A(NU) Thought

My latest read (a bit delayed, but never mind), winner of the 2025 Booker Prize , Heart Lamp is a collection of selected stories by Banu Mustaq , translated by Deepa Bhasthi , originally written in Kannada between 1990 and 2023.  As promised, it shines a light on the everyday struggles of Muslim women, focusing on gender inequality, patriarchy, oppression, domestic violence, and more. Now, is it worth a Booker Prize? Honestly, I’m not the best person to comment on that. But here’s what I felt—many of these stories felt familiar, maybe even too familiar, if you’ve grown up in India.  Tales of patriarchy, domestic abuse, women belittling women… we have all seen or heard these around us. So, what makes Heart Lamp special? 

Is it just me, or is there really a sudden deluge of translated books around? Honestly, I am loving it! Getting to read stories from faraway regions, raw, unfiltered, and often from an era untouched by the internet, feels like pure bliss. One such book I picked up recently is T he Owl, The River and the Valley by Arupa Patangia Kalita , translated from Assamese by Mitra Phukan and published by Penguin Random House. It’s a beautiful collection of 12 short stories. These stories capture the essence of everyday struggles, the rhythm of mundane domestic life, and the harsh divide between privilege and poverty. My absolute favourite was Yellow Flip Flops , a story that shocks you with its ending while laying bare the depths of poverty.