
Karnataka-based author, activist, and lawyer Banu Mushtaq has carved a historic milestone for Indian regional literature. Her short story collection, Heart Lamp, has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2025 International Booker Prize—making it the first-ever Kannada language work to reach this global stage. Translated into English by writer and translator Deepa Bhasthi, the book has emerged as a powerful voice among the twelve selected titles from around the world.
At its core, Heart Lamp is a fierce and intimate portrayal of women’s lives in southern India. The anthology, spanning stories published between 1990 and 2023, explores how women navigate the entangled forces of religion, patriarchy, and politics. These are not just fictional accounts but reflections of lived realities. Mushtaq writes with the clarity of someone who has seen the cost of silence and the strength in defiance.
“My stories are about women—how religion, society, and politics demand unquestioning obedience from them, and in doing so, inflict inhumane cruelty,” Mushtaq shared in a statement. Her storytelling draws from both news headlines and personal experience, translating pain into prose that resonates far beyond geographic borders.
Translator Deepa Bhasthi described her approach as intuitive and deeply connected to Mushtaq’s intent. “I read all her previously published fiction before narrowing down the stories. Banu gave me complete freedom to choose, and that trust shaped the process,” said Bhasthi. The result is an English translation that preserves the emotional rawness and cultural texture of the original Kannada.
The International Booker Prize jury commended Heart Lamp for its “witty, vivid, colloquial, and moving” style, highlighting its ability to portray personal tensions and community dynamics with sharp insight. These stories do not seek to comfort—they seek to challenge and transform.
Mushtaq’s nomination represents more than personal recognition; it signifies a growing appreciation for Indian regional literature on the world stage. At a time when global narratives are often dominated by urban, English-language voices, Heart Lamp reclaims space for the rural, the vernacular, and the marginalized.
The 2025 shortlist also features globally acclaimed works like On the Calculation of Volume I, Small Boat, Under the Eye of the Big Bird, and Perfection—translated from Danish, French, Japanese, and Italian respectively. Yet Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp stands apart for its deeply intersectional engagement with gender, caste, and faith—issues that remain urgently relevant in India and across the world.
As conversations around identity, power, and justice continue to shape our times, Mushtaq’s work offers not just stories but resistance. Heart Lamp is more than literature—it’s a testament to the enduring strength of voices that refuse to be silenced.