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Scroll.in
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
Why Heart Lamp's booker win breaks many barriers
When Heart Lamp, Deepa Bhasthi's English translation of a collection of Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq's short stories, was declared the winner of the 2025 International Booker Prize on Tuesday, literary history was made in more ways than one. The second winner of the prize from India – after Tomb of Sand (2022) – Daisy Rockwell's translation of Geetanjali Shree's Hindi novel Ret Samadhi – the book actually did not exist as a single volume in the original Kannada. Bhasthi, the first Indian translator to win the International Booker, chose the stories from over 30 years of Mushtaq's work to curate Heart Lamp, which was the first short story collection to win the prize. With two winners in 10 years of the International Booker, India now tops the country list. Of course, we have an unfair advantage in having vibrant literatures in more than two dozen distinct non-English languages, compared to one for most other countries. But what this conceals is how few books from India are published in global Anglophone markets. The numbers in any given year amount to less than 10% of the 100-plus titles published in English translation in India. So the real achievement of a Heart Lamp and a Tomb of Sand is breaking through the resistance of the Western publishing ecosystem to being published in the United Kingdom and/or the United States in the first place. As in 2022, the question is being asked again in 2025 by wide-eyed journalists: will this open the floodgates to translated books from India in the West? The short answer is no. Books from India do not have the two tailwinds that have seen a flood of translated works from Japan or South Korea – to name two other Asian countries – being published in the West by both large and independent publishers. These tailwinds come in the form of funding support from the respective countries for publishing their books, and certain country-specific literary trends that have become popular in the West – for instance, 'healing literature' from Japan and South Korea. What such awards open up, actually, are huge sales for the winning titles back home in India, easily 10 to 20 times the normal sales of translated books that have not won the International Booker Prize (all but two). Significantly, both the winning titles were accepted and then edited by UK-based publishers first, with the Indian publisher using the same edited version (and saving themselves the work involved). But we would be shortsighted to examine this win for Heart Lamp from the perspective of publishing alone. What is especially significant is that it has come to a writer who has not really been part of the canon in her own language, although she has a large number of readers. An activist and a lawyer, Mushtaq writes from an intersectional space of marginalisation on the basis of caste, religion and gender. She is a rebel writer, whose works, operating within the Bandaya Sahitya literary movement in Kannada – narrating dissent and rebellion against injustice through fiction and poetry – have been met with protests and threats from her own community. It needed not only a translation into English but also a respected international prize to draw attention to this literature outside its immediate circles. Also of vital importance is translator Bhasthi's decision to use ' an accent ' – what the jury chair Max Porter termed a 'radical translation which ruffles language, to create new textures in a plurality of Englishes'. This is a powerful riposte to colonisation, where the coloniser's language is owned and then transformed by those from a former colony to then win the world's top award for translated books in the heart of that very colonising power. If only for these reasons, the significance of Mushtaq's and Bhasthi's win cannot be overstated. Here is a summary of the week's top stories. The Maoist conflict. Nambala Keshav Rao, the leader of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), was among the 27 suspected Maoists killed in a gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur. Union Home Minister Amit Shah described CPI (Maoist) General Secretary Rao, who is also known as Basavaraju, as the 'backbone of the Naxal movement'. This was the first time that a general secretary-ranked Maoist leader had been killed by the security forces, Shah added. A District Reserve Guard team member was also killed in the gunfight, according to the police. The Union government has repeatedly vowed to eradicate 'Left Wing Extremism' in the country by March 31, 2026. , writes Malini Subramaniam. Bail for Ashoka professor. The Supreme Court granted interim bail to Ashoka University Associate Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad for his comments about the press briefings on Operation Sindoor. The court also instructed the Haryana Police to form a special investigation team to look into the meaning of the words used by Mahmudabad. He was arrested on May 18 after being booked in two cases for his social media posts highlighting the apparent irony of Hindutva commentators praising Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who represented the Army during the media briefings about the Indian military operation. Mahmudabad suggested that they should also call for justice for victims of mob lynching and 'others who are victims of the Bharatiya Janata Party's hate mongering'. The top court has barred him from posting or publishing any content related to the social media posts under scrutiny. Defamation case. After being reprimanded by the Delhi High Court, commentator Abhijit Iyer-Mitra said that he would delete social media posts in which he made purportedly sexually abusive remarks about women employees of digital news outlet Newslaundry. The court warned that it would order a first information report against Iyer-Mitra if he failed to remove the posts. The women employees of Newslaundry have filed a defamation suit against Iyer-Mitra. They have sought a public apology and Rs 2 crore in damages, alleging that Iyer-Mitra had 'falsely and maliciously' targeted the news outlet's women employees using derogatory language and slurs through a series of social media posts between February and April. Follow the Scroll channel on WhatsApp for a curated selection of the news that matters throughout the day, and a round-up of major developments in India and around the world every evening. What you won't get: spam.
The Hindu
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Lady with the lamp
Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq has been lending expression to the voiceless for five decades, and when Deepa Bhasthi came on board as translator, her stories leapt across linguistic barriers and provincial borders. On Tuesday (May 20, 2025), Mushtaq's Heart Lamp, translated from Kannada to English by Bhasthi, won the International Booker Prize for 2025. This is the first honour for Kannada, a language Mushtaq says has 'cosmic wonder and earthly wisdom', on this stage. It's also the first time a collection of short stories has been feted, and the second time in three years an Indian writer has gotten the top prize. Geetanjali Shree had won for Tomb of Sand, translated from the Hindi by Daisy Rockwell in 2022. Heart Lamp (And Other Stories/Penguin) is a selection of 12 tales, written between 1990 and 2023. An array of characters have walk-on parts — maulvis, thuggish brothers who flex muscles on their whims, grandparents, uncles, broods of children — but the spotlight is firmly on Muslim girls and women on the margins, searching for a toehold in a claustrophobic patriarchal world. It was published originally in Kannada (Haseena Mattu Itara Kathegalu) by Abhiruchi Prakashana, Mysuru. One of the stories in Heart Lamp, 'Black Cobra', was made into a feature film, Hasina, by Girish Kasaravalli. A lawyer and activist based in Hassan, a town on the leeward side of the Western Ghats and a gateway to coastal Karnataka, Mushtaq, now 77, was inspired by the Bandaya Sahitya movement of the 1980s, which urged women to write about their lived experiences. An empathetic observer and listener, Mushtaq began documenting stories from unheard corners, jotting down every aspect of the women's lives, their drudgery, anxieties, as well as their joy. 'This book is my love letter to the idea that no story is local. [It] was born from the belief that no story is ever small, that in the tapestry of human experience every thread holds the weight of the whole,' she said in an impassioned acceptance speech high on grace and gratitude. Most of the women she writes about lack agency over their bodies. They are often powerless, financially dependent, and have little say over any other aspect too, particularly education. Girls are withdrawn from school at the drop of a hat. Dash of wry humour If they are married, like Mehrun in the title story, it means they can never return to their parents' home; whatever the husband's misdemeanours, Mehrun is asked to bear it or look away. When she can't take it anymore, it's her daughter Salma who pulls her from the brink. When this spirit of sisterhood works, women extend a hand to others; when it doesn't, there's misery and silent tears deep into the night. Her stories have wry humour too — in the last, a mother weary after giving birth, appeals to god: 'Be a woman once, Oh Lord!' Like Sara Aboobacker, who wrote about Muslim women in coastal Kerala and Karnataka and was critical of patriarchy and other issues, Mushtaq too has been outspoken about women's lack of choice in matters of faith and reproductive rights. Both writers faced the wrath of fundamentalists. For making Mushtaq's stories gain a global readership, Bhasthi's 'radical translation' has come in for praise. Bhasthi writes in the translator's note that between them they know more than six languages. Bhasthi retains the rhythms of the many Kannadas spoken in the region. For instance, Mushtaq speaks Dakhni at home, whose base is Urdu with loan words from Persian, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu — but her language at work and on the street is Kannada. Readers will break into a smile on hearing the words mothers often spit out in shock — 'thoo, thoo.' Booker Jury Chair Max Porter said the radical translation hits 'viscerally.' Both writer and translator harped on the richness of Kannada and hoped it would lead to more translations from other 'magical' languages of South Asia. Calling literature one of the 'last sacred spaces where we can live inside each other's minds, if only for a few pages,' Mushtaq hoped her win would 'light the way for more stories that defy borders.' The finest of literature offers an honest mirror, and surely Mushtaq holds a luminous one.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Banu Mushtaq's fight for Muslim women's rights wins International Booker
03:30 Banu Mushtaq: International Booker Prize winner BENGALURU: A trailblazing writer and activist from Hassan district in Karnataka, Banu Mushtaq is a multifaceted personality who has left her imprint across journalism, law, politics and women's rights activism. But it is her powerful storytelling rooted in resistance, gender justice and social reform that has now earned global recognition. Mushtaq is a prominent voice of the Bandaya Sahitya (rebel literature) movement, which challenged patriarchal and feudal structures through its sharp and socially conscious writing in the 1980s and 1990s. As the state convener of the Bandaya Sahitya Sanghatane, she authored six influential short story collections that expanded the boundaries of Kannada literature . A fearless advocate for women's rights within the Muslim community, Mushtaq was among the earliest voices to demand the right for women to offer namaz in mosques — decades before the hijab debate made national headlines. Her campaign in the 1990s invited a fatwa and social boycott, but she stood firm. "I was only making a point that even in Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, women are allowed to pray alongside men," she said in an interview. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo "But my argument earned the wrath of the community. It led to mental distress. I recovered only because of the support of family and solace I drew from my writing." Before entering law and politics, Mushtaq began her career in journalism with Lankesh Patrike, where her first report exposed a fatwa against a Muslim girl in Bijapur for watching a movie. She took up the cause, sparking what became known as the Najma Bagi controversy. She denounces the triple talaq system as un-Islamic and continues to push for internal reform within the community. "Change must come from within," she insists, "free from external political influence." Her acclaimed short story Kari Nagaragalu (Black Cobras), featured in her award-winning collection Heart Lamp, was adapted into a national award-winning film 'Hasina' by director Girish Kasaravalli. "I have read many stories by Banu Mushtaq. They are all rich with literary value and powerful in expressing the anguish of oppressed women in the Muslim community," said Kasaravalli. "I'm surprised she hasn't won recognition in the Kannada literary field so far. The International Booker Prize may serve as an eye opener for those who ignored her."
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Heart Lamp glows, story collection wins the Booker Prize for Banu and Deepa
Kannada writer, lawyer and activist Banu Mushtaq set multiple records on Tuesday (May 20, 2025) as Heart Lamp, a collection of 12 short stories selected from her work written between 1990 and 2023 and translated by Deepa Bhasthi, won the International Booker Prize for 2025. This is the first time a Kannada work has won the prestigious award, and also the first time in the history of the prize that a collection of short stories has been honoured. Indian author Geetanjali Shree won the award for Tomb of Sand, translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell, three years ago. In the book, Ms. Mushtaq writes about girls like 'sweet Asifa' who has had to bid goodbye to her studies to look after her siblings and help her mother (Stone Slabs for Shaista Mahal); or overworked mothers like Arifa (Fire Rain) and Mehrun (Heart Lamp) who struggle to save their children and themselves; and maulvis who would rather preach than practise (Black Cobras). In another story, the narrator, weary after giving birth, pleads to God: 'Be a Woman Once, Oh Lord!' In her translator's note, Ms. Bhasthi says that Ms. Mushtaq's career can be summed up in one Kannada word – 'bandaya', which means 'dissent, rebellion, protest, resistance to authority, revolution and its adjacent ideas.' The Bandaya Sahitya literary movement of the 1970s and '80s, which urged marginalised communities including women and Dalits to tell their stories and fight for their rights, helped Ms. Mushtaq find her voice. In an interview in April, Ms. Mushtaq said, 'Being multilingual, I naturally use various languages in my stories. In our daily lives, these languages blend together, and I bring that same sensibility to my writing. It enhances relatability.' Narrating unheard stories and speaking truth to power have had consequences, too. Just around 20 years ago, Ms. Mushtaq faced a severe backlash for saying that women also have a right to offer prayers in mosques. In a world that often tries to divide people, Ms. Mushtaq contended that literature remains one of the 'last sacred spaces where we can live inside each other's minds if only for a few pages.' The Hindu's Editorials The Hindu's Daily Quiz From which country did India stop readymade garment exports? China Bangladesh Pakistan U.S. To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Banu Mushtaq: A story born under a banyan tree in my village can cast its shadow across the world
Hassan: Writer Banu Mushtaq scripted history Wednesday, becoming the first Kannada author to win the International Booker Prize . Her short-story collection, Heart Lamp , translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, is also the first anthology to receive the prestigious award. Mushtaq, a long-time voice of resistance in Kannada literature and an early participant in the Bandaya Sahitya (a radical forum of writers) movement which began in 1970s, said the international recognition affirmed both literary strength of the Kannada language and the universal relevance of its stories. She described the award-winning moment as "a thousand fireflies lighting up a single sky" and reflected on the significance of the award, literary journey, and the power of storytelling to spark social change. Excerpts: Did this award come as a surprise? Moments before the announcement were tense, unforgettable. When author Max Porter announced Heart Lamp as the winner, an electrifying atmosphere took over. Everyone stood up and began congratulating me, including my relatives who were present. It felt like a thousand fireflies lighting up a single sky. I was, indeed, thrilled. How do you interpret the significance of this award? I never imagined stories from my corner of the world would travel this far. This is a moment for all regional-language writers in India. This is also a victory for diversity. The award recognises countless women, whose lives echo through these stories. I'm grateful to Deepa Bhasthi for giving my words a "new lease of life" through translation. How do you view your role as a writer amid threats and social division? As a critical insider, I've faced ostracism, threats, and trauma. I believe a writer's task is to document injustices artistically — exposing misuse of power, political manipulation, and women's struggles — without preaching. In today's divided world, with increasing policing of women and hate-driven politics, I remain hopeful. History shows oppressive regimes fall, and despite challenges, change is inevitable. How do you feel a short-story collection selected for Booker Prize for the first time? Short stories often receive less attention than novels, but I love the form. Every literary form has its place. It's unfair to rank novels above short stories or create a hierarchy between them. What impact will this award carry on Kannada literature? This prize demonstrates the true potential of the Kannada language and its literature. If more Kannada works are translated into English and other languages, we can introduce our stories to a global audience. This story is a love letter to my belief that no tale is ever just local. A story born under a banyan tree in my village can cast its shadow across the world. Your stories challenge caste, class, and gender hierarchies. What inspired them? The English version of the collection is based on my anthology in Kannada — Edeya Hanate (Heart Lamp). The material comes from life itself. I observe people and society. I also gather compelling human stories from newspapers. As an advocate and mediator, I often provide legal counsel for free, especially for women. During consultations, they not only share their legal issues but also their emotional struggles. I maintain two sets of notes — one for the case, and the other for their personal narratives. These emotional experiences become the foundation for my stories. I empathise with their pain, and that shapes my creative expression. How did you select the stories for international readers? The selection was collaborative. Deepa read five of my anthologies and selected stories that moved her. I suggested a few as well. She would say, 'I love this story for this reason'. I respected her choices because if she was so deeply impacted, others, too, would be. The emotions in these stories are universal. Women from India to Japan to France face similar control and subjugation. When they read these stories, they recognise themselves. That is the very essence of this collection. You emerged from the Bandaya Sahitya movement… Bandaya is not just a movement — it's a state of mind. It represents resistance against injustice. Society, sometimes, imposes harsh rules and demands that individuals conform. At such times, we must confront it. I question society, politics, religion, and patriarchy. Bandaya remains relevant today as a mindset and a way of life. Many stories centre on marginalised voices. What role does literature play in social change? Let me share a story. A Muslim woman from the coast visited me recently. She told me about her suffering and said she didn't know what to do next. I asked her why she came to me when there are so many advocates in Hassan. She said she had watched 'Hasina', a film that won three national awards, based on my story. Decades later, she rewatched it, and it gave her answers. She said, "I thought you were the right person to help me." That's when I felt my writing had made a difference. As one of the few women in the Bandaya Sahitya movement, how did that shape your voice? The 1970s saw the rise of Bandaya movement in Hassan, a hub of activism in women's rights, Dalit literature, and the unique concept of Muslim Sahitya Samvedane in Kannada. This movement sparked widespread protests and social change across Karnataka and India, influencing politics and literature. As a journalist in Hassan, I witnessed daily demonstrations and the efforts of senior leaders firsthand. These experiences shaped my perspective and writing. My reflections on these hardships inspired much of my literary work.
