Book Box: Heart Lamp wins the Booker - Now what?
Dear Reader,
A few days ago, I received a text message from my student Anisa.
'It's great that Heart Lamp has won a big literary prize. But now I have a problem. It's one more book everybody is talking about, one more book I feel compelled to read. Every month there seems to be a new literary prize in the news - the Booker prize, the International Booker, the Pulitzer, the Woman's prize, the Nobel Prize. Then there's the JCB prize, the Crossword prize - the list of prizes is as long as Hanuman's tail!
Honestly, I am confused. There is all this talk of how we shouldn't just be swayed by prizes. And then when a book wins a prize, everyone lines up to read it.
A few years ago, I picked up a book that had won this same prize. It was so slow, and hard to understand. Nothing happened - maybe it was too 'arty' for me. I stopped after 40 pages but I felt like a loser giving up, I felt there was something wrong with me that I didn't 'get' the book that a distinguished jury had given the prize to.
And then there are so many prizewinning books that are emotionally triggering, like Shuggie Bain or Prophet's Song - reading them feels depressing. What is it about these prizewinning books, and why do they feel like a pressure for me?
Is it wrong of me to want to enjoy my reading? And is it weird that I feel burdened by having to read these prize winning books ? And do you think I should read Heart Lamp ? Please help.
Your (confused) student Anisa
Dear Anisa, I get your dilemma. The list of literary prizes is long. What's interesting though is that each prize has its own personality - the Pulitzer for instance is purely American, the Nobel Prize is given for an author's body of work and not for a single book.
The International Booker prize is special because it picks literature in translation.
Also Read | Book Box | Reading without rules
It's different - and not just because it has been won by Indian books twice already - Tomb of Sand (2022) and Heart Lamp (2025). Last year the prize went to a German novella, the year before to a Bulgarian novel.
This year's win means that Heart Lamp, written by Banu Mushtaq and translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, will now be in the international spotlight. This means these slice-of-life stories, with the real life struggles of Muslim women in Karnataka will now find their way to bookstores around the world - the Strand in New York, Foyles and Waterstones in London, the large chains and small independent bookstores all over the world.
This also means that India will be seen in a more nuanced way, in terms of quietly courageous women and not just in terms of a caricatured version of a rich woman exploiting her poor driver, and sending him to jail for her own rash driving, as happens in the story of the The White Tiger, the 2008 Booker prizewinner.
So here's my take - You don't have to read every prizewinner—prizes are just one more way of curating books, of bringing certain titles to your notice, titles you may not have come across otherwise. So read the description, and a review or two, and only if the prizewinning book speaks to you, give it a try. Maybe intersperse this book with lighter fun reads - because reading is above all a pleasure and we want it to stay that way.
Heart Lamp offers a chance to see the world through a new lens—but only if you're ready for it.
If you do pick it up, here's three things to consider
1. Maybe begin with reading just one story. You could start with Stones for Shaista Mahal. Or dip into the centre with Fire Rain, with the story of the maulvi and the discarded wife. Or with the title story. No life is too small to be worthy of notice, no story is too small to tell, say these selected short stories.
2. Read Heart Lamp to see how powerful fiction can be in giving voice to the powerless and how a story can bring small moments of quiet courage into the spotlight.
3. Be part of a global conversation with readers all over the world - we may be different but here's how we live and love. In a world that increasingly tries to divide us, here is where we can live inside each other's minds, if only for a few pages.
(Sonya Dutta Choudhury is a Mumbai-based journalist and the founder of Sonya's Book Box, a bespoke book service. Each week, she brings you specially curated books to give you an immersive understanding of people and places. If you have any reading recommendations or reading dilemmas, write to her at sonyasbookbox@gmail.com. The views expressed are personal)
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The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Beyond Heart Lamp's success: Are translators getting the credit that's due?
'Against Italics' - Deepa Bhasthi's translator's note for Heart Lamp, which won the International Booker Prize 2025, made headlines. The translator's note section, which is usually skipped, drew attention this time. 'Setting aside the futile debate of what is lost and found in translation', Ms. Bhasthi talks about her deliberate choice to not use italics for the Kannada, Urdu, and Arabic words that remain untranslated in English. Ms. Bhasthi ends the translator's note saying, 'Italics serve to not only distract visually, but more importantly, they announce words as imported from another language, exoticising them and keeping them alien to English. By not italicising them, I hope the reader can come to these words without interference, and in the process of reading with the flow, perhaps even learn a new word or two in another language. Same goes for footnotes – there are none'. While talking to The Hindu, Ms. Bhasthi says this translator's note has been met with a lot of love and care, and attention by readers as well. One of the reasons why words are italicised in translated texts is that there may be no exact equivalent in the target language of translation ~ seen as untranslatability. Until some years ago, this idea of untranslatability was the prominent discourse in translated literature, viewed negatively. Conversations about translated texts have, however, become more nuanced now, and translation is coming to be seen as a creative process as much as writing. As translators claim creative agency and push back against conventions like italicisation, the way a translator's role is perceived is evolving. From what's lost to what's found Ms. Bhasthi prefers the term writer-translator over just translator, which reduces the translator's job to one less than the writer. She says translation is as much a creative practice as writing, and autonomy in translation is important, as without it, her job would be no different than ChatGPT. 'That said, of course, if the author is living, it is always nice to be in conversation with them about their stories and, you know, get insights', she says. Moutushi Mukherjee, Commissioning Editor at Penguin Random House India, states that translators are now able to talk more about the tremendous impact a translation can have on expanding a literary heritage to wider audiences. She notes that there is a growing number of enthusiastic and resourceful translators in the country, which she sees as a very positive development. Ms. Mukherjee adds that the translators themselves are now more vocal about their role, putting themselves out there, so to speak, and emphasizing their contributions. According to Ms. Mukherjee, wins like Tomb of Sand (for Daisy Rockwell) and Heart Lamp (for Deepa Bhasthi) have also, obviously, changed the way readers perceive the translator. Translator visibility on book covers The book cover for Heart Lamp, published by Penguin, features an artwork at the top, followed by the book title and subtitle in red and sky blue-colored fonts, respectively. The next prominent feature is the author's name, Banu Mushtaq, spaced across the centre of the cover. It is then followed by Ms. Bhasthi's name in a smaller font, highlighting her 'Winner of the English PEN Translates Award 2024' achievement. A similar pattern of book covers is visible in the Perennial translation series by Harper Collins, and their back covers provide a brief introduction to both the author and the translator. This wasn't always the norm. Ms. Bhasthi says this visibility on the book cover is much better than until a few years ago, as translators' names would be somewhere inside the book and not on the cover. But now nearly all publishers put the translator's name on the cover. In a 2016 opinion piece for The Hindu, translator S. Krishnamurthy writes, 'Except on the title page and the cover, nowhere else will you see your name or any other details about you (translator). If your name is an ubiquitous sort, as is mine, nobody will even know you are the translator, unless you tell them'. Ms. Bhasthi says there still needs to be a lot of awareness about this, and it needs to start with the media. She states that there is an attitude that continues to persist in the media, especially, where somehow it is enough to just name the writer of the original work and not name the writer-translator who has brought the work into English or whatever other language. Ms. Bhasthi says we have certainly come a long way, but she thinks we still have a very long way to go before writer-translators are also seen on an equal footing with the writers in the original languages as well. Stepping aside from India, the research paper, 'Examining Intersemiotic translation of book covers as a medium of culture transfer,' was published in 2018. Among other aspects, it attempts to concentrate on the elements and criteria that are directly related to the visibility of translators. It takes into account five translations of Ernest Hemingway's, 'The Old Man and the Sea', in Iran, one of the most translated books in the country. The research paper finds that the title is designed with the biggest font, and then the name of the author in a quite smaller font, and lastly, the name of the translator is printed in the smallest font. 'It is also worth mentioning that in two works, the name of the translator is not even printed on the front cover, i.e., Manzoori and Parsay translations. In other words, the mentioned pattern prioritises the importance of each item: first the work, then the author, and last the translator. These covers also don't provide specific information in the book for introducing the translator or his/her other translated works to the interested readers', the paper says. In the Indian publishing industry the scene has changed. Urvashi Butalia, publisher, teacher and activist, says, 'There is greater acknowledgement and this is evident in all the things such as larger fonts, better placement, and also in including translators in media events. By contrast, I've not seen many reviews that mention names of translators, although again I could be wrong'. Ms. Mukherjee says credit is very important. She states that a simple act of giving credit to the translator on the cover of the book, and yes, equal weightage inside the book, has gone a long way, in her personal experience. Ms. Mukherjee also says we should expand that credit in a broader sense: include the translator in all marketing and publicity details, retail campaigns, and general discussion about the book. She emphasizes giving the translator the visibility they deserve across festivals and awards. According to Ms. Mukherjee, if we want to give visibility to translators, we must do so collaboratively, across all stakeholders. Promoting translated literature Translators are being acknowledged as co-creators in the literary process and not as secondary personas. There is a drive for better visibility of translators through book publicity campaigns, panel discussions, and other media. 'However, broader industry support and consistent credit across marketing, media, and events are still needed. I do think it's not enough for a few publishers and award ceremonies to promote translation literature. We need more publishing groups, more juries, and certainly, more of the mainstream media, supporting and recognising the significance of literature in translation', says Dharini Bhaskar, Associate Publisher, Literary at HarperCollins India. It helps to keep translation central to all conversations to do with books and literature. For instance, on World Book Day, Harper Collins had a full translation panel—which included Mini Krishnan, Sheela Tomy, Jayasree Kalathil, and Ministhy—and they spoke about the challenges faced by translators and the space translation literature occupies in the literary firmament. On how they bridge this gap, Ms. Bhaskar says, 'For one, we give literature in translation as much prominence as the poems and novels, and non-fiction originally published in English. Translation literature not only gets equal editorial care and attention but also has the full support of both the sales and marketing teams. We promote our works of translation—and not just when they're nominated for awards—and back translator and author equally. For they're a team. The book belongs to both of them'. Ms. Mukherjee says their publicity campaigns include the translator along with the author; this is without exception, and they will never have it any other way. She states that they make it clear at the outset to the author as well as the agent that the translator is going to be equally involved in the editing process, in planning publicity, and even on decisions pertaining to the cover of the book. Ms. Mukherjee says the translator has equal space (and equal say) on the journey of the book, both during and after its publication. Zubaan recently began a translation collaboration with Ashoka University called Women Translate Women. Every event for the books in this series has had translators present. Ms. Butalia says, 'This is also the case with many other publishers – in fact, several mainstream publishers now employ editors whose main task is to source translated manuscripts. This is a very positive development'. Are readers more willing to buy translated books? Publishers say winning the International Booker does drive sales of translated works. Though publishing houses have been increasingly taking steps to highlight the work of the translator alongside the author, the media lags in giving translators due credit. Readers, too, are increasingly open to buying translations, though Western approval still influences Indian buying habits. Ms. Bhasthi says there has been a lot of love that the translation of Heart Lamp has received, apart from the stories, and she is very grateful for that. She highlights the importance of the International Booker Prize giving equal emphasis to both the writer-translators and the writers from the original language. 'So, I think that attention is very important for translations and writer translators as well', she says. Talking about the media coverage Heart Lamp received, Ms. Bhaskar says there is immediate media coverage once a book is longlisted or shortlisted for a prestigious award, and such coverage doubles if the book wins. She adds that this kind of visibility has a direct impact on sales. 'This, in turn, has a direct impact on sales', she says. Ms. Bhaskar says they have seen sales numbers of books spiralling the moment they win prestigious awards. She notes that the ripples spread far, and that major wins typically benefit all literature coming out in a certain language. She emphasizes that such recognition also helps literature in translation overall, and sometimes even specific genres like poetry or short fiction. It also bodes well for literature in translation (as a whole), and sometimes, it bodes well for certain genres. Ms. Bhaskar points out that very often, in India, readers look for approval abroad before buying a book published locally. She stresses the need for Indian readers to start recognising the wealth of literature already available in the country—in English, in translation, and in regional languages—and to start supporting these books without necessarily waiting for validation from the West. Ms. Butalia says readers are more willing to buy translated works in general, perhaps this is because translated books are also more visible now, both in offline and in online bookshops. And they are better marketed, as books in their own right and not as poor cousins of an original. Ms. Bhasthi says that compared to other literary fiction, translated fiction is still not as widely read as it should be in a diverse country like India. She expresses hope that readers show more interest in translated fiction, and specifically mentions Kannada as one of the more under-translated languages in South India. Ms. Bhasthi says'I hope more translators bring forth some of the extraordinary works that we have in my language.'
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
Consonant-gods and vowel-goddesses of many Brahmi scripts
Hanuman wrote Ram's name on rocks while building a bridge to Lanka. The Mahabharata was written by Ganesha who used his tusk as his stylus. This gave rise to the community of scribes known as Kayastha in North India and Karanam in South India. To save themselves from Parashuram, many warriors became scribes and turned their swords into styluses. That's another legend on the origin of scribes. But what script did they write in? Brahmins preferred oral transmission of ideas. So did the Buddhists. Brahmins remembered the hymns composed by Rishis in a complex mode of repetition (patha). Knowledge of various subjects was transmitted as terse sentences (sutra) and rhythmic poetry (shloka). At Buddhist councils, monks would chant all that Buddha had spoken to ensure the transmission was standardised. But while Brahmins managed to keep the fidelity of Vedic hymns, many Buddhist schools emerged with many different ideas. Digambar Jains, who migrated south, argued that all oral transmission of Jain teachings was lost during a famine, and rejected what Shvetambara Jains of Magadha remembered. There was clearly a lot of tension between different monastic and religious schools (pasanda) on what their teachers said and what they did not. This may have prompted Ashoka, the Mauryan king, to adopt writing and prevent loss in transmission. The Ashokan script is popularly called Brahmi, though we do not know what it was referred to then. It is an abugida script – so there are consonants and vowels. The two are used in a creative way to generate syllables. So, it is also a syllabary script. The consonants are known as 'aksharas' (eternal sounds) and the vowels are known as 'matrikas' (mothers). Typically, the consonant is placed in the center and the vowel markings are made around the center. Interestingly the akshara is considered masculine while the matras are considered feminine. The feminine vowels are located in a circle around the masculine akshara almost like the milkmaids dancing around Krishna or the Yoginis dancing around Bhairava. This circular design, like beads on a string, is very distinct from the linear Greek script, where consonants and vowels follow one another like ants in a line. Both are written left-to-right, but in Brahmi scripts the vowels are merged with consonants, and not kept separate. They are distinct from the Semitic script. Not only are Semitic scripts written right-to-left, they are very linear, a series of hooked dashes, with minarets and dots in between, like a silhouette of an Arabian city. The Chinese, Japanese and Korean scripts are also like beads on a string – but the beads are square while the Brahmi beads are round. North Indian scripts and South Indian scripts have a common origin in Brahmi. But North Indian scripts have sharper lines because it was written using a paint brush on birch bark (Bhoja Patra). South Indian scripts were circular because they were written on palm leaves (Tada Patra) using an iron stylus. Since sharp angles with iron stylus could tear the palm leaves, scribes developed rounded letterforms. Black powder was sprinkled on the leaves to enter the etchings. In the south, the Vatteluttu (round) script and Grantha (knot) script evolved from Brahmi. Vatteluttu was used to write Tamil while Grantha was used to write Sanskrit. South Indian circular scripts traveled with Buddhist monks and Hindu merchants to Southeast Asia which is why there are local varieties of the Brahmi script, with vowels dancing in circles around consonants, and the design like a set of circular beads on a string. The Nagari script of the Gupta period split three ways – Siddham script in the east, Sharada in the north and Nagari in the west. Siddham was used in Sanskrit texts found in Tibet and in the Bengali language. The Gurmukhi script today is based on the Sharada script that was once popular in Kashmir and bears the name of the goddess of learning in the Valley. Sharada is also the name of the goddess venerated by Adi Shankaracharya in his institutions. Devanagari spread to the west and is seen in Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi. Devanagari, which was established by 1000 AD, became very popular in the 19th century. It was used in nearly 100 languages, the most popular among them being Hindi. Sanskrit, which has no script, began to be written using the Devanagari script. But it was written in other scripts too before the 19th century, something that is often forgotten today. The sister script of Devanagari, developed around 700 AD, is known as Nandinagari. It was used for Sanskrit manuscripts of the Vijayanagara Empire and by Madhva Brahmins for their texts on Dvaita Vedanta. Nandinagari does not have the long line (Shiro-rekha) as in Devanagari and so is related in some way to the south Indian circular scripts. Gujarati also removed the upper line (shiro-rekha) to make it easier to write. Many scribes created their own scripts, usually cursive (where consonants are connected to each other) for easy writing. Some examples include the Modi script used by scribes in western India, the Kaithi script used by Kayastha scribes in the north, and the Karani or Chatta script used by Karana scribes in Odia/Odisha. How are legends about Hanuman and Ganesha related to the origin of writing and scribes? How is Brahmi distinct from Greek and Semitic scripts? What is the origin of North Indian and South Indian scripts? Why did South Indian scripts evolve to become more rounded? Which scripts evolved from the Nagari script during the Gupta period? How did material constraints, such as palm leaves or birch bark, shape the visual form of scripts? (Devdutt Pattanaik is a renowned mythologist who writes on art, culture and heritage.) Share your thoughts and ideas on UPSC Special articles with Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Time of India
Ram Darbar at Ayodhya temple now open for devotees: Check timings, pass booking options and more
Ayodhya (UP), The Ram Darbar installed on the first floor of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was thrown open for devotees on Saturday, officials said. Beginning Saturday, devotees visiting the Ram Mandir can access the Ram Darbar, after a decision to this effect was taken by the temple trust late on Friday evening. Anil Mishra, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust , said that since the decision was made late in the evening, only a limited number of passes for two slots - from 5 pm to 7 pm and from 7 pm to 9 pm - have been arranged for the visits on Saturday. After a meeting with the local administration, Champat Rai, the general secretary of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, granted approval for devotees to visit the Ram Darbar, Mishra said. Similar to the passes issued for Ram Lalla's darshan, passes will be made available for those wishing to visit the Ram Darbar, he said. Live Events The consecration of Ram Darbar - Lord Rama in his royal form - along with the installation of idols in eight newly-built temples inside the Ram Janmabhoomi complex was held on June 5, marking a major step towards the completion of the grand temple that has been at the intersection of political and religious discourse for decades. Mishra said 300 passes will be available for each of the two-hour time slots -- from 7 to 9 am, 9 am to 11 am, 1 pm to 3 pm, 3 pm to 5 pm, 5 to 7 pm, and 7 pm to 9 pm. The district administration and the temple trust have both been assigned 150 passes each. Among these, 100 passes are for 'special darshan', and 50 for 'easy access darshan', Mishra said. Alongside the idol of Lord Ram, the Ram Darbar also features the idols of Sita, Lakshman, Bharat, Shatrughan and Hanuman. According to the temple trust, among the deities consecrated were Lord Shiva in the northeast corner, Lord Ganesha in the southeast corner, Lord Hanuman in the southern wing, Surya in the southwest corner, Bhagwati in the northwest corner and Annapurna in the northern wing. The temple built in the traditional Nagara style spans 360 feet in length, 235 feet in width, and rises 161 feet high. Spread across 2.77 acres, the three-storey structure features 392 carved pillars, 44 doors and richly-sculpted depictions of Hindu deities. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
