In a moment of immense pride for Indian literature, Heart Lamp, the English translation of a profound Kannada anthology that focused on the lives of Muslim girls and women in southern India, has been awarded the International Booker Prize. The award is not merely a feather in the cap of author Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi, but it is also a resounding affirmation of the depth and diversity of Indian vernacular literature. The International Booker Prize, previously known as the Man Booker International Prize, was instituted in 2005 and has focused on promoting literary works translated into English. This is the second Indian work that won this award after Tomb of Sand in 2022, which was a translation of Geetanjali Shree’s Hindi novel Ret Samadhi. The treasure of Indian literature is much deeper and profound than the world has ever recognised. While Hindi and Bengali have hogged the global limelight, Heart Lamp’s win shows that Indian literature is not a monolith and has myriad shades expressed through various languages, reflecting the distinct culture of each region. Each Indian language has its own literary lineage and aesthetic sensibility. To the credit of Deepa Bhasthi, she carried the essence of the original Kannada text across linguistic borders, making it truly resonate with a global readership. This collaboration between author and translator should thus become the model, not the exception. India is a land of storytellers, where our ancestors conveyed profound messages of ethics, life and beyond. The country must embrace this identity. Instead of merely recognising literary work through awards, the government should promote these works globally by investing in quality translations. Let Heart Lamp be the dawn of a new literary era in India, which allows Indian literature to find global resonance and enables the creation of an Indosphere in literature.
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