LONDON (Diya TV) — Heart Lamp, a powerful collection of short stories by Indian writer and lawyer Banu Mushtaq, translated from Kannada into English by Deepa Bhasthi, has won the 2025 International Booker Prize, marking several historic firsts. The announcement came on the evening of May 20 during a ceremony at the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in London.

Mushtaq is now the second Indian author to win the prestigious literary prize, and Bhasthi becomes the first Indian translator to receive the honor. The £50,000 award will be shared equally between the writer and translator, as is tradition with the prize.

Published by independent UK publisher And Other Stories, Heart Lamp is the first short story collection—and the first book translated from Kannada—to win the International Booker. Kannada, spoken by around 65 million people and the official language of the Indian state of Karnataka, makes a groundbreaking debut on the Booker stage with this recognition.

The book comprises 12 stories written over more than three decades, which explore the lives of women navigating deeply patriarchal communities in southern India. Chair of judges Max Porter praised Heart Lamp as “something genuinely new for English readers,” describing it as “a radical translation which ruffles language,” and calling the stories “beautiful, busy, life-affirming” narratives that tackle themes of faith, caste, reproductive rights, and systemic oppression.

Mushtaq, who began her literary journey in the 1970s as part of the Bandaya Sahitya protest literature movement, said her writing is inspired by the stories of women who approached her for legal aid during her work as a rights advocate. “The pain, suffering, and helpless lives of these women create a deep emotional response within me, compelling me to write,” she said during the award ceremony.

She added, “This win is more than a personal achievement. It is an affirmation that we as individuals and as a global community can thrive when we embrace diversity, celebrate our differences, and uplift one another.”

Bhasthi, who curated and translated the stories from six Kannada collections published between 1990 and 2023, said she immersed herself in Urdu music and Pakistani television to better understand the cultural nuances of Mushtaq’s characters. “I was very conscious of the fact that I knew very little about the community she places her stories in,” Bhasthi said. “I suppose these things somehow helped me get under the skin of the stories and the language she uses.”

She described her translation approach as “translating with an accent”—a technique meant to retain the original cultural flavor of the Kannada language while remaining accessible to English readers. “The aim is to introduce the reader to new words, in this case, Kannada,” Bhasthi explained in an earlier interview with Scroll. “So the English in Heart Lamp is English with a very deliberate Kannada hum to it.”

Porter said the judging panel—including poet Caleb Femi, Guardian critic Sana Goyal, author and translator Anton Hur, and musician Beth Orton—deliberated for six hours before unanimously selecting Heart Lamp. Though literary quality was the top priority, he noted that the book’s feminist politics and emotional depth played a significant role. “They aren’t activist stories,” he said. “First and foremost, they’re beautiful accounts of everyday life and particularly the lives of women.”

Heart Lamp was selected from a shortlist of six translated titles, including On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle, Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami, Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, and A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre.

John Self, writing in The Guardian, had earlier called Heart Lamp a “wonderful collection” and a “worthy winner,” praising its consistent vision and tonal range.

This year’s win cements Heart Lamp’s place in literary history, not only for its cultural significance but also for its compelling storytelling and innovative translation.