Heart Lamp: Short stories that confront raw, unvarnished realities of Muslim, Dalit women in South India

By Vikas Meshram

Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp is not just a book—it is a literary milestone. This groundbreaking Kannada short story collection, translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, has become the first work in Kannada to win the International Booker Prize (2025) and the first-ever short story collection to receive the honor. With this recognition, Mushtaq becomes only the second Indian woman to win the prestigious award, following Geetanjali Shree’s Tomb of Sand in 2022.

Spanning over three decades of work (1990–2023), Heart Lamp comprises 12 short stories that confront the raw and unvarnished realities of Muslim and Dalit women in South India. Mushtaq’s writing is steeped in emotional intensity and social critique, offering piercing narratives of gender, caste, and religious injustice. Jury chair Max Porter praised the collection as “a bold, beautiful, and deeply human tapestry,” and called it “an introspective glimpse into lives and worlds rarely seen in English literature.”

Born in 1948 in the Hassan district of Karnataka, Banu Mushtaq began her literary journey through the Bandaya movement, a powerful wave in Kannada literature that rejected elitism and championed the marginalized. A lawyer, journalist, and activist, Mushtaq’s voice has long been a force for justice. Heart Lamp, published by UK-based independent publisher And Other Stories, marks her first complete translation into English—ushering a new era of visibility for regional Indian literature on the world stage.

Among the stories, “Heart Deepa” stands out with haunting clarity. It narrates the despair of Mehrun, a mother of three whose husband takes a second wife. Crushed and hopeless, she plans to end her life. As she prepares to light herself ablaze, her daughter Salima arrives in time to stop her, pleading not to be orphaned. It is a heart-wrenching scene—one that embodies Mushtaq’s core strength: capturing emotional extremes without melodrama.

Another powerful piece, "Block Cobra", offers biting social satire. In it, Ashraf, abandoned by her husband, seeks aid from the local mosque’s mutawalli, only to be dismissed. The women of the village, driven to symbolic protest, "spit venom" like cobras—culminating in a cathartic act of rebellion against patriarchal authority. These stories, though set in rural Karnataka, resonate universally, revealing structural violence with an uncompromising gaze.

Mushtaq’s own life mirrors the grit and defiance of her characters. Educated in a madrasa, she chose her partner against societal norms, only to find herself suffocated by a conservative marital environment. A near-suicidal moment became a turning point when her husband, holding their daughter, urged her to live freely. From that moment, she reclaimed her voice—writing, reporting, and eventually becoming one of the most formidable literary voices in Kannada.

Her body of work includes six short story collections, a novel, essays, and poetry. Despite her national and now global recognition, Mushtaq has remained deeply rooted in her community and language. The fact that both she and translator Deepa Bhasthi come from rural Karnataka underscores the magnitude of this literary achievement.

At the award ceremony in England, Mushtaq was accompanied not by her husband, who could not travel, but by her daughter—a symbolic choice reflecting both her journey and her legacy. The $50,000 prize, shared equally with Bhasthi, represents more than recognition: it is a global platform for voices that have long been silenced.

Heart Lamp is a radiant example of literature’s power to illuminate unseen lives. It challenges, grieves, and ultimately empowers. With its International Booker win, the book not only amplifies the stories of Muslim and Dalit women but also opens the gates wider for Indian regional literature to step boldly onto the global literary stage.

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