India's Banu Mushtaq Scripts History, Becomes First To Win International Booker For Short Stories
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Banu Mushtaq's 'Heart Lamp' is the first short story collection ever to win the International Booker Prize, marking a major global moment for Kannada literature
The Kannada literary world woke up to a major celebration on Wednesday morning. The heavy rain across Karnataka added a rhythm of its own to the mood. Author Banu Mushtaq won the International Booker Prize for Heart Lamp, translated by Deepa Bhasthi.
Heart Lamp (originally titled Hridaya Deepa in Kannada) is a collection of 12 short stories written over a span of more than 30 years, chronicling the everyday lives and struggles of women in southern India.
It is the first time the award has been given to a collection of short stories. Well-deserved congratulations on this milestone achievement have been pouring in, and Mushtaq has credited her award to the Kannada language and its readers.
Banu Mushtaq (77), from Hassan—the same district that is home to former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda—has been a fighter for over 50 years. A lawyer, politician, journalist, social activist, and writer, she wears many hats. As a journalist, she also wrote extensively about Gowda's family politics in Lankesh Pathrike.
In the early 1980s, two Muslim women writers, Banu Mushtaq and Sara Abubaker, emerged on the Kannada literary scene, attracting significant attention from readers and the public. While Abubaker confined herself to writing alone, Mushtaq ventured beyond the literary world to explore many other fields.
P. Lankesh, the renowned Kannada writer and public intellectual who had just launched his pathbreaking weekly tabloid Lankesh Pathrike, gave her a platform to write both fiction and hard-hitting political stories—thus shaping her journey as both a journalist and fiction writer.
Like Abubaker, Mushtaq wrote about the hitherto unfamiliar world of Muslim women, sometimes shocking her own male-dominated society. She explored their trials and tribulations, and created awareness about the everyday lives of Muslim women in Karnataka. A prolific writer with a lucid imagination and distinctive style, she carved a niche for herself in no time.
Mushtaq has also been a prominent figure in the Bandaya Sahitya movement (the progressive or rebel literary movement) of Kannada literature, which challenged the established literary tradition and lifestyle.
True to the name of the movement she is part of, Mushtaq has been a rebel. As a lawyer and political activist, she has fought real battles against orthodoxy and hegemony. She is also a leading figure in the Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike — a forum of like-minded writers, thinkers, advocates, journalists, and political activists that promotes communal harmony in Karnataka.
Her husband, Mushtaq Ahmed, has been a great source of strength throughout her long journey, supporting her unconventionally and unconditionally.
She has consistently questioned the branding of her as a 'Muslim writer", arguing that she is first a Kannada writer, then a woman writer, and only after that a Muslim writer. She often says that when every Muslim woman speaks for herself, the community will be able to achieve openness.
The modern Kannada literary world has been home to several prominent figures from the Muslim community, including S. K. Karim Khan, Professor K. S. Nissar Ahmed, B. A. Sanadi, Professor M. Akbar Ali, and Professor M. R. Gajendragad. In the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, a new crop of young writers—such as Boluwaru Mohammed Kunhi, Fakir Mohammed Katpadi, Abdul Rashid, B. M. Rashid, D. B. Razia, Sabiha Bhumigowda, and many others—emerged from the margins of the community.
It is no mean feat that Banu Mushtaq and Sara Abubaker have laid a solid foundation for future Muslim writers in post-neo-modernist Kannada literature.
Banu Mushtaq's winning of the Booker Prize has validated not only her own work but also that of her fellow writers.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah reacted to Mushtaq's win by saying the victory had raised the flag of Kannada's greatness. 'Heartiest congratulations to the proud Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq for winning the International Booker Prize for Literature. This is a time to celebrate Kannada, Kannadigas and Karnataka," Siddaramaiah posted on X.
In her acceptance speech, Banu Mushtaq said, 'To my family, friends, and readers—you are the soil where my stories grow. This book is my love letter to the idea that no story is local, that a tale born under a banyan tree in my village can cast shadows as far as this stage tonight. To every reader who journeyed with me, you have made my Kannada language a shared home. It is a language that sings of resilience and nuance. To write in Kannada is to inherit a legacy of cosmic wonder and earthly wisdom."
Deepa Bhasthi, a journalist and writer who has ably translated Banu Mushtaq's work into English, has also played an important role in bringing her to the world literary stage.
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As Banu Mushtaq triumphantly said, 'Kannada and Karnataka — Booker comes home."
The 50,000-pound ($66,000) prize money is to be divided equally between author and translator. Each is presented with a trophy too. The International Booker Prize is awarded every year. It is run alongside the Booker Prize for English-language fiction, which will be handed out in the fall.
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New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
May 21, 2025, 17:12 IST
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