Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq receives warm welcome in Bengaluru; felicitated

Bengaluru, May 28 (IANS) Booker Prize-winning Kannada author and activist Banu Mushtaq received a warm welcome at the Bengaluru International Airport on Wednesday as she visited the city for the first time after receiving the prestigious international award in London.

Officials from the Kannada and Culture Department, Kannada activists, and airport staff welcomed her with garlands and bouquets. Yakshagana artists performed at the airport in her honour.

Friends and family embraced her and congratulated her on the achievement. Banu Mushtaq walked with grace and a heartening smile, greeting the performing artists and graciously posing for selfies.

The police provided a security escort to help her navigate through the crowd seamlessly.

Later, Banu Mushtaq was felicitated at Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru at an event organised by the Karnataka Working Journalists’ Association, Bahuroopi, and the Gandhi Trust.

Speaking on the occasion, K.V. Prabhakar, Media Advisor to the Chief Minister, stated that Banu Mushtaq is a weaver of humanity and Indianness. The Booker International Prize award recognition represents the sentiments of civilization in current times.

“At a time when divisive forces, religious fanaticism, and fundamentalism are together pushing the world toward destruction, Banu Mushtaq's writing, grounded in humanity and Indianness, has been recognised with the Booker International Prize,” he said.

“This award, given in the name of literature, is a slap in the face of all fundamentalist forces. It challenges all forms of religious arrogance and acknowledges the human values that exist in all religions,” he said.

Prabhakar acknowledged that some progressive writers have quietly murmured that there are greater literary figures than Banu Mushtaq.

“But this award to Banu brings special joy, especially at a time when many have capitulated to fundamentalist forces. Without compromise, she has boldly expressed necessary truths in her stories, speeches, and essays. That’s why I feel this recognition to Banu is also a tribute to the idea of civil society, conveyed through Kannada,” he said.

Banu, he added, sees not only the society and the context she lives in through a woman's perspective but also perceives God through that lens.

“After the Booker International Prize was announced, I read Banu’s story ‘Omme Hennagu Prabhuve’ (Once, Be a Woman, My Lord). In it, she questions whether a God who glorifies patriarchy can truly be divine. She advocates for a divine force that can accept a woman as a human being, and for the nurturing of feminine sensitivity -- even through divinity,” Prabhakar noted.

“Her stories are dialogues with the world,” he said, adding: “What sets Banu apart from other prominent writers is that she didn’t sit safely within four walls applying oil to her skin while writing. She involved herself in people’s movements, took a definitive stand, and remained committed to it with courage."

Banu Mushtaq has won the prestigious International Booker prize for the short story anthology, 'Heart Lamp'.

The award was announced at a ceremony held at London's Tate Modern recently.

'Heart Lamp' is the first book written in the Kannada language to win the prestigious prize. The book dwells on the hardships of Muslim women of southern India. The book features 13 short stories written over three decades from 1990 to 2023.

She began writing while in school and married a man of her choice. Her stream of thought and stories of the resilience of Muslim women angered the fundamental elements.

Even as Mushtaq faced fatwah and attacks, she continued to raise her voice for Muslim women.

Mushtaq described the honour as a victory for diversity after collecting the award. Her book was shortlisted among six worldwide titles.

--IANS

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