Siddaramaiah congratulates Banu Mushtaq’s Booker win

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday congratulated writer Banu Mushtaq for winning International Booker Prize for her Kannada short story collection.

Lauding her feat, CM said, She has raised the flag of Kannada's greatness at international level.

Writer, activist and lawyer Mushtaq's short story collection ‘Hridaya Deepa’ (Heart Lamp) on Tuesday night became the first Kannada title to win the coveted GBP 50,000 International Booker Prize in London.

Mushtaq collected the prize at a ceremony at Tate Modern along with Deepa Bhasthi, who translated the title from Kannada to English.

“Heartiest congratulations to the proud Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq for winning the International Booker Prize for Literature. This is a time to celebrate Kannada, Kannadigas and Karnataka,” Siddaramaiah posted on ‘X’.

He said, Banu Mustaq, who writes while embodying the true values of harmony, secularism, and brotherhood of this land, has raised the flag of Kannada's greatness at the international level and brought respect to us all.

“I wish she would continue to write meaningfully for many more years and spread the vibe of Kannada to the world,” the CM said.

“On behalf of all Kannadigas, I would also like to congratulate the talented author Deepa Bhasti, who has translated her Booker Prize-winning work 'Hridaya Deepa' into English,” he added.

Union Minister and former Chief Minister Kumaraswamy heaped praise on the writer on 'X' too.

"This is a proud moment for all Kannadigas. Heartfelt congratulations to our state's proud author, Banu Mushtaq, who has been awarded the International Booker Literary Prize," he said in his post.

"Congratulations to author Deepa Bhasti also, for translating this Booker Prize-winning work into English. I hope Banu Mushtaq will produce more such great works. May the Kannada literary world be enriched by her and may the flavor of Kannada spread across the world," Kumaraswamy added.

Shortlisted among six worldwide titles, Mushtaq’s work appealed to the judges for its “witty, vivid, colloquial, moving and excoriating” style of capturing portraits of family and community tensions.