"When I was informed, I was overwhelmed and very happy for myself, the Kannada language, the state and our entire country because it is a time for celebration,” says Banu Mushtaq, in a moment of respite from what was a busy morning after the announcement of her newly-translated short story collection being longlisted for The International Booker Prize. In a landmark moment for Kannada literature, the collection, Heart Lamp (Penguin India, `399), has become the first Kannada book to be longlisted, among 12 others across the world, for the award which is given to books translated into English. Translator Deepa Bhasthi adds to this, saying, “We have such an amazing body of literature stretching back to over 1,000 years but unfortunately, not many translations come out, even within India, of Kannada. We are very proud and hopefully, this will encourage more translations from Kannada to English.”
A Voice of Courage
The book, set to be released in April, features 12 short stories written between 1990 and 2023, revolving around the lives of ordinary girls and women in South India’s Muslim communities and paints a picture of familial and communal tensions. Readers may be familiar with the story ‘Black Cobras’ or ‘Kari Nagaragalu’ which was adapted into the film
Hasina by Girish Kasaravalli. For the author, who is also an outspoken lawyer and activist, this moment is also one of vindication. “I have also been punished for my views, values and convictions. There were fatwas issued against me and there was an order of excommunication because I stated that even women are allowed to enter mosques, and in the Quran, they are not restricted. So, some fanatics got offended,” she says, recalling one of the most challenging moments in her journey so far.
Mushtaq, who has written prolifically since the 1970s as a part of the Bandaya movement in Kannada literature, centres the voices of some of the most oppressed in our society. She says of her inspirations, “Most of my short stories are reactions to our contemporary society. Particularly, news items which challenge my heart. I am also a practising lawyer, and there are so many clients who come to me, and talk less about legal things and more about their personal experiences – issues they face, what they feel, how they feel, how they are subjugated and are humiliated, and how they want to come out of it.”
Universally Engaging
Apart from its pertinent subject matter, the book was acknowledged by judges for its ‘witty, colloquial, moving, and excoriating style’. For Madikeri-based translator Bhasthi, retaining this style and its charm in English was no easy task. “What is so amazing about Banu’s stories is that although they are obviously written in Kannada, a lot of her phrases might come from Urdu, Arabic, Dakhni; or the Kannada could be very specific to the Hassan region. It was challenging, but I tried to keep as much of that local flavour as possible without making it very esoteric,” she says, adding, “There is a delicate balance that I think all translators hope to achieve – to get under the skin of the stories, but also not make it so foreign that somebody reading it across the world thinks it is too alien for them to understand.”
Despite this focus on representing historically marginalised voices, Bhasthi notes that these stories rooted in human experience are bound to touch people across contexts. “Even though her characters might have Muslim names, they are not just stories about Muslim women. Be it in India or anywhere in the world, we all go through similar struggles. We are always under pressure from patriarchy and from religious fanaticism. I hope everyone reading it realises that this is a far more universal book,” she says.
Precedent Setter
Originally written in Hindi, Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree was translated by Daisy Rockwell and became the first Indian book to win the International Booker Prize in 2022. The book tells the tale of an 80-year-old woman who falls into deep depression after her husband’s death and goes to Lahore, where she lived as a girl, in search of her first love.