Latest news with #BanuMushtaq


Indian Express
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘Even if a gun is pointed at me, I have to write': Banu Mushtaq opens up about mental health struggles, next literary piece
Speaking about her mental health struggles over the last two years, Banu Mushtaq, who won the International Booker Prize 2025 for Heart Lamp in May, said her next literary piece, an autobiography, would be published towards the end of the year. 'There was a lot of backlash for what I wrote and my views. I had to face a lot of testing times. So many people tried to prevent me from writing even a single word, and I faced it all. Also, within the last two years, I suffered so much – a huge loss, about which I cannot tell you right now because all of it is written in my autobiography that is about to be published in December,' she said at a panel discussion on Heart Lamp at Kiran Nadar Museum in New Delhi on Monday. 'After these two years – with the help of a psychiatrist – I regained my mental health, came out of my fears, got a lot of courage, and started writing once again,' Mushtaq said. The panel, chaired by Penguin India editor Moutushi Mukherjee, also included Deepa Bhasthi, who translated the book from Kannada. Banu Mushtaq, who delved deep into the socio-political realities of Muslim communities in southern India, used melodrama, simple language, and culturally significant Urdu terms, concepts and beliefs in her stories, to outline the plight of oppressed women, marginalised communities and question the deeply ingrained patriarchal hegemony in society. By detailing the subtle power structures working within domestic spaces and scrutinising the gaping emotional scars inflicted on the downtrodden by patriarchy, lack of education and empathy, Mushtaq's stories provide a cathartic realisation to readers. But Mushtaq, being a lawyer and activist, is also deeply aware of the discontent and disagreements that may arise from different sections of the country due to her writings and fight for justice. She said: 'It is India wherein communal tensions are prevailing. With my writings, I might offend a Muslim or a Hindu. To both of them, I am responsible for all the backlash that they can cast against me. I am 77 now, my children are all settled and I am in such a state of mind that if at all they point a knife or gun at me, even then, I have to write. I have to be the voice of the marginalised; I have to tell the truth to this society.' Mushtaq believes that justice is served in two tiers in India. One is through the courts of law and the other through social justice. As society is ruled by patriarchy, women don't get any relief from social justice. She pointed out examples such as the jama'at, gram panchayat and even homes where justice is not given. However, women receive justice in courts. She said: 'There is a big difference between our social norms and constitutional values. Constitutional values guarantee equal rights, liberty and a right to be heard, whereas social justice denies all these things to a woman.' Deepa Bhasthi said that even though Heart Lamp contains a lot of references to Islamic laws, Ramayana and so forth, not adding footnotes or glossary was a conscious decision while translating: 'The whole point is to not cater to the Western audience. I don't see why we have to do that. We have never been catered to. When we read Western books, whether it is in translation or written in English, we have had to learn their references and popular culture elements. Now that there is Google, they can learn too.' Mehrun, who attempts suicide but finds the will to live again for the sake of her children in the story 'Heart Lamp'; Ashraf, who suffers grave injustice not only from the community but also from the jama'at, and loses her daughter Munni as a result of her husband Yakub's cruelty in 'Black Cobra'; and the mutawalli saheb in 'Fire Rain', who denies his sisters their property rights and kicks his wife Arifa for sleeping in the hall. These are all testimonies of Mushtaq's consciousness that is profoundly sensitive to the unjust treatment received by women, and also her attempts to awaken humanity to the dark realities around them. While concluding the discussion, Mushtaq compared the condition of Indian society in her teenage years and the present, saying, 'The present situation is far worse than my younger days. Now patriarchy is getting institutionalised. Even though women are allowed to read, go for higher studies, get jobs and are having good earnings, the society which dictates and directs them, which subjugates them, is highly patriarchal. The khap panchayat, jama'at, and even the entire society says, 'You should be an obedient servant. Nothing should go out of your home. Keep the secrecy.' Patriarchy is even more powerful today, and it must be properly addressed with the help of civil society.' 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


The Hindu
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Banu Mushtaq Interview: International Booker Prize Winner on Reading, Social Movements, and Marginalized Voices
Published : Jul 20, 2025 11:57 IST - 9 MINS READ This year, Banu Mushtaq received the highest literary honour when her short story collection Heart Lamp, translated by Deepa Bhasthi, won the 2025 International Booker Prize, bringing Kannada literature into the global spotlight. Banu Mushtaq's life has been shaped by literary activism and social engagement. Born and raised in Hassan, Karnataka, she developed a deep interest in reading and writing in Kannada after learning the language in primary school. Her father and grandfather recognised her early curiosity for the written word and encouraged it by providing children's magazines and storybooks in Kannada. This ignited a lifelong passion for literature. Growing up, she read voraciously—from Panchatantra and Chandamama to Bengali and Russian classics and detective fiction in Urdu. This early exposure to multiple languages and traditions laid the foundation for a career that bridged journalism and fiction. Her literary voice, rooted in her community, resonates with universal themes. Banu Mushtaq has published six collections of short stories. Her novel Kubra, two essay collections, and a poetry collection showcase her literary range. Her translation work includes rendering the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (2005) into Kannada and translating 500 pages of Adil Shahi literature from Urdu to Kannada. Her literary contributions have been widely recognised. Her accolades include the Karnataka State Rajyotsava Award (2002), the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Honorary Award (2004), the Akkamahadevi Award (2017), the Dana Chintamani Attimabbe Award (2024–25), the Karnataka-50 Suvarna Sambhrama Award (2024), and the English PEN Translation Prize for Heart Lamp (2024). In this episode of Bookmarks, she talks about her reading life, the books and movements that shaped her writing, and how she continued to write despite setbacks. Tell us about your relationship with books. How has reading shaped your life? I started reading and writing early in childhood, which made my father very happy. When I was in first grade, he bought me children's magazines and books like Panchatantra, widely published in Kannada, and Balamitra, a Telugu children's magazine. Other favourites included Chandamama. My father got me these books and magazines regularly. I was always hungry to read more. Later, when we moved to Shimoga city and then to Krishnarajasagara near Mysore, I had access to many local libraries. I had read all the books by top Kannada authors by my twenties .Earlier, we didn't have bookstores in my hometown, so I travelled for four hours to reach Bangalore. After finishing work, I would go to a bookshop and buy as many books as I could afford. My mother used to say, 'You never wear silk sarees or gold jewellery, but you bring home hundreds of books. What are you doing with all these books?' She passed away last year at over 90. She would say I cared more about books than material things! Can you recall a transformative reading experience? Was there a particular book or author that changed how you saw the world? When I was living in Hassan, I had access to the oldest district library there. I read Russian and Bengali literature extensively. I can't point to a single book that had a profound impact. I read many Russian authors, such as Dostoevsky—his novels and short stories—during my early twenties. Were there particular Kannada writers who influenced your literary sensibilities as you began writing? It wasn't books that influenced me when I started writing. It was the social movements of the 1970s and 80s in Karnataka—Dalit movements, farmers' movements, feminist movements, environmental activism, theatre activism, and language movements. These exposed me to issues like caste and gender hegemony, constitutional rights, and social inequalities. There were speeches, workshops, and guidance from senior friends. Marxism also influenced me. A movement called Bandaya Sahitya Sanghatane (Progressive Literary Movement) was particularly important. Writers in this movement were both activists and writers, committed to protest movements and social change. It was a community of committed writers. We openly declared that literature is for the voiceless and marginalised. We wrote poems and songs for agitators, marched with them, and sometimes got arrested. Social movements influenced me more than any single writer Can you name a few South Indian writers who have influenced your writing over the years? I can't say that any particular writer has influenced my writing. The people who influenced me were the downtrodden, the voiceless, the marginalised, the faceless. My writing is unique to my experiences with grassroots organisations and marginalised communities. I draw inspiration from them, not from other writers or their themes. Also Read | The plurality of Englishes Is there a particular book in Kannada or Urdu that made a lasting intellectual impression on you while growing up? You might be surprised, but I read detective novels extensively, especially in Urdu, like those by Ibn-e-Safi (pen name of Asrar Ahmad, a Pakistani fiction writer, novelist and poet). While these didn't have a deep intellectual impact, they amused and entertained me and introduced me to various principles and methods of writing. Any episode from your childhood or literary figure that sparked your desire to tell your own stories? I am the third generation in my family to be educated. My maternal side were agriculturists, but my paternal grandfather was a teacher who knew Urdu, Kannada, and Sanskrit. He even built a mosque in his village. My father studied up to secondary school and knew Kannada, English, and Urdu. I was the first woman in my family to study in Kannada medium, become a graduate, an advocate, a journalist, and then the first woman in our family to write fiction. My father encouraged me to read and write from a young age, even though my grandfather initially objected to me studying Kannada. When I switched to Kannada medium school, I learnt the language fluently within a week and started reading and writing stories, sometimes copying and rewriting stories from books my father gave me. My father especially encouraged me. My grandfather was initially worried that learning Kannada would distance me from our Muslim culture, so he taught me Urdu and Arabic himself. This background helped me later translate works like Tarikh-e-Farishta from Urdu to Kannada. Can you recall the first story you wrote as an aspiring writer? Was it published? My early stories were not published because I didn't know how to submit them. In the early 1970s, when I was about 22 or 23, I visited Bangalore with my father and saw the name of a prominent weekly magazine editor, Prajamata, on a house. I introduced myself and said I wrote short stories. He encouraged me to send a story, and I did, but I waited, and it wasn't published immediately. I was disappointed and stopped writing for a while. Later, after my marriage, my husband brought home an issue of Prajamata and showed me that my story had been published. It was a short fiction piece but not based on my own life as I had limited experience at that time. My husband and father were very happy and proud. The magazine was prestigious and published many leading writers. However, after that, I got married and got busy with family life, so I didn't continue publishing immediately. Also Read | Reading is good when it disturbs you: Amitava Kumar Do you think this Booker Prize recognition will have a positive impact on the visibility of Kannada literature in India and globally? Yes, certainly. People are now recognising the potential of Kannada literature at both the national and global levels. Our agent told me the book has been translated into 35 languages after the Booker recognition. Even now, we are still signing agreements for more translations. This is very positive for Kannada literature, giving it more visibility and encouraging more translations. Your work gives voice to the Muslim community, especially Muslim women in southern India. Do you think these voices from marginalised communities are still missing from mainstream Indian literature? Yes, for a long time there was no representation of Muslim voices—socially, culturally, or in literature—until we started writing through the Bandaya Sahitya Sanghatane. As an Urdu-speaking Muslim, I faced many challenges. Through Bandaya, our sensibilities were shaped, and I began to see society differently. But when I wanted to write, I had many questions: What should I write about? Who should my characters be? What names should I give them? What background should I choose? I was writing for Kannada-speaking people, but my community was very closed and unexplored in Kannada literature. In our Bandaya workshops, the stalwarts advised me to write about myself, my people, and my home. They said the Muslim community had never really been explored in Kannada literature—religiously, socially, or culturally. Until then, most writers were Brahmin men, not even Brahmin women. They wrote about Muslim men, often as either saintly or villainous, but never as real people with complexities. Are there some South Indian writers from the Muslim community whose work deserves wider readership? Yes, there are many in Tamil and Telugu, especially many Muslim women writers. In Malayalam, too, there are several. For example, Salma from Tamil Nadu is a prominent writer who faced harassment when she started writing. There are many others in Telugu and Malayalam who have already been translated into English and other languages. Even my works were translated quite late compared with them. Are there any books you like to give away as gifts to family or friends? Yes, I often gift Ambedkar's literature, especially Annihilation of Caste. He has written many books, and I like to give them to my relatives and friends. I was very much influenced by Ambedkar's writings, especially during my involvement in social movements. If you were to recommend three classics from Kannada literature to someone new to the language, which would you choose? I would recommend the landmark Kannada novel Kusumabale published in 1988 by Devanuru Mahadeva, a prominent Dalit writer. And Samskara by U.R. Ananthamurthy which was first published in 1965. These are highly regarded classics in Kannada literature. What are you currently reading? Anything on your bedside table? I don't usually keep books on my bedside table. Since February, when my book was longlisted for the Booker Prize, I haven't read anything except newspapers. I've been busy giving interviews. Before that, I read works by Sarah Joseph, a prominent voice in Malayalam literature. If you were going on a long vacation and could take only two or three books, which would you choose? I don't read on vacations. I prefer to enjoy the scenery and make notes about my experiences. I only read when I'm at home. Finally, what advice would you give to young writers, especially from marginalised communities, who are writing in languages other than English? Whatever language you write in, just write. Write and write. Don't wait to write in English. Write in any language you are comfortable with. If your work has potential, it will be translated and recognised. Just continue writing and don't stop. Majid Maqbool is an independent journalist and writer based in Kashmir. Bookmarks is a fortnightly column where writers reflect on the books that shaped their ideas, work, and ways of seeing the world.


India Today
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Arunava Sinha's 'The Laboratory'
It's fair to say that literature-in-translation from Indian languages is enjoying an extended phase of cultural prominence. Writers working in Hindi, Tami, Bangla, Kannada et al are increasingly being published around the world in translation, and winning awards (the latest being the 2025 International Booker Prize for Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq and her English translator Deepa Bhasthi). In another happy development in this space, the prolific translator Arunava Sinha has started a new publishing imprint called Chowringhee Press, specifically for Indian translations. The first-ever Chowringhee Press title is Sinha's own translation of The Laboratory, a short novel by Rabindranath Tagore that also happens to be the last novel he ever wrote.


New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Women have more freedom now, at the same time patriarchy has hardened: Banu Mushtaq
NEW DELHI: Author Banu Mushtaq's International Booker prize winning book, "Heart Lamp", is a collection of 12 short stories written from the 1990s till 2023, a period during which she believes women have become more independent but at the same time, patriarchy has also hardened. Mushtaq, speaking at a session here on Thursday, said at a time women are going for higher studies and getting employed, they are also being murdered for choosing to marry someone outside their religion. "Patriarchy has changed and the status of women has also changed. The women are going for higher studies, good jobs and they are doing some of the best things in the world. But at the same time patriarchy has hardened," the women's rights activist said. "Heart Lamp", translated by Deepa Bhasthi from the Kannada, chronicles everyday lives of women and girls in patriarchal communities in southern India -- the reproductive rights are often exploited, power reins are held by men and there is everyday oppression of an orthodox society that seldom tolerates women's autonomy. "We see the decisions of Khap panchayats day to day. We see a father kills his own daughter, a Muslim girl is murdered because she chose to marry a Hindu boy or a Hindu girl is murdered for marrying a Muslim boy. You see all sorts of violence meted out against women due to this patriarchy. Both the things are happening at the same time. She is liberated, educated and can take decisions, but at the same time patriarchy is giving a very hard time to women," the 77-year-old said.

The Wire
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Wire
International Booker Prize Winner 2025 Banu Mushtaq x The Wire
As part of a series of events and discussions to celebrate its tenth anniversary, The Wire is hosting Banu Mushtaq in New Delhi over the weekend. Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty New Delhi: The International Booker Prize winner for 2025, Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq, will be hosted by The Wire in New Delhi on July 19, Saturday for a discussion on the many worlds that our words encapsulate. Titled Namma India, which means Our India in Kannada, The Wire 's senior editor, Arfa Khanum Sherwani will be in conversation with Mushtaq on her work, pursuits and life. Mushtaq's award, won along with her translator Deepa Bhasthi, was only the second given to a South Asian language. The first was given to Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell, for the Hindi novel Ret Samadhi, translated to English as Tomb of Sand. Mushtaq was introduced to the contemporary non-Kannada world through her stunning prose in Heart Lamp, a collection of stories written in Kannada and translated by Bhasthi. The book comprises a candid take on the inner lives of women, reflecting ordinary people living not-so-ordinary lives. She captures their struggles with empathy and understanding, and also provides the reader with a view of what is going on in the minds of those anxious to uphold the social order. As she said while accepting the International Booker prize, "This is more than a personal achievement – it is an affirmation that we, as individuals and as a global community, can thrive when we embrace diversity, celebrate our differences, and uplift one another. Together, we create a world where every voice is heard, every story matters, and every person belongs." Mushtaq's work is an important milestone in the journey of literary Kannada figures leaving a global imprint. Mushtaq has a varied career and life; she was an activist, lawyer and of course a writer. She began writing within the progressive protest literary circles in the 1970s and 1980s. The Bandaya Sahitya movement that she was associated with made a passionate case for social reform and progress. She has won the Karnataka Sahitya Academy and Daana Chintamani Attimabbe awards. The discussion at New Delhi's Jawahar Bhawan will start at 5.30 pm tomorrow. Entry is free. The closest metro station is Central Secretariat. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.