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New Indian Express
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
What's next for Banu Mushtaq? An autobiography by year-end
NEW DELHI: Unfeeling husbands. Brothers who want to rob sisters of their inheritance. Mothers expected to be responsible for their daughters' secular and religious education while doing full-time jobs. With powerful stories and characters like these, Heart Lamp has brought home the honours, but writer-activist Banu Mushtaq is yet to say the last word on patriarchy. 'My autobiography will be ready by December. I've been through a lot, I'll say it there,' she said to much laughter, while speaking to the audience at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, on her first visit to Delhi after returning from London with the 2025 International Booker prize. Mushtaq, however, clarified that the base of her experiences from which she has made literature is not personal; for her patriarchy is the lingua franca of a 'universal pain' and deprivation that she has witnessed in women and the marginalised. 'Men, too, suffer from patriarchal attitudes,' she said, 'but they are not aware of it.' Mushtaq and Heart Lamp translator Deepa Bhasthi also fielded questions on their reading, writing and translation choices — Mushtaq admitted not having had the time to read recently, while Bhasthi, also a writer, talked of the influence of Russian literature on her works. A major thrust of the discussion was translations. Bhasthi called translations the 'third text', over which neither writer nor the translator could have exclusive claim. An audience member remarked on the 'justice' delivered to women in Mushtaq's stories with 'little things' and whether equity and fairness were important to her as a writer, even though her stories don't always end on that note. 'In life, people have to deal with society, its norms and injustices. On the other hand, there is the court. True, none of my characters fight legal battles. But you can't come to stories or expect authors to bring relief. I can show the path as I have in some of my stories. I can just hold a mirror to society's face,' said Mushtaq. Another audience member asked her about facing backlash for her writings and what her 'fears' were. Responding, Mushtaq discussed her concerns about communal tension and societal stereotyping. 'For the longest time, I wasn't considered a writer. Two identities — that I'm Muslim and a woman — dominated the evaluation of my work. Also, the tone in which I write isn't easy. Someone or the other may take me to task. What I write may offend a Muslim or a Hindu,' she said. 'I'm 77 now, I have nothing to lose, I have to keep writing about it.'
New Indian Express
18-07-2025
- 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.
Deccan Herald
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Deccan Herald
CM Siddaramaiah calls Banu Mushtaq ‘bold, progressive voice for Muslim women'
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah felicitated International Booker prize-winning Kannada author Banu Mushtaq and her English translator Deepa Bhasthi at a programme organised by the Kannada and Culture department on Mushtaq's translated work, 'Heart Lamp,' won the International Booker prize recently. .On the occasion, Siddaramaiah said, 'Literature has the power to bind society'..'Literature should unite, not divide us. Banu Mushtaq has brought pride to Kannada by winning the Booker Prize. This is a moment of collective pride for the entire Kannada-speaking world,' he said. .'As a bold and progressive voice for Muslim women, Banu Mushtaq has stood against orthodoxy and fulfilled the responsibility of delivering a humanistic message through her literature,' the chief minister said. .People's understanding of Kannada is incorrect, there's no language as tolerant as ours: Banu announced a Rs 10-lakh award each for Mushtaq and Bhasthi, along with government support for translating Banu Mushtaq's other works into English..A visibly moved Mushtaq said, 'Karnataka helped me grow roots, form ideas and inspired my creativity. Winning the Booker was a dream. But the encouragement I received online kept me going. This honour from the state means more to me than any award I've received.'.She emphasised Kannada's spirit of inclusivity and harmony and noted, 'No other language lives as harmoniously as Kannada'..To young writers, she said, 'Believe in your voice. This award belongs to every writer, poet, storyteller and singer in Karnataka. There are countless stories to tell — let's tell them all'..Bhasthi spoke of language as a living, evolving force..'Kannada has not been elevated by the Booker. Instead, the award has elevated the status of English and English thrives because it absorbs cultures. Let us not bend Kannada to fit English. Instead, stretch English to suit Kannada's music, tempo and accent,' she called for 'decolonisation of English,' asserting, 'No one can take away our language rights'..Bhasthi emphasised the need for continued dialogue on language, identity and translation to ensure the Booker prize recognition has lasting significance.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Heart lamp burns bright
By: Payyannur Kunhiraman Banu Mushtaq, who won the International Booker prize for her book 'Heart Lamp', gave voice to the burning, often unheard life stories of Muslim women in South India. From a young age, she stood up against religious fundamentalism, and that resistance became the foundation of her identity as a writer. Her stories shine with clarity and courage, cutting through the darkness of silence, injustice, and gender oppression. Rooted deeply in the landscapes of Karnataka, her narratives reflect the raw, lived realities of young Muslim women, told with unflinching honesty and profound emotional depth. They are not just stories—they are powerful philosophical reflections on life and struggle. 'There is always a veil of darkness over women,' she says. 'Writers have to tear it away and lead them into the light. Life may come with a thousand hardships, but it should not be spent in misery. Women must reclaim the rights long denied to them. A woman's life,' she adds, 'is not meant to be spent sighing at the stars blooming in the vast sky—but to rise, and become one.' She says the human values instilled by her mother and father have played a vital role in shaping both her writing and her life. Her parents taught her lessons of equality and offered crucial support during her childhood, a period she describes as a time of trial and error. She grew up free from gender or caste distinctions, and these life philosophies and ideals nurtured in her youth were what guided her as she embarked on her writing journey. Mushtaq wrote her first story while she was working as a teacher after completing her studies. It offered a powerful and intimate portrayal of a young woman's lived experience. Since then, her writing has been marked by deep philosophical insight, with each story reflecting the complexities of life. A strong sense of anger and resistance runs through her work, as she sheds light on the harsh realities faced by Muslim women—women who are often burdened by relentless hardships, denied freedom of expression, confined within their homes, and silenced from sharing their thoughts and aspirations. Mushtaq sees life with an independent mind and connects it to a deeper sense of human compassion. Yet, she doesn't hold back when criticizing young men, parents, and religious leaders who still treat women as property—no different from gold or money. Kannada literature has a strong legacy, and her writing belongs among its notable works. Her focus on exposing the long-standing oppression of women also makes her an activist. Through her stories, she doesn't just narrate lives—she stirs awareness. Rooted in everyday realities, her writing pushes for change. In interviews, she has said she always speaks for women, especially moved by the pain they endure. She notes how religion and God are often used to help men succeed, while women are expected to suffer quietly. Years ago, I visited her home in Hassan, on the city's west side. A well-known lawyer in Karnataka, she has also been a two-time member of the Hassan Municipal Corporation. But it's her writing that has earned her the most recognition. Across Karnataka and beyond, Mushtaq is celebrated as a bold literary voice and a symbol of women's resilience. She believes every writer must engage with a society built on inequality and silence, where women's unheard sighs of sorrow exist from birth. When a writer truly sees and listens to this pain, their work crosses boundaries and speaks to the world. 'The heart itself is the field of study,' she explains. Her themes emerge from intense personal and observed experiences rather than academic research. This authenticity gives her stories their revolutionary edge, transforming literature into a tool of liberation that challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths about society's treatment of women. Mushtaq's outspoken views and actions often challenged traditional norms within her Muslim community, drawing the ire of religious fundamentalists. In 2000, she faced a fatwa after stating, 'Islam has never prohibited women from entering mosques and praying there.' This comment angered some mosque authorities, who responded by declaring, 'You are not among Muslims; you cannot socialize with Muslim people,' she recalls in an interview. The fatwa was eventually lifted after three months. Mushtaq is also an accomplished journalist, widely recognized for her sharp, fearless writing. Drawing from firsthand experiences in the field, her journalism is grounded in truth and empathy. However, her bold reporting also led to backlash, including personal attacks. She warns that we are living in a time marked by the rise of communalism and fascism—forces that threaten the fabric of society. In such a climate, she argues, silence is not neutrality but surrender. Remaining quiet in the face of injustice only empowers the aggressors. The growing tide of religious hatred, she says, is deeply alarming and must be confronted with the unwavering strength of secular values. (The writer has translated several of Banu Mushtaq's works from Kannada into Malayalam & is the recipient of Karnataka Sahithya Academy's award for translation) Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
The Guardian
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Mind-expanding books': International Booker prize shortlist announced
Hiromi Kawakami and Solvej Balle have made this year's International Booker prize shortlist, which for the first time is comprised entirely of books published by independent presses. British translator Sophie Hughes has been shortlisted for her translation of Perfection, originally written in Italian by Vincenzo Latronico. This marks the fifth time Hughes has been shortlisted for the prize, making her the award's record holder for the most times shortlisted and longlisted. On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J Haveland (Faber) Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, translated by Helen Stevenson (Small Axes) Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Asa Yoneda (Granta) Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, translated by Sophie Hughes (Fitzcarraldo) Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi (And Other Stories) A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre, translated by Mark Hutchinson (Lolli) Six author-translator teams are now in contention for the £50,000 prize, the winner of which will be announced on 20 May, with the prize money divided equally between author and translator. Japanese writer Kawakami, best known for her novel Strange Weather in Tokyo, has been shortlisted for her novel-in-stories Under the Eye of the Big Bird, translated by Asa Yoneda. Danish writer Balle and Scottish translator Barbara J Haveland have been chosen for On the Calculation of Volume I, the first of a planned septology in which the protagonist Tara is stuck in a time loop. 'These mind-expanding books ask what might be in store for us, or how we might mourn, worship or survive', said author and judging chair Max Porter. 'They offer knotty, sometimes pessimistic, sometimes radically hopeful answers to these questions. Taken together they build a miraculous lens through which to view human experience, both the truly disturbing and the achingly beautiful.' The shortlisted titles are slim, with four coming in at under 200 pages, including Latronico's Perfection. The novel, about a millennial expat couple living in Berlin, 'transcends its satire of 2010s hipsterdom through the depth of Latronico's sociological observations', writes Thomas McMullan in the Guardian. 'This chronicle of contemporary Berlin is strongest in its articulation of how a certain kind of globalisation dislocates us from our surroundings.' Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, translated from French by Helen Stevenson, was also selected. The book was written in three weeks, and is based on recordings from a real event in November 2021, when a dinghy carrying migrants from France to the UK capsized in the Channel, causing the death of 27 people on board. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion A book translated from Kannada – a language spoken by tens of millions of people, primarily in the state of Karnataka in southwest India – features on the shortlist for the first time in the prize's history this year: Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi. It contains 12 stories originally published between 1990 and 2023, which capture the daily lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India. Completing the shortlist is A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre, translated from French by Mark Hutchinson. Serre wrote the book, about a woman with severe psychological disorders, in six months after the suicide of her sister. 'I wanted to create a memorial to her', said Serre. The other titles longlisted for this year's prize were The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem, translated by Sinan Antoon; There's a Monster Behind the Door by Gaëlle Bélem, translated by Karen Fleetwood and Laëtitia Saint-Loubert; Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated by Sean Cotter; Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda, translated by Julia Sanches and Heather Cleary; Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa, translated by Polly Barton; Eurotrash by Christian Kracht, translated by Daniel Bowles; and On a Woman's Madness by Astrid Roemer, translated by Lucy Scott. Alongside Porter on this year's judging panel are the poet Caleb Femi, writer and Guardian critic Sana Goyal, author and translator Anton Hur, and musician Beth Orton. Authors who have previously won the award include Han Kang, Olga Tokarczuk and Lucas Rijneveld. Last year, Jenny Erpenbeck and translator Michael Hofmann won the prize for Kairos. To explore all of the books on the shortlist for the International Booker prize 2025 visit Delivery charges may apply.
