Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi

Our first book will be Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi.

Heart Lamp, originally written in Kannada, won the International Booker Prize 2025. In 12 stories, Banu Mushtaq "exquisitely captures the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India".

About the event

We're an informal group, but the idea is to go relatively in-depth with our discussion of the month's book. The expectation, therefore, is that people will have read it!

I'll provide discussion questions for every event. These are optional, of course, but will help to provide some steer. Booker have made it easy for me this time by writing their own - feel free to save this doc to your phone so you can reference it on the night: discussion questions.

There won't be a single central discussion circle, so please discuss the book with whoever you're sat with. No need to wait for any official kick-off.

A little more about the book

Mushtaq said this about her stories: "My stories are about women – how religion, society, and politics demand unquestioning obedience from them, and in doing so, inflict inhumane cruelty upon them, turning them into mere subordinates. The daily incidents reported in media and the personal experiences I have endured have been my inspiration. The pain, suffering, and helpless lives of these women create a deep emotional response within me, compelling me to write."

More resources:

• Watch Max Porter announcing Heart Lamp as the winner of the 2025 International Booker Prize and speeches from Banu Mushtaq and Deepa Bhasthi.
• Listen to Banu and Deepa being interviewed by Asma Khalid of NPR on Here and Now.
• Listen to Banu Mushtaq being interviewed on BBC World Service’s Outlook.
• ‘Red Lungi’, one of the stories in Heart Lamp, is available to read in Paris Review.
• Read Deepa Bhasthi’s essay ‘Anthe: On Translating Kannada’ in Paris Review.