Indian author Banu Mushtaq has made history by winning the 2025 International Booker Prize for her short story collection, "Heart Lamp." This marks the first time a book originally written in Kannada, a language spoken by an estimated 65 million people primarily in southern India, has received this prestigious award. Mushtaq shares the £50,000 prize with Deepa Bhasthi, the translator who brought the stories to English-speaking audiences. The award ceremony took place on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at the Turbine Hall of London's Tate Modern.
"Heart Lamp" is a collection of 12 short stories penned by Mushtaq over three decades, from 1990 to 2023. These stories offer a poignant glimpse into the lives and struggles of Muslim women living in southern India. They depict the challenges these women face due to religious conservatism and a deeply patriarchal society. The characters range from stoic mothers and opinionated grandmothers to cruel husbands and resilient children, painting a vivid picture of their daily realities.
Mushtaq, who is also a lawyer and activist, has stated that her stories are inspired by the daily incidents reported in the media and her own personal experiences. She aims to shed light on how religion, society, and politics often demand unquestioning obedience from women, inflicting inhumane cruelty and reducing them to mere subordinates. Her win is seen as a victory for diversity, highlighting the importance of telling stories from marginalized communities.
Deepa Bhasthi, the translator, played a crucial role in bringing Mushtaq's vision to a wider audience. She carefully selected the stories and translated them with an intent to preserve the multilingual nature of southern India, incorporating Urdu or Arabic words throughout the text. Bhasthi is the first Indian translator to win the prize. Max Porter, the chair of the judges, praised the "radical" nature of the translation, noting that it "ruffles language to create new textures in a plurality of Englishes." He described the stories as "beautiful, busy, life-affirming," and praised their ability to speak of women's lives, reproductive rights, faith, caste, power, and oppression.
Banu Mushtaq's win follows Geetanjali Shree's victory in 2022 with "Tomb of Sand," translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell. This win further underscores the growing recognition of Indian literature on the global stage. "Heart Lamp" was published by Sheffield-based independent publisher And Other Stories, marking their first International Booker Prize win. The judges were unanimous in their decision to award the prize to Mushtaq and Bhasthi, recognizing the book's unique contribution to literature and its powerful message of resilience and resistance.
