Overview
- Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp, a Kannada short story collection translated by Deepa Bhasthi, won the 2025 International Booker Prize, the first win for a work in Kannada.
- Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar honored the author and translator at Bengaluru’s Vidhana Soudha on June 2 and announced cash awards of Rs 10 lakh each.
- The state government will place Heart Lamp in all government libraries and purchase copies for panchayat-level libraries.
- Officials pledged assistance to translate additional stories from Heart Lamp into English to widen its readership.
- Heart Lamp has been translated into 35 languages and generated ₹6 crore in profits for Penguin Publishers, reflecting growing global demand for regional Indian literature.