Literary world hails Mushtaq-Bhasthi International Booker win as triumph for regional Indian languages

New Delhi: Hailing the growing importance of Indian language translations and hoping that the world engages with Indian literature beyond just Hindi or English, prominent figures from the literary community applauded Kannada writer Bhanu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi on their International Booker victory.

Writer, activist and lawyer Mushtaq's short story collection "Heart Lamp" on Wednesday became the first Kannada title to win the coveted GBP 50,000 International Booker Prize in London. It was translated from the Kannada "Hridaya Deepa" into English by Bhasthi and published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI).

Geetanjali Shree, the first Indian writer to win the International Booker Prize for her novel "Tomb of Sand", translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell in 2022, was among the first to congratulate the winning team -- Mushtaq and Bhasthi -- and every Indian, celebrating the continued global recognition of India's rich literary heritage, this time through the Kannada language.

"...The world has known a little bit about Indian literature, but through only one language. The difference today is that people are discovering the diversity of languages. It is important to see the country's plurality and the richness of these other languages.

"It's absolutely wonderful that another language has got the prize. I congratulate Mushtaq and Bhasthi. Many congratulations to all of us, as we are part of that larger community. As far as global impact is concerned, for them, it means greater visibility.... The other important thing is the acknowledgement of literature in different languages," 67-year-old Geetanjali Shree told a news agency.

The winning collection of 12 short stories, written by Mushtaq from 1990 to 2023, marks the second such achievement in four years and further propels Indian languages onto the global literary stage. It chronicles the resilience, resistance, wit, and sisterhood of everyday women in patriarchal communities in southern India, vividly brought to life through a rich tradition of oral storytelling.

According to celebrated Tamil writer Perumal Murugan, whose "Pyre" was longlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize, this recognition for a Dravidian language marks a significant step toward global acknowledgment of India's linguistic diversity beyond English and Hindi.

"The prize will encourage writers, as their writings will now reach wider audiences across countries. We have been reading translations from various foreign languages such as Russian into English, I now believe our Indians' works will also get translated into foreign languages. We have very beautiful literature in Indian languages," said Murugan, who has authored over 50 books in Tamil.

Born in Hassan in Karnataka to progressive parents - her father was a senior health inspector and her mother a homemaker - Mushtaq began writing within the progressive protest literary circles in southwestern India in the 1970s and 1980s as part of the Bandaya Sahitya Movement.

The 77-year-old, who rose to prominence during the rebel literary movement critical of the caste and class system, has authored six short story collections, a novel, an essay collection and a poetry collection.

"Heart Lamp", which was shortlisted among six worldwide titles, appealed to the judges for its "witty, vivid, colloquial, moving and excoriating" style of capturing portraits of family and community tensions.

With queries for the book soaring after its landmark win and the literary world revelling in the recognition being showered on India's rich multi-lingual literature, Penguin's commissioning editor Moutushi Mukherjee -- amid a flood of congratulatory messages -- candidly acknowledged the challenges involved in publishing short stories and translations.

However, she noted that what helped her navigate those hurdles was Mushtaq's "original work and verse strong perspective on life".

"I was also inspired by her life's work in general and how she fiercely wanted to champion the women she wrote about. All of this made me want to champion this collection too. Halfway through the journey of the book, the UK publisher And Other Stories came on board, and from there we gained momentum and sustained it all the way to the end," said Mukherjee, adding that she was fairly confident the book would make it to the longlist and shortlist - and the win was a bonus.

Both "Tomb of Sand" and "Heart Lamp" are published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI), and Mukherjee credited much of their success to the publishing house's robust translation program and unwavering belief in regional literature.

Bestselling Hindi author Naveen Chaudhary, who previously served as associate director of marketing at Oxford University Press, remarked that this recent victory - coming just three years after Geetanjali Shree's "Tomb of Sand" - dispels any lingering doubts about the global appeal of Indian languages and narratives.

He emphasized that it strongly affirms the power of our languages to convey stories with universal resonance.

"Mushtaq's vivid tales of Muslim women's strength and sisterhood, brought to life by Bhasthi's soulful translation, prove that languages like Kannada can weave narratives that resonate globally while staying rooted in our culture. This back-to-back triumph, with an Indian translator making history, shows that our diverse voices are not just competitive but transformative on the world stage," he added.

Calling the win a proud moment for Kannadigas, Vivek Shanbhag, author of the critically acclaimed Kannada novel "Ghachar Ghochar", described his fellow Kannada writer's stories as "moving" and a powerful portrayal of the oppression of women in a patriarchal society.

He also cautioned against labelling Mushtaq solely as a "Muslim writer", emphasizing that her collection of stories, though set in a Muslim household, addresses universal themes of violence and pain.

"Mushtaq is a powerful writer, and her stories are deeply rooted in her experiences as an activist and lawyer. When such books win awards, it brings greater visibility to the language they're written in. We need more translations and broader readership across languages, as each language offers a unique worldview. This diversity can only enrich the world of literature," he added.

The milestone win has also generated excitement among bookstores like Oxford Bookstore, which noted that the 2022 victory of "Tomb of Sand" led to a "real and measurable shift" in how Indian readers engage with translated literature and got the cash registers ringing.

In fact, according to Swagat Sengupta, CEO, Oxford Bookstores, the win in the past also triggered the parallel demand for original language editions alongside the English translations, And readers began to actively seek out Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Bengali titles - a trend that was rare just a few years ago.

"These awards are clearly helping dismantle the idea that translations are niche or academic. At Oxford Bookstores, we have also seen award-winning translations shape reading choices like never before. Customers now ask about the translator alongside the author, and are more open to new voices, regions, and genres. It is a very encouraging moment for Indian literature in regional languages - and we believe this is just the beginning of a change in literary paradigm," he explained.

While each shortlisted title is awarded a prize of GBP 5,000, shared between the author and translator, the winner prize money will be split between Mushtaq and Bhashti, who receive GBP 25,000 each.