence of Bandaya is outrage (aakrosha), but when you're overwhelmed by outrage, truth can't be seen from all angles. Mushtaq's writing carries a tranquillity that enables a deeper, more nuanced engagement with truth."
Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
From UR Ananthamurthy to Banu Mushtaq: How Kannada literature finally brought home the Booker
'If I have seen further,' Isaac Newton wrote in 1675, 'it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.' For Kannada literature, that giant was UR Ananthamurthy. In 2013, the 80-year-old literary icon became the first Kannada writer ever shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with global luminaries such as Alice Munro and Philip Roth. Though the £60,000 award went to American short-story writer Lydia Davis that year, Ananthamurthy's nomination cracked open a door—one that remained tantalisingly ajar until this year, when Banu Mushtaq kicked it down completely. Now, twelve years after that near-miss, Kannada literature has its watershed moment: Mushtaq's Heart Lamp (translated by Deepa Bhasthi) has won the 2025 International Booker Prize, fulfilling Ananthamurthy's dream and cementing Kannada's place on the world literary stage. What Ananthamurthy's nomination began, Mushtaq's win completes—not as an end, but as a powerful new beginning for regional Indian literatures on the world stage. Born in 1932 in Melige, Karnataka, Udupi Rajagopalacharya Ananthamurthy was a writer, critic, and intellectual who reshaped Kannada literature. A central figure in the Navya (modernist) movement, he interrogated caste, tradition, and morality with a literary sharpness that found equal resonance in India and abroad. His classic Samskara remains a touchstone in Indian literature and was later adapted into a critically acclaimed film. Over his long career, Ananthamurthy received the Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary honour, and the Padma Bhushan. His nomination for the Man Booker International Prize in 2013 was for his entire body of work—a corpus that includes novels such as Bhava, Bharathipura, and Avasthe, along with short stories that have been translated into multiple Indian and European languages. The Booker panel praised him for the humanity and complexity of his fiction, which explored the friction between traditional values and modernity. Though he didn't win, the nomination placed Kannada literature in the global spotlight for the first time. In many ways, Banu Mushtaq represents the next chapter of the story Ananthamurthy began. Born in Hassan, Karnataka in 1948, she emerged during the Bandaya (protest) movement of the 1970s—a literary current influenced by writers like Ananthamurthy, but focused on amplifying the voices of Dalits, women, and minorities. Her work, written with searing clarity and political courage, brings forth the stories of Muslim women often silenced in both mainstream narratives and within their own communities. Her International Booker-winning Heart Lamp (originally Edeya Hanate) spans three decades and 12 stories—each a meditation on injustice, resilience, and survival. But Mushtaq's literary career has never been detached from real-world danger. In 2000, she became the target of a fatwa and survived a knife attack after advocating for Muslim women's right to pray in mosques. Geetanjali Shree's 2022 International Booker win for Tomb of Sand (translated by Daisy Rockwell) broke Indian literature's glass ceiling, creating a blueprint for Indian writing for conquering global literary imagination. Just as Shree's win made space for Hindi, Ananthamurthy's 2013 Booker nomination prepared the ground for Mushtaq's triumph. Where Ananthamurthy interrogated the internal contradictions of Hindu orthodoxy through metaphysical allegory, Mushtaq exposes gendered repression within Islamic traditions. Together, they form a continuum—proof that India's bhasha literature articulates the universal. The Man Booker International Prize—as it existed from 2005 to 2015—honoured a writer's lifetime contribution to fiction, rather than a single work. The International Booker Prize, in its new form since 2016, awards a specific work of fiction in English translation. Geetanjali Shree became the first Indian writer to win the International Booker Prize, while Mushtaq is the first Kannada writer to win this version of the prize. Aishwarya Khosla is a journalist currently serving as Deputy Copy Editor at The Indian Express. Her writings examine the interplay of culture, identity, and politics. She began her career at the Hindustan Times, where she covered books, theatre, culture, and the Punjabi diaspora. Her editorial expertise spans the Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Punjab and Online desks. She was the recipient of the The Nehru Fellowship in Politics and Elections, where she studied political campaigns, policy research, political strategy and communications for a year. She pens The Indian Express newsletter, Meanwhile, Back Home. Write to her at or You can follow her on Instagram: @ink_and_ideology, and X: @KhoslaAishwarya. ... Read More
