BENGALURU: ‘Heart Lamp’, which won the prestigious International Booker Prize, is selling like hot cakes. The English translation of Banu Mushtaq’s ‘Edeya Hanate’ has created a huge demand for other Kannada works translated into English. Readers not just from Karnataka, but across other states are buying up Heart Lamp, leading to a stockout in most of the bookstores.
“We sold more than 200 books in two days and are out of stock,” exclaimed Krishna Gowda, a representative of Bookworm, Church Street. “We had bought 50 copies and are out of copies now, a few copies are left in our Indiranagar outlet and are selling like crazy,” said a representative of Champaka Bookstore.
Readership for translated Kannada literature has been increasing drastically after the win. “These books go to Kerala today,” said Gowda, pointing to a huge pile of translated Kannada literature. “Vivek Shanbhag’s Ghachar Ghochar and Sakina’s Kiss, Kuvempu’s Bride in the Hills (Malegalalli Madhumagalu), Vasudhendra’s The Unforgiving City and other Stories, and Tejo-Tungabhadra, No presents Please by Jayant Kaikini are few books that are in high demand now.”
“Deepa Bhasthi’s ‘The Same Village The Same Tree’ is also selling fast,” Gowda said. Andaleeb Wajid’s ‘Learning to Make Tea for One is in high demand at Champaka. However, demand for had started ever since it had been shortlisted. “The demand for Heart Lamp started once it was shortlisted for the Booker prize but now demand has increased and we sell up to 70-75 copies per day,” said Mayi Gowda, bookkeeper at Blossom Book House, Church Street.
“Banu’s other short stories have also been demanded by people, especially Haseena Mattu Itara Kathegalu” he adds. The book is a compilation of Mushtaq’s five short story collections published between 1990 and 2012, of which ‘Heart Lamp’ is a part. “Though Heart Lamp is in high demand, more readers are asking for Edeya Hanate, the original Kannada version of Heart Lamp,” says a Sapna Book House representative.