Writer Banu Mushtaq-translator Deepa Bhasthi script history with International Booker for Heart Lamp

London/Bengaluru, May 21 (PTI) Kannada writer, lawyer, and activist Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi on Wednesday scripted history by winning the International Booker Prize for "Heart Lamp", the first Kannada title and the first-ever collection of short stories to be awarded the GBP 50,000 prize.

"This moment feels like a thousand fireflies lighting up a single sky - brief, brilliant, and utterly collective," said Mushtaq, standing next to Bhasthi, after receiving the prestigious literary award at London's Tate Modern.

Mushtaq's collection of 12 short stories, translated from the Kannada "Hridaya Deepa" into English by Bhasthi, chronicles the everyday lives of women in patriarchal communities in southern India -- the reproductive rights that are often exploited, the dynamics of lives where the power reins are held by men and the oppression of an orthodox society that seldom tolerates women's autonomy.

In a moving acceptance speech, Mushtaq said that it is an affirmation, "We as individuals and as a global community can thrive when we embrace diversity, celebrate our differences and uplift one another." The 77-year-old added, "Together, we create a world where every voice is heard, every story matters and every person belongs. 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." The tales in "Heart Lamp" were written by the lawyer over 30 years, from 1990 to 2023.

"This book was born from the belief that no story is ever small, that in the tapestry of human experience every thread holds the weight of the whole. In a world that often tries to divide us, literature remains one of the lost sacred spaces where we can live inside each other's minds, if only for a few pages," she said.

Author of six short-story collections, a novel, an essay collection and a poetry collection, Mushtaq writes in Kannada and has won major awards for her literary works, including the Karnataka Sahitya Academy and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe awards.

"Heart Lamp" is the first book-length translation of Mushtaq's work into English.

It is also the second time an Indian language has won the International Booker Prize. Geetanjali Shree's "Tomb of Sand", translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell, won the award in 2022.

The award also recognised the importance of translation, as Max Porter, International Booker Prize 2025 Chair of judges, described the winning title as something genuinely new for English readers.

"A radical translation which ruffles language, to create new textures in a plurality of Englishes. It challenges and expands our understanding of translation," he said.

Bhasthi, who prepared an acceptance speech at the last moment lest she jinxes their chances of winning, said that this win will hopefully lead to a greater interest in reading and writing and translating more from and into the language, "and by extension from and into the magical languages we have in south Asia." "The story of the world if you think about it is a history of erasures, it is characterised by the effacement of women's triumph and the furtive rubbing away of collective memory of how women and those on many margins of this world live and love. This prize is a small win in a long ongoing battle against such violences," Bhasthi said.

Bhasthi's columns, essays and cultural criticism have been published in India and internationally.

A translation of Mushtaq's stories by Bhasthi was also a winner of English PEN's PEN Translates award in 2024.

The winning duo received accolades from friends, family and a host of authors and political leaders.

Mushtaq's husband Mushtaq Moinuddin and son Tahir Mushtaq were thrilled.

"We are very happy with this news. It has brought glory to India and Karnataka. It is not a prize only for us, it is not personal, it is a matter of great joy for the whole of Karnataka," said the proud husband.

"It's a very exciting, momentous and joyous event for all of us, not just for us as a family but for all the Kannadigas… we are very happy that a Kannada work has won and touched readers across the globe," added her son Tahir.

International Booker winner Geetanjali Shree said that it is important that literature in different languages is being acknowledged.

"It's absolutely wonderful that another language has got it. It's not only Banu Mushtaq, it's also Deepa Bhasthi and it is really great that they have got it. I congratulate them. Many congratulations to us because we are part of that larger community. As far as global impact is concerned, for them, it means greater visibility," she said.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said she has raised the flag of Kannada's greatness at an international level.

"This is a time to celebrate Kannada, Kannadigas and Karnataka…I wish she would continue to write meaningfully for many more years and spread the vibe of Kannada to the world," the CM posted on X.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi termed the win "a historic moment." "...for Kannada literature, and for India. It's a proud affirmation that stories from the margins, when told with sincerity, can move the world. My heartfelt congratulations to Banu Mushtaq, and to Deepa Bhasthi, whose translation carried these voices to global hearts," Gandhi wrote on X. PTI TEAM MAH VN VN