Banu Mushtaq Wins Booker for Heart Lamp

Banu Mushtaq Wins Booker for Heart Lamp

Why in the News ?

Kannada author Banu Mushtaq won the 2025 International Booker Prize for her short story collection Heart Lamp, translated by Deepa Bhasthi. The book explores Muslim women’s inner lives, marking only the second time a Kannada author has been honoured by Booker, highlighting the rich biodiversity in India’s literary landscape.

About the Author and the Award :

• Banu Mushtaq, a 77-year-old lawyer and women’s rights activist from Karnataka, won the International Booker Prize 2025.
• Her collection Heart Lamp, originally in Kannada, examines gender, religion, and societal oppression faced by Muslim women.
• This is the second recognition for a Kannada author by the Booker institution after U.R. Ananthamurthy (2013).
• Mushtaq’s writing stems from her personal experiences and activism, especially as a Muslim woman battling patriarchy.

Translation and Impact

• Deepa Bhasthi, the translator, became the first Indian translator to win the prize.
• Bhasthi previously won the English PEN Translates Award (2024) for the same work.
• She chose stories from Mushtaq’s body of work and had complete creative freedom during translation.
• Max Porter, Chair of the Booker judges, called it a “radical translation” that redefines the art of literary translation.

Social Relevance and Personal Struggles

• Mushtaq’s work is part of the Bandaya (Rebel) literary tradition and shaped by the Dalit and Kisan movements.
• Her stories emerged from real incidents—like a Muslim woman punished for going to the cinema.
• She faced death threats, including an attempted stabbing in 2002 for supporting Muslim women’s entry into mosques.
• The book reflects the dialects and lived realities of the Hassan region in Karnataka.

About International Booker Prize 2025 – Key Highlights

• Established: 2005 by the Booker Prize Foundation, UK
• Awarded Annually for best translated fiction into English
• Prize Money: £50,000, equally shared by author and translator
• Focus: Translated fiction (unlike original English Booker Prize)
• Objective: Celebrate literary excellence, cultural diversity, and translation
• Indian Winners:
• ○ Geetanjali Shree – Tomb of Sand (2022), Hindi (trans. Daisy Rockwell)
• ○ Banu Mushtaq – Heart Lamp (2025), Kannada (trans. Deepa Bhasthi)
• Heart Lamp:
• ○ 12 short stories (1990–2023)
• ○ Explores faith, patriarchy, autonomy in Muslim women’s lives in South India.