Writing is like breathing, says Banu Mushtaq

Over three decades spent chronicling the everyday lives of women in India, International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq says she cannot live without writing as it is like breathing for her.

Mushtaq's short story collection "Heart Lamp", translated by Deepa Bhasthi from Kannada to English, became the first Kannada title to receive the prestigious literary award on May 21.

The writer, who returned to India on Tuesday, reflected on her career as a lawyer, women’s rights activist, a reporter, and a writer in an interview with PTI.

"I had to make a lot of effort. I had to write and I had to work hard, I have done all of that. There are many challenges in it. Writing is not that easy, there are many difficulties and challenges in it, I had to face that too.

“I never thought that I would not write. Every day I believe that I have to write. I cannot live without writing, writing is like breathing for me, that is why I had to write and move forward," Mushtaq said.

The winning collection of 12 short stories chronicles the resilience, resistance, wit, and sisterhood of everyday women struggling in patriarchal setup in southern India.

Mushtaq and Bhasthi competed against five other international titles for the coveted GBP 50,000 prize.

It was a moment of disbelief for Mushtaq, who called her win "a miraculous thing".

"The jury chairman delivered his speech. My children and I were watching what he was going to say, when finally the 'Heart Lamp' was announced, our happiness knew no bounds, I became numb for two minutes. I could not understand what I was hearing," the 77-year-old said.

And then everything drowned in applause.

"My children also started cheering... Never in my wildest dreams I thought I would enter this competition and reach this place. This is a miraculous thing, " she said.

In her long career, Mushtaq has worked as a reporter for Kannada newspaper Lankesh Patrike from 1990 to 2000 and currently works as a lawyer at Hassan court in Karnataka.

In a message to her readers, she said that the real aim of life should be to strive for a peaceful coexistence.

"There can only be one message that in our country we should maintain a brotherhood. The real aim of our lives should be to strive for a peaceful coexistence. We should abstain from hate speech, and be cautious of hate speech. If what you say is true then I have no objection to it but when intentionally lies are concocted then it does not feel good," she said.