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Banu Mushtaq wrote in the South West India Since the 1970s, however Heart lamp – which was preselected for the Booker International 2025 Prize – is the first full book of his work to be translated into English.
Originally published in Kannada (the official language of the original state of Mushtaq in Karnakata) between 1990 and 2023, these 12 storiesSelected by its translator Deepa Bhasthi, offers portraits affecting the family and the community. More specifically, they illuminate the lives of Muslim women and children and dalits in southern India. An activist and lawyer, Mushtaq forms her eye loving daily injustices and the religious oppression that her characters persist in a patriarchal society.
In “Black Cobras”, Aashraf begs the mutawalli (Guardian) of the mosque to force her husband Yakub to provide medical expenses to her sick child, but he ignores his calls and petitions. When the tragedy strikes, the women in the neighborhood unite in their rage, forcing the mutawalli To face the role he played. The metaphors and aphorisms enrich the domestic worlds of Mushtaq “After having laid the egg of light at dawn, the black hen of ignorance is out, rushing into the dark to peck the grains and the sticks.”
It also explores the questions of honor and the price that women pay for maternity and uneven marriages. In titular history, Mehrun is making an unwelcome visit to his family home with her baby. Her husband has an affair with a younger woman and she pleads permission to escape her humiliating situation: “Rather than burning in this living hell, I take my children and work somewhere a coolie.”
Her brothers, concerned about the reputation of their family, return Mehrun to her husband where she plans to commit suicide while melting kerosene. “Heart Lamp” was inspired by Mushtaq's own experience while suffering from postpartum depression. Her loving husband saved her from despair; Here, his character finds peace “while the darkness of the night was dismissed”.
In “Red Lungi”, which appeared for the first time in the Revue de Paris, Mushtaq describes societal inequalities with ironic humor with pathos. Razia, a woman from a rich family, tired of taking care of many children during the summer holidays, decides to circumcise the boys in an offer “to rest for the bed for some of them”.
A festive event is organized where the sons of the villagers are circumcised for free: “A collective exercise in which children are looking forward to an event but end up screaming together.” Those of poor families undergo the traditional method with Ibrahim the hairdresser. Razia pays for his relatives to be treated by the surgeon with local anesthesia. While Samad, Razia's son, suffers from an unpleasant infection, Arif, a boy from the village, recovers without incident, leaving Razia to conclude “if there are people to help the rich, the poor have God”.
The final story, “Be a woman once, Oh Lord!” ends with a rallying cry. The female narrator cook for God: “If you were … Create men and women again, do not be like an inexperienced potter. Come on earth as a woman, Prabhu!”
While certain themes are repeated, the compassion and dark humor of Mushtaq give texture to his stories. These deceptively simple tales denounce the subjugation of women while celebrating their resilience. The nuanced translation of Bhasthi retains several words Kannada, Ourdou and Arabic, transmitting with eloquence the lasting tradition of the oral narration of the language.
Heart lamp: selected stories By Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasti, And other stories £ 14.99, 192 pages
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