In 12 stories, Banu Mushtaq exquisitely captures the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India
Deepa Bhasthi
Winner of the International Booker Prize 2025 for Heart Lamp. Deepa Bhasthi is a writer and literary translator based in Kodagu, southern India
Bhasthi’s columns, essays and cultural criticism have been published in India and internationally. Her published translations from Kannada include a novel by Kota Shivarama Karanth and a collection of short stories by Kodagina Gouramma. Her translation of Banu Mushtaq’s stories was a winner of English PEN’s PEN Translates award and, collected as Heart Lamp, was the winner of the International Booker Prize 2025.
Exploring the lives of those often on the periphery of society, these vivid stories hold immense emotional and moral weight
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Heart Lamp is the winner of the International Booker Prize 2025. In 12 stories, Banu Mushtaq exquisitely captures the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India
By Banu Mushtaq
Translated by Deepa Bhasthi
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