Kannada Writer Banu Mushtaq Wins International Booker Prize 2025 for Heart Lamp

By: WE staff | Wednesday, 21 May 2025

• "Heart Lamp" wins International Booker Prize 2025, a highly regarded international literary award
• The novel is a short story collection penned in Kannada by Banu Mushtaq, an urban writer
• It was translating into English by Deepa Bhasthi, a translator from Madikeri

Heart Lamp, a collection of short stories by Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq, has won the International Booker Prize 2025 in a historic win as the first collection of short stories ever to be given the award. The novel was translated from English to Kannada by translator Deepa Bhasthi, based in Madikeri.

Banu, who had gained recognition as an advocate, journalist, poet, novelist, and social activist, was honored at the award ceremony organized at Tate Modern in London. Leading the judging panel, writer Max Porter acclaimed Heart Lamp as "something truly new to English readers." He described it as "a revolutionary translation which remakes language and adds fresh textures across diverse forms of English," and added that it "challenges and broadens our understanding of what translation is able to do."

The vivid and socially rooted stories of the collection were acknowledged as original and influential. The tales, Porter observed, explore such issues as women's rights, reproductive justice, religion, caste, power, and oppression—all thoroughly embedded in Kannada society and infused with richness by the utilization of various dialects.

This was the book the judges fell in love with right from the beginning, Porter explained. It was exciting to observe how our understanding kept growing with each discussion. Talking to The Times of India after her victory, Banu felt proud that Kannada literature was being recognized worldwide. "The award is indicative of the richness of the Kannada language and its literary potential. More Kannada works need to be translated into English so that we can reach out to more people," she stated.

Remembering the award announcement, she said, "It was a charged moment. When Max Porter announced Heart Lamp, it was electric. Everyone stood up and started congratulating me." Banu underlined that the success was a team effort, not individual achievement. "This is not a personal honor—it's acknowledgment of our whole crew. Even with all this publicity, my writing will remain earthy."

Looking back at her journey, she summed it up with a strong message: "Life is simply amazing—ranging from riding in bullock carts to being on an international platform."