Banu Mushtaq Wins International Booker Prize for Kannada Short Story Collection 'Heart Lamp'
21 May 2025 6:22 AM IST21 May 2025 6:22 AM IST
Heart Lamp features 12 short stories that portray the everyday lives of women and girls in patriarchal communities in southern India
Banu Mushtaq, author of 'Heart Lamp' holds the trophy after winning the International Booker Prize, in London.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Writer-lawyer-activist Banu Mushtaq’s short story anthology Heart Lamp (which means Hridaya Deepa in Kannada) has become the first book written in Kannada to win the prestigious International Booker Prize. The author received the 2025 prize at a ceremony held at the Tate Modern in London on Tuesday. With this win, she becomes the second Indian writer to receive the International Booker Prize.
Heart Lamp features 12 short stories that portray the everyday lives of women and girls in patriarchal communities in southern India. These stories were written by Banu Mushtaq over more than three decades, from 1990 to 2023. Originally penned in Kannada, the stories were translated into English by writer and literary translator Deepa Bhasthi, a resident of Kodagu in Karnataka. Banu Mushtaq hails from the Hassan district of Karnataka.
Chair of the 2025 International Booker Prize jury, Max Porter, explained why Heart Lamp won:
“This was the book the judges really loved, right from our first reading. It’s been a joy to listen to the evolving appreciation of these stories from the different perspectives of the jury. We are thrilled to share this timely and exciting winner of the International Booker Prize 2025 with readers around the world.”
He added: “Heart Lamp is something genuinely new for English readers—a radical translation that ruffles language to create new textures in a plurality of Englishes. It challenges and expands our understanding of translation. These beautiful, busy, life-affirming stories rise from Kannada, interspersed with the extraordinary socio-political richness of other languages and dialects.”
In recognition of her work, Banu Mushtaq has previously received prestigious honours such as the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award.
Congratulating Banu Mushtaq on her win, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called it, “a moment of celebration for Kannada, Kannadigas, and Karnataka.”
He added, “Banu Mushtaq embodies and writes with the true values of this land—harmony, secularism, and brotherhood. She has raised the flag of Kannadigas’ greatness on the international stage and brought honour to all of us. I wish that she continues to write with strength and spirit for a long time, spreading the essence of Kannada across the world.”
Heart Lamp features 12 short stories that portray the everyday lives of women and girls in patriarchal communities in southern India. These stories were written by Banu Mushtaq over more than three decades, from 1990 to 2023. Originally penned in Kannada, the stories were translated into English by writer and literary translator Deepa Bhasthi, a resident of Kodagu in Karnataka. Banu Mushtaq hails from the Hassan district of Karnataka.
Chair of the 2025 International Booker Prize jury, Max Porter, explained why Heart Lamp won:
“This was the book the judges really loved, right from our first reading. It’s been a joy to listen to the evolving appreciation of these stories from the different perspectives of the jury. We are thrilled to share this timely and exciting winner of the International Booker Prize 2025 with readers around the world.”
He added: “Heart Lamp is something genuinely new for English readers—a radical translation that ruffles language to create new textures in a plurality of Englishes. It challenges and expands our understanding of translation. These beautiful, busy, life-affirming stories rise from Kannada, interspersed with the extraordinary socio-political richness of other languages and dialects.”
In recognition of her work, Banu Mushtaq has previously received prestigious honours such as the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award.
Congratulating Banu Mushtaq on her win, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called it, “a moment of celebration for Kannada, Kannadigas, and Karnataka.”
He added, “Banu Mushtaq embodies and writes with the true values of this land—harmony, secularism, and brotherhood. She has raised the flag of Kannadigas’ greatness on the international stage and brought honour to all of us. I wish that she continues to write with strength and spirit for a long time, spreading the essence of Kannada across the world.”
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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