Write, and you will get clarity about everything: International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq

In conversation with Forbes India after winning one of the most prestigious literary awards for her book Heart Lamp, Mushtaq speaks about the genesis of her stories, what they reflect, her process of writing, and more

By Samidha Jain Forbes India Staff

Published: May 26, 2025 12:37:47 PM IST

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Banu Mushtaq, author of 'Heart Lamp' attends the official winners' ceremony of the International Booker Prize 2025 at Tate Modern in London, United Kingdom on May 20, 2025. The International Booker Prize is awarded annually for the finest single work of fiction from around the world which has been translated into English and published in the UK and Ireland. Photo by Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty Images

"In a world that often tries to divide us, literature remains one of the last sacred spaces where we can live inside each other's minds, if only for a few pages," said Banu Mushtaq in her acceptance speech after winning the International Booker Prize 2025 for her book of short stories, Heart Lamp. Her words hold true as her short stories written in Kannada, translated and published in English, made history by becoming the only collection of short stories to ever win a Booker Prize.

Heart Lamp, comprising 12 short stories written by Mushtaq between 1990 and 2023, offers a poignant portrayal of the lives of Muslim women in southern India. The struggles depicted in these stories—shaped by religious conservatism and a deeply patriarchal society—reflect many of the real challenges faced by women in the region. The characters were described by judges at the Booker Prize as “astonishing portraits of survival and resilience”.

Over the years, numerous prestigious local and national awards—including the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award—have been bestowed upon Mushtaq. In 2024, Haseena and Other Stories, the English translation of five of Mushtaq’s short story collections originally published between 1990 and 2012, was awarded the PEN Translation Prize.

The stories in Heart Lamp were selected and translated into English from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, who will share the £50,000 prize. With this win, Bhasthi became the first Indian translator to receive the International Booker.

Mushtaq, 77, hails from Hassan in Karnataka, where she grew up immersed in the Kannada language. Over the years, she built a multifaceted career as a journalist, lawyer, and activist. Her writing was deeply inspired by the pain, suffering, and helpless lives of the women she encountered—stories she felt could only be truly expressed in Kannada. In her speech after the win, she said: “To write in Kannada is to inherit a legacy of cosmic wonder and earthly wisdom.”

In conversation with Forbes India, Mushtaq speaks about the genesis of her stories, what they reflect, her process of writing, her advice to youngsters, and more. Edited excerpts:

Q. Winning the Booker is a landmark. How does the recognition feel and were you expecting it?

It is such an incredible moment I'm witnessing, and I'm so happy about it. I am happy for myself and my country and the people there who have been celebrating the win.

Q. Was there a specific moment that sparked the genesis of the stories that appear in Heart Lamp?

They were written in different times, addressing different social situations and social issues, and they were written as a reaction to what was happening at the relevant time. I have published volumes of these stories from 1990 to 2023. There are over 60 stories. Among these collections, Deepa Bhasthi, who translated the stories from Kannada to English, selected 12 short stories and thus came the book, Heart Lamp.

Q. Are there any writers from the past or present who have shaped your literary voice, or any writers you find inspiring?

I read a lot of writers and their works. But I can’t say if they’ve influenced me, or if some of their works influenced me. Instead, I’d say that people influenced me, and they are influencing me now also. I believe that if you really observe people, they tell you a lot of stories. They will tell you a lot of things. They will give you a lot of emotions. I register them, and that is where I get inspiration from.

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Q. Your stories confront topics such as patriarchy, gender inequality, faith, and the everyday struggles of women in conservative societies. Do you see your work as a form of activism, or do you prefer it to be read as purely art?

I think my stories reflect a commitment towards women, human beings, and towards society. There is a commitment towards womanhood and against patriarchy. One can observe all these things in my stories. I don't talk about only the rose petals. I talk about the thorns also. I also talk about the leaves. And I do various other interpretations regarding them. The idea is to portray that commitment, how it is read is up to the reader.

Q. Why did you choose to write in Kannada?

I have not studied English as a medium of instruction. I am a Muslim by religion, and we speak Dakhni Urdu at home. I was made to join Kannada medium school. Till my college, it was the language of instruction. That's why I'm well versed in Kannada. I am also well versed in Urdu, because it is our mother tongue. I can communicate in English also. I am multilingual, but I think I can express myself effectively only in Kannada.

Q. Was there anything that you perceived to be a difficult part of writing these stories, emotionally or creatively?

No. To write stories, I don't do any preparation. I don't do any research work. I allow them to grow in my mind. All the characters, situations, names, the turns, curves—everything is farmed in my mind. Once I start writing, there is a complete flow, and I just write. I don't even revise the stories once they are finished.

Q. Would you like to share any heartwarming or memorable reaction that you've received from a reader or a critic about your stories?

There are a lot of them. But if I look back, there’s one I remember just now. A woman read one of my stories titled ‘God and Accidents’, which was published in a weekly magazine. She later conveyed to me that when her husband died in the hospital, she was so shocked that she could do nothing till her family arrived. She was numb, and she could do nothing. She saw the magazine near her in which the story had appeared, and she started to read this story. It gave her a kind of companionship till her family arrived.

Q. Is there something you’d tell your younger self, now that you’ve won one of literature’s highest honours, and have done so much work as a lawyer and an activist?

Why should I address my younger self now. I don't feel the necessity.

Q. Any piece of advice that you would want to give to young writers?

I don’t like to give advice. I don't even advise my children, because the younger generation doesn't want any advisors. They want only action. I tell them to start writing. You're too late to start writing. Write, write, and write. And this written material or story or novel or whatever you are reading and writing, is what will accompany you till you are dead. Write and you will get clarity about everything.