India writer Banu Mushtaq’s 'Heart Lamp' on Booker Prize shortlist

Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp, a collection of 12 short stories originally written in Kannada, has been shortlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize, marking a historic first for Kannada literature on the global stage.

Translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, Heart Lamp offers intimate and unflinching glimpses into the lives of Muslim and Dalit women in southern India. The stories, written over a span of three decades (1990–2023), tackle deeply rooted issues like patriarchy, casteism, communalism, and gendered violence, and are infused with the rich texture of local dialects, folk references, and religious idioms.

Holy Cow explores the terror of interfaith relationships in a climate of increasing religious intolerance.

Noorah’s House shows how architecture itself reflects and enforces gendered limitations.

The Portrait deals with the alienation of a widow erased from her own family’s memory.

Child Bride gives voice to a girl who sees through a marriage custom that stole her childhood.

These stories—sometimes gritty, sometimes poetic—showcase Mushtaq’s dual strength as a storyteller and activist, drawing from her work as a lawyer and champion for women's rights in Karnataka.

The Booker Prize jury described Heart Lamp as “witty, vivid, colloquial, moving, and excoriating,” praising how it portrays “family, community, and the cost of resistance.” Translator Deepa Bhasthi noted, “This isn’t just recognition for one book. It’s recognition for a whole language, and a literary tradition that has often been overlooked.”

Banu Mushtaq responded: “I’m happy. But I need to write more on the inequalities in society. My duty is writing against inequality of all kinds.”

The winner of the £50,000 prize—shared equally between author and translator—will be announced on May 20, 2025, at London’s Tate Modern.

Heart Lamp is published by Penguin Random House India and is available at major bookstores and online platforms.