Who is Banu Mushtaq? Indian author wins International Booker Prize
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Who is Banu Mushtaq? Indian author wins International Booker Prize | 5 things
Banu Mushtaq, 77, is the first Kannada author to win the annual Booker Prize given to the best English-translated fiction. She is the author of six short story collections, a novel, an essay collection and a poetry collection. Born in a large Muslim family she received enormous support from her father even against the authoritative nature of her school and when she fought against it. Her journey of writing began in middle school when she wrote her first short story. She has been recognised by the Karnataka Sahitya Academy and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe awards.
Here are 5 things to know about Banu Mushtaq:
1. First Kannada author to win booker prize
Karnataka-based Banu Mushtaq, 77, is the first Kannada author to win the annual Booker Prize given to the best English-translated fiction. Talking about this breathtaking moment, Mushtaq said, “This feels like a thousand fireflies lighting a single sky – brief, brilliant and utterly collective.”
Moreover, this is the second Indian book to win this international honour after Geetanjali Shree and translator Daisy Rockwell’s Tomb of Sand (Ret Samadhi) in 2022.
2. Advocacy of women’s rights
Apart from her life as an author Mushtaq is also known for her advocacy of women’s rights and her legal work questioning discrimination. Mushtaq says her stories reflect how religion, society and politics demand unquestioning obedience from women and in the process, inflict cruelty upon them. In her personal life as well, she fought the patriarchal norm and defied the social expectations by marrying a man of her choice.
3. Wrote her first short story in middle school
Her journey of writing began in middle school when she wrote her first short story. Though she started writing early on, it caught attention when her first story was published in the popular Kannada magazine Prajamata at the age of 26. Born in a large Muslim family she received enormous support from her father even against the authoritative nature of her school and when she fought against it.
4. Inspired from progressive movements
Mushtaq’s brilliant writing stems from the progressive movements in Karnataka, which inspired her works. She travelled across states and involved herself in the Bandaya Sahitya movement, a progressive protest that challenged cast and class oppression. Her engagement with the lives of the people who struggled gave her the strength to write.
5. Other works and recognitions
Other than this award winning work, she is the author of six short story collections, a novel, an essay collection and a poetry collection. For her work she has been recognised by the Karnataka Sahitya Academy and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe awards. Further, her first five short stories have been compiled in one consolidated volume in 2013 called Haseena Matthu Ithara Kathegalu, and in 2023, a compilation called Hennu Haddina Swayamvara (2023).
Who is Banu Mushtaq? Kannada Author of ‘Heart Lamp’ Becomes First to Win International Booker Prize
Banu Mushtaq is the first Kannada author to win the prestigious International Booker Prize for her short story titled “Heart Lamp” The English translation of the work, done by Deepa Bhasthi, also shares the recognition, marking a significant moment for regional Indian literature on the global stage. The narrative explores how religion, society, and patriarchy intersect to suppress women’s voices — a theme that resonates widely across borders and cultures. The award is shared between the author and translator — a unique practice which celebrates the art of translation alongside the original authorship. It underscores the rising global resonance of South Indian languages and highlights literary voices rooted in local cultures but speaking to universal human experiences. The win marks a turning point in how critics, and global readers engage with Indian literature with non-English perspectives. It follows a growing trend of Indian literature receiving international acclaim, seen in Malayalam, Bengali, and now Kannadas. It also highlights the importance of regional literature in global conversations.
This recognition carries not just personal achievement but symbolic importance — it signals the rising global resonance of South Indian languages and highlights literary voices rooted in local cultures but speaking to universal human experiences.
Heart Lamp: A Story That Illuminated the World Stage
“Heart Lamp” is a powerful short story rooted in feminist themes, socio-political observation, and cultural critique. The narrative explores how religion, society, and patriarchy intersect to suppress women’s voices — a theme that resonates widely across borders and cultures.
The book won the GBP 50,000 International Booker Prize, shared equally between the author and translator. Upon receiving the award, Banu Mushtaq stated:
“It feels like a thousand fireflies lighting up a single sky — luminous and collective.”
The metaphor captures the community and collaborative effort behind regional literature reaching international recognition.
Who is Banu Mushtaq? Literary Journey of a Trailblazer
Background
Age : 77
Profession : Author, Lawyer, and Social Activist
Region: Karnataka, India
Banu Mushtaq is a multifaceted personality. Known equally for her legal advocacy, social activism, and literary brilliance, she has been a force in Karnataka’s cultural landscape for decades. Her works focus on women’s rights, caste discrimination, and political repression, making her one of the most respected progressive voices in Indian literature.
Feminism in Her Writing: Challenging Obedience and Authority
Banu’s stories expose the subtle and overt ways in which obedience is demanded from women — through religious doctrines, social customs, and political ideologies. According to Banu:
“Even when women comply, they are still met with cruelty. This paradox is the heart of my writing.”
Her writing doesn’t seek to victimize women, but rather document their resistance, suffering, and resilience. Her characters often embody both vulnerability and defiance, making her literature introspective and political at the same time.
Early Life and Literary Debut
Banu’s literary career began in middle school, where she wrote her first short story. Her formal entry into the literary scene, however, came at the age of 26, when her story was published in Prajamaata, a well-known Kannada magazine.
That publication marked the start of her public literary journey. From there, she went on to write:
6 short story collections
1 novel
1 essay collection
1 poetry volume
Her writing has received the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award multiple times, as well as the Dana Chintamani Attimabbe Award, which honors contributions to Kannada women’s literature.
Inspiration from the Progressive Movement
Many of Banu’s works are shaped by Karnataka’s progressive literary movements, especially the Bandaya (Rebellion) literary movement. This movement emphasized writing about marginalized communities — focusing on caste, class, and gender injustices.
Her participation in this movement gave her writing a strong socio-political foundation. She has also travelled extensively, using her legal and literary work to understand and highlight grassroots issues across Indian states.
Deepa Bhasthi: The Translator Behind the Global Recognition
The English version of Heart Lamp was translated by Deepa Bhasthi, who has previously worked on several South Indian literary texts. Her nuanced translation maintained the emotional and cultural integrity of the original work, a crucial factor in its international success.
In the words of the Booker committee:
“The translation beautifully retains the depth of Kannada syntax and the lyricism of the original while making it accessible to the global reader.”
The award is shared equally between the author and translator — a practice unique to the International Booker Prize, which celebrates the art of translation alongside original authorship.
Global Impact: A New Era for Regional Indian Literature
The success of Heart Lamp follows a growing trend of Indian regional literature receiving international acclaim. Recent years have seen Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, and now Kannada works entering major global literary conversations.
For literary observers, Banu’s win marks a turning point in how publishers, critics, and global readers engage with non-English Indian literature. It underscores:
The importance of regional perspectives in global literature
The rise of women-led narratives from the Global South
The critical role of translators in cultural diplomacy
Legacy and Future Work
Despite her age, Banu remains active in both writing and public discourse. Her next literary project reportedly includes a memoir interwoven with fictionalized accounts of women’s resistance across rural India.
There are also discussions around turning Heart Lamp into a stage play or short film, which could further expand its reach.
Banu Mushtaq’s International Booker win is not just a personal triumph — it is a victory for Kannada literature, for women’s voices, and for literary resistance. Her work challenges systems, gives voice to the unheard, and now, thanks to translation and international recognition, reaches audiences far beyond India’s borders.
As literary India celebrates this historic win, Banu Mushtaq stands as a symbol of what happens when language, truth, and courage intersect.
Related
Siddaramaiah congratulates Banu Mushtaq for winning International Booker Prize
Banu Mushtaq’s short story collection “Hridaya Deepa” (Heart Lamp) on Tuesday night became the first Kannada title to win the coveted GBP 50,000 International Booker Prize in London. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday congratulated the writer for her feat. The Chief Minister said, she has raised the flag of Kannadigas greatness at the international level and brought respect to us all. The writer collected the prize at a ceremony at Tate Modern along with Deepa Bhasthi, who translated the title from Kannadas to English.
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Lauding her feat, the Chief Minister said, she has raised the flag of Kannada’s greatness at the international level.
Writer, activist and lawyer Mushtaq’s short story collection “Hridaya Deepa” (Heart Lamp) on Tuesday night became the first Kannada title to win the coveted GBP 50,000 International Booker Prize in London.
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Also read: Banu Mushtaq wins International Booker Prize for Kannada short story collection ‘Heart Lamp’
Mushtaq collected the prize at a ceremony at Tate Modern along with Deepa Bhasthi, who translated the title from Kannada to English.
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“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’.
He said, Banu Mustaq, who writes while embodying the true values of harmony, secularism, and brotherhood of this land, has raised the flag of Kannada’s greatness at the international level and brought respect to us all.
“I wish she would continue to write meaningfully for many more years and spread the vibe of Kannada to the world,” the CM said.
“On behalf of all Kannadigas, I would also like to congratulate the talented author Deepa Bhasti, who has translated her Booker Prize-winning work ‘Hridaya Deepa’ into English,” he added.
Union Minister and Former Chief Minister Kumaraswamy heaped praise on the writer on ‘X’ too.
“This is a proud moment for all Kannadigas. Heartfelt congratulations to our state’s proud author, Banu Mushtaq, who has been awarded the International Booker Literary Prize,” he said in his post.
“Congratulations to author Deepa Bhasti also, for translating this Booker Prize-winning work into English. I hope Banu Mushtaq will produce more such great works. May the Kannada literary world be enriched by her and may the flavor of Kannada spread across the world,” Kumaraswamy added.
Shortlisted among six worldwide titles, Mushtaq’s work appealed to the judges for its “witty, vivid, colloquial, moving and excoriating” style of capturing portraits of family and community tensions.
India’s Banu Mushtaq wins International Booker Prize for Kannada fiction, ‘Heart Lamp’
Banu Mushtaq has become the first Kannada author to win the International Booker Prize. The 77-year-old is a fierce advocate of women’s rights. Her work consistently probes the intersections of gender, caste, power, and religion. She has written six short story collections, a novel, an essay collection, and a poetry compilation. Her literary contributions have earned her the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award.
Reacting to the win, Mushtaq said, “This feels like a thousand fireflies lighting a single sky – brief, brilliant and utterly collective.”
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This is only the second time an Indian work has clinched the International Booker, after Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell won in 2022 for Tomb of Sand (Ret Samadhi).
A voice for women, justice and resistance
Mushtaq’s writing has long been intertwined with her activism. A fierce advocate of women’s rights, her work consistently probes the intersections of gender, caste, power, and religion. She has openly criticised how society demands obedience from women while normalising cruelty against them.
Even in her personal life, she broke patriarchal norms—marrying a man of her choice and pushing back against societal expectations. Her legal background and social awareness further sharpen the moral compass of her stories.
A literary journey rooted in protest and experience
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Mushtaq’s writing began early. She penned her first short story in middle school and had her breakout moment at 26 when a piece was published in the Kannada magazine Prajamata. Encouraged by her father despite the rigidity of her school environment, she stood up for herself from a young age.
She was shaped by Karnataka’s progressive movements, particularly the Bandaya Sahitya (rebel literature) wave that challenged caste and class injustice. Travelling across states and engaging with people’s struggles, she found the lived inspiration that fuels her fiction.
A prolific body of work
Apart from Heart Lamp, Mushtaq has written six short story collections, a novel, an essay collection, and a poetry compilation. Her literary contributions have earned her the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award.
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Her early works were brought together in 2013 in the volume Haseena Matthu Ithara Kathegalu, followed by Hennu Haddina Swayamvara in 2023.
India’s Banu Mushtaq wins International Booker Prize for ‘Heart Lamp’ | Who is she?
India’s Banu Mushtaq wins International Booker Prize for ‘Heart Lamp’ The tales in ‘Heart Lamp’, the first collection of short stories to win the prize, were written over a period of over 30 years, from 1990 to 2023. It marks the second win for an Indian title since 2022. The award was announced at a glittering ceremony held at Tate Modern in London, where MushTAq accepted the honour alongside Deepa Bhasthi, who translated the work from Kannada into English. The celebrated collection comprises 12 compelling short stories, each shedding light on the resilience, wit, and quiet rebellion of women navigating patriarchal communities in southern India. It won over the jury with its “witty, vivid, colloquial, moving, and excoriating” narrative style, which masterfully explores family dynamics and social tensions.
New Delhi:
In a historic literary moment, writer, activist, and lawyer Banu Mushtaq has become the first Kannada author to win the prestigious £50,000 International Booker Prize for her short story collection ‘Heart Lamp’. The award was announced at a glittering ceremony held at Tate Modern in London, where Mushtaq accepted the honour alongside Deepa Bhasthi, who translated the work from Kannada into English. Mushtaq described her win as a triumph for diversity and inclusion, celebrating voices from regional and underrepresented languages.
The celebrated collection comprises 12 compelling short stories, each shedding light on the resilience, wit, and quiet rebellion of women navigating patriarchal communities in southern India. Drawing on a rich oral storytelling heritage, the book paints vivid, emotionally resonant portraits of everyday life. Selected from a shortlist of six international titles, Heart Lamp won over the jury with its “witty, vivid, colloquial, moving, and excoriating” narrative style, which masterfully explores family dynamics and social tensions with both warmth and unflinching honesty.
The other five books on the shortlist included: ‘On the Calculation of Volume I’ by Solvej Balle, translated from Danish by Barbara J. Haveland; ‘Small Boat’ by Vincent Delecroix, translated from French by Helen Stevenson; ‘Under the Eye of the Big Bird’ by Hiromi Kawakami, translated from Japanese by Asa Yoneda; ‘Perfection’ by Vincenzo Latronico, translated from Italian by Sophie Hughes; and ‘A Leopard-Skin Hat’ by Anne Serre, translated from French by Mark Hutchinson. Each shortlisted title is awarded a prize of GBP 5,000, shared between the author and translator, and the winning prize money is split between Mushtaq and Bhashti, who receive GBP 25,000 each.
Know about Banu Mushtaq and her notable works
77-year-old Banu Mushtaq is the first Kannada author to win the annual Booker Prize given to the best English-translated fiction. A celebrated literary figure, Mushtaq is equally known for her powerful advocacy of women’s rights and her legal activism challenging social and religious discrimination. Her writing boldly explores how religion, politics, and society often demand unquestioning obedience from women—frequently leading to systemic cruelty. Her voice has long resonated with the marginalised, especially through stories that reflect real-world struggles.
Mushtaq’s literary journey began during her school days when she penned her first short story. However, her writing gained public attention at the age of 26 when her debut story was published in the popular Kannada magazine Prajamata. Growing up in a large Muslim family, she found a strong supporter in her father, particularly during her resistance against the authoritarian nature of her school.
Influenced deeply by Karnataka’s progressive literary movements, Mushtaq was actively involved in the Bandaya Sahitya movement—a literary rebellion against caste and class oppression. Her body of work includes six short story collections, a novel, an essay collection, and a poetry anthology. She has received notable recognitions such as the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award. Her early stories were compiled in the 2013 collection Haseena Matthu Ithara Kathegalu, while her more recent work, Hennu Haddina Swayamvara, was published in 2023.
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Kannada author Banu Mushtaq’s ‘Heart Lamp’ wins Booker Prize 2025
Banu Mushtaq’s short story collection ‘Heart Lamp’ has become the first Kannada title to win the coveted International Booker Prize. The winning collection of 12 short stories chronicles the resilience, resistance, wit, and sisterhood of everyday women in patriarchal communities in southern India. The collection was selected and curated by Deepa Bhasthi, who was keen to preserve the multilingual nature of southern India’s language. The annual prize celebrates the best works of long-form fiction or collections of short stories translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between May 2024 and April 2025. Each shortlisted title is awarded a prize of £ 5,000, and the winning prize money is split between the author and translator, who receive £ 25,000 each.
Describing her win as a “victory for diversity”, Mushtaq collected the prize on Tuesday night at a ceremony at Tate Modern along with her English translator Deepa Bhasthi.
The winning collection of 12 short stories 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.
Shortlisted among six worldwide titles, Mushtaq’s work appealed to the judges for its “witty, vivid, colloquial, moving and excoriating” style of capturing portraits of family and community tensions.
“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,” said Mushtaq.
Translator Bhashti added, “What a beautiful win this is for my beautiful language.”
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.
The tales in ‘Heart Lamp’, the first collection of short stories to win the prize, were written by Mushtaq over a period of over 30 years, from 1990 to 2023.
They were selected and curated by Bhasthi, who was keen to preserve the multilingual nature of southern India. When the characters use Urdu or Arabic words in conversation, these are left in the original, reproducing the unique rhythms of spoken language.
Fiammetta Rocco, Administrator of the International Booker Prize, added, “In a divided world, a younger generation is increasingly connecting with global stories that have been skilfully reworked for English-language readers through the art of translation.”
The annual prize celebrates the best works of long-form fiction or collections of short stories translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between May 2024 and April 2025.
Each shortlisted title is awarded a prize of £ 5,000, shared between the author and translator, and the winning prize money is split between Mushtaq and Bhashti, who receive £ 25,000 each.
It marks the second win for an Indian title since 2022, when Geetanjali Shree and translator Daisy Rockwell won the coveted prize for the first-ever Hindi novel ‘Tomb of Sand’. Perumal Murugan’s Tamil novel ‘Pyre’, translated into English by Aniruddhan Vasudevan, made it to the longlist in 2023.
PTI
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/who-is-banu-mushtaq-indian-author-wins-international-booker-prize-5-things-101747798126246.html