Latest news with #InternationalBookerPrize2025
Deccan Herald
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Deccan Herald
Surprised by reading culture in West: Banu Mushtaq
She was speaking at a programme held at Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru. This was her first programme after she returned from London, where her short story collection 'Heart Lamp' won the International Booker Prize 2025. Deepa Bhasthi has translated this work into English.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Heart Lamp's 12 stories to be published separately in Kannada
Mysuru: The 12 short stories featured in 'Heart Lamp', which won the International Booker Prize 2025, will be published as a book in Kannada. Abhiruchi Ganesh of the city-based Abhiruchi Prakashana, who originally published 'Haseena Mattu Itara Kathegalu', the Kannada story collection of acclaimed writer Banu Mushtaq where these stories were first published, said he will publish the 12 short stories in 'Heart Lamp' separately. These stories include Black Cobras, Be a Woman Once, Oh Lord, and Heart Lamp (Edeya Hanate). Meanwhile, the demand for 'Haseena Mattu Itara Kathegalu', which brought Booker laurels to Kannada, has skyrocketed with 450 copies sold on May 21, hours after the announcement of the award. Around 700 copies of this book were sold in two days. According to Ganesh, the Kannada short story collection, a 584-page book, was first published in 2013. Ganesh, who came to the publishing industry as per the advice of the late activist and Kannada professor K Ramdas, said he did 17 odd jobs before becoming a publisher. "I took this responsibility to support the progressive movements in Karnataka," he explained to TOI. "Banu Mushtaq's work was first published in 2013 with 1,000 copies. A few weeks ago, we published the second edition with 1,000 copies. As all copies sold in 15 days, the third edition is coming out this Wednesday. In this edition, we are printing 2,000 copies. But the demand is for over 3,500 copies. So, a fourth edition will also come," he explained. Ganesh explained that a few more books of Banu are also lined up in the coming days. "The latest edition will also include her latest story collection Hennu Haddina Svayamvara. The book will have 776 pages," he explained.
The Hindu
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Gender Agenda newsletter: Ma-behen-beti-bahu
Ma-behen-beti-bahu Around the time that Banu Mushtaq and her translator Deepa Bhasthi won the International Booker Prize 2025 for Heart Lamp, a collection of stories in Kannada, several other events took place in India. On May 18, two days before the Booker win, Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor of political science in what was marketed as India's first liberal-arts higher-education institution, was booked for social media posts that Renu Bhatia, the chairperson for the Haryana State Commission for Women, had a problem with, because it 'disparaged women officers in the armed forces'. Bhatia gave interviews speaking about 'desh ki beti' being wronged. Many students and colleagues came out in Mahmudabad's support. The other event was the inclusion of journalist-turned-politician M.J. Akbar in a multi-party delegation sent off to Europe, to represent India's stance post the Pahalgam terrorist attack and Operation Sindoor. The Network of Women in Media, India, condemned this in a statement, saying, 'Many women journalists who said they had been subjected to predatory behaviour, sexual harassment and/or assault by MJ Akbar over the years, spoke out during India's #MeToo movement around 2018, with at least 20 women ready to testify against him.' He had also lost a 'defamation case he filed against one of his accusers'. The third was Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, whose bio on social media platform X says he makes 'Genghis Khan look like a humanitarian', called women journalists of Newslaundry 'prostitutes' and their workplace a 'brothel'. Nine journalists from Newslaundry took him to court, and the Delhi High Court asked him to take the posts down. Each is representative of where India stands on gender right now: Mushtaq's book is a subtle commentary on women who are unheard; Bhatia's FIR is illustrative of how a woman can misuse power thrown to her by male bosses; Akbar's inclusion in a peace mission based on tragic losses suffered by women is India's ruling party telling us that in some cases, even optics don't matter. As for Iyer-Mitra, the venom he believed he could get away with speaks of a larger patriarchal structure that attempts to drag women down. Women speak in different voices: Mushtaq's subtle narratives of unheard, pushed-aside women in her book; Bhatia's ventriloquist voice mouthing the words of male bosses; NWMI's statement stemming from collective might; the women of Newslaundry who used the force of education, employment, and the knowledge of their rights, to call out Iyer-Mitra's statements as 'defamatory, false, malicious and unsubstantiated'. All the voices are fuelled by patriarchy, three of them a cry against the violence it brings; one, a reflection on where India is today. The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap 2024 puts India at 129 of 146 countries: 112 on education, 142 in economic participation, 142 on health and survival. Toolkit Students at Sweden's Chalmers University of Technology have developed a 'toolbox to boost gender inclusion'. The Genie Action Toolbox is a set of five potential areas people are likely to encounter challenges: meeting, recruitment, harassment, conflict resolution, community building. Users can query the system that will suggest solutions. Wordsworth Gender-responsive Group policies or activities that acknowledge the barriers to gender quality. These could be familial, cultural, system, or structural, and they often define gender roles. They create an environment that takes on-ground realities into consideration while planning. Last week, the Observer Research Foundation put out an article that spoke about how as India moves from coal-based to renewable energy, 'skill development in coal-dependent regions can support a more equitable transition.' Somewhere someone said something stupid I'm not a feminist really…. I can never believe that we have to fight the men, because every woman's issue is a man's issue, and if we can't fight together it's not worth it, for me it's not worth it.... Usha Uthup, musician Woman we met Hema Nayal, 40, runs a bangles-bindis-barrettes store in the village of Bhatelia in Uttarakhand's Nainital district. She remembers starting in September 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdowns. 'All the shops were shut but women still wanted a few cosmetics. So I put in about ₹2,000, sourced the choodi-bindi from Haldwani (the closest city) and started selling out of home. When everything opened, my husband suggested I rent a place in the market,' she says. Nayal has a full day. She starts her morning with household chores: cooking, seeing her children (a 17-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son) off to school, cutting grass for the cows. Then she heads to her job as a helper in the Anganwadi, coming in to her little triangular-shaped store that can just about seat two, by about 2 p.m. 'Kuch hi auraten hain yahan jo apne liye bhi jee rahe hain,' (There are only women here who also live for themselves), she says.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
‘Heart Lamp' drives book sales & literary frenzy in Bengaluru's bookstores
Bengaluru: Church Street, in the centre of the city, has been swept up in a literary frenzy since Wednesday morning after Heart Lamp, written by Banu Mushtaq, won the International Booker Prize 2025. Bookstores have seen a surge in readers eager to get their hands on the newly crowned book, originally penned in Kannada. Copies of the book are now flying off the shelves faster than booksellers can restock them. "We sold 25 English copies Wednesday evening, and more than 300 since it was long-listed," said Mukund Gowda, manager of Blossom Book House. "The Kannada editions? Gone. Completely sold out." Translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, the short- story collection brings together over three decades of writing, from 1990 to 2023, and delves into themes such as patriarchy, gender discrimination, religion, and the everyday battles of women in conservative societies. The stories, while deeply rooted in regional realities, are universally resonant and have struck a chord with a wide readership. Keshava R, proprietor of The Bookhive on Church Street, said: "We've been selling it since the nomination, but on Wednesday alone, we sold 20 copies. So far, we've sold over 200 copies. We started getting enquiries about the book from the day it was nominated. We had 25 signed copies from the translator, and they were gone in two hours flat." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Zumbido e perda de audição? Médico revela técnica caseira de 1 real para aliviar! Zumbido no ouvido Undo The Bookworm, another store, echoed the same momentum. "We sold more than 70 copies in a single day," said Krishna Gowda, the store's owner. "We knew this was coming, we've known the author and the translator for years." The buzz hasn't just brought in seasoned readers; it's drawing in new ones as well. "People are walking in asking for Heart Lamp by name," Gowda said. "The cover grabs their attention, the prize pulls them in, and many end up leaving with other books by the same author. The Booker influence is real — it's shaping reading habits beyond the bestseller charts and Instagram hype." Shrinika R of Goobe's Book Republic said: "This is a huge win, not just for Kannada literature but for all Indian languages that have remained under-represented on global platforms. It's poetic and deeply authentic. The Kannada voice is intact even in the translation." At Blossom Book House, the staff noted that while Japanese novellas and European fiction are often top sellers, this year feels different. "This year, it's personal. It's incredible to see our authors in the spotlight. Asian literature is having a moment, and Heart Lamp is leading the charge," the bookseller said. — Madhuja Chakraborty & Sathvi G Bhat
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Writers and activists of Hassan celebrate Banu Mushtaq's International Booker Prize
Shivamogga Writers and activists of Hassan on Thursday celebrated Hassan resident and Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq, who has been honoured with the International Booker Prize 2025. They congratulated Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi, who shared the award. Artist K.T. Shivaprasad, poet Rupa Hassan, activists H.K. Sandesh, Dharmesh, Vijay Kumar Dandora, Krishna Das, writer Suvarna Shivaprasad, and many others gathered on the premises of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat office. They carried a banner conveying wishes to Banu Mushtaq. The participants hailed the occasion as historic, and it was a proud moment for Kannada, Karnataka, and Hassan. They also recalled Banu Mushtaq's involvement in socio-cultural events in Hassan. As an advocate, journalist, and writer, Banu Mushtaq took to the streets on many occasions and raised her voice against atrocities and exploitation of women. Hassan district Kannada Sahitya Parishat had chosen her as president of the 10th district level Kannada Sahitya Sammelana. Banu Mushtaq, who received the prize in London on May 20, will return to India on May 26.
