Banu Mushtaq and Deepa Bhasthi Win 2025 International Booker Prize for Heart Lamp

Indian writer Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi have jointly won the International Booker Prize 2025 for the short story collection ‘Heart Lamp’, a powerful literary work based on the everyday lives and struggles of women in South India. This marks a historic moment as it is the first time a collection of short stories has received the prestigious award.

Originally written in Kannada, a South Indian language spoken by around 65 million people, the stories in Heart Lamp were written by Mushtaq over a span of more than 30 years (1990 to 2023). Translator Deepa Bhasthi curated and translated the work into English while preserving the multilingual and socio-political richness of the region. The stories shed light on sensitive issues such as faith, caste, women's rights, reproductive freedom, power, and oppression.

Banu Mushtaq, a lawyer, activist, and author, highlighted that the book explores how religion, politics, and society force women into submissive roles, often inflicting harsh injustices upon them. Deepa Bhasthi also became the first Indian translator and ninth woman translator to win this award since its current format began in 2016.

The award was announced at Tate Modern in London by jury chair Max Porter. It includes £50,000 (approx. ₹55 lakh) in prize money, which will be shared equally between the author and translator. Both winners also receive individual trophies.

This win is being celebrated as a proud moment for southern Indian languages and a milestone for Kannada literature on the global stage.