Booker prize for ‘Heart Lamp’ is a defining moment for India’s vernacular literature which has been on sidelines for long
In a watershed moment for Indian regional literature, ‘Heart Lamp,’ a short story collection by Banu Mushtaq, translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, has won the 2025 International Booker Prize. This is the first time a Kannada literary work has received this prestigious honour, making it not only a personal triumph for the author and translator but also a landmark moment for Indian vernacular literature on the global stage. ‘Heart Lamp’ is a piercing and poetic collection that centres on the lives of women navigating the grip of patriarchy. The stories are deeply rooted in the spirit of the Bandaya Sahitya movement — a literary rebellion that began in the 1970s in Karnataka. The Bandaya movement, meaning “rebellion literature,†was born out of a fierce resistance to caste oppression, social injustice, and gender discrimination. It gave rise to a generation of writers and activists who used literature as a tool to confront the brutalities of the everyday, particularly those experienced by Dalits, women, and the working class.
Mushtaq’s stories continue that legacy with boldness and empathy. They do not seek to flatter or pacify; they seek to reveal. The women in her stories are not merely victims — they are witnesses, rebels, and survivors. Through Bhasthi’s nuanced and faithful translation, these voices have transcended linguistic boundaries and reached a global audience without losing the cultural texture that gives them life.
The International Booker Prize, one of the most esteemed literary awards in the world, is awarded annually for the best work of translated fiction published in the UK or Ireland. With a prize of £50,000, split equally between the author and the translator, it recognises not just storytelling, but also the essential art of translation — the bridge that carries one culture into the soul of another. Heart Lamp’s win is a recognition of the power of collaboration and the importance of making regional voices legible and resonant to the world.
Historically, the global literary stage has mostly spotlighted Indian writers who write in English. While these voices have undeniably contributed to India’s literary identity abroad, they have also, unintentionally, overshadowed the abundance of storytelling happening in Indian vernacular languages. With scores of scheduled languages and hundreds of dialects, India possesses an incredibly rich literary heritage. Yet, much of it remains under-translated, under-promoted, and under-read. This disparity has created a kind of cultural silence around the lives, struggles, and imaginations of millions who speak and think in languages other than English.
The recognition of Heart Lamp signals a necessary shift. It invites international publishers, literary institutions, and readers to turn their gaze toward the immense, untapped potential of regional Indian literature. More importantly, it affirms the belief that stories rooted in local realities — whether of gender inequality in rural Karnataka or caste dynamics in a small town — have universal resonance when told with honesty and craft.
