Heart Lamp: Selected Stories
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Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp: Selected Stories, translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, offers a powerful and intimate glimpse into the lives of women and girls within Muslim communities in southern India. Originally penned between 1990 and 2023, these twelve stories showcase Mushtaq’s profound understanding of her characters’ inner worlds, marked by both resilience and quiet suffering within patriarchal structures.
Mushtaq’s writing is lauded for its vividness, wit, and colloquial style, yet it doesn’t shy away from excoriating the injustices faced by these women. Through sparky children, audacious grandmothers, and the often-hapless men in their lives, she paints a nuanced portrait of community tensions and the emotional toll exacted upon mothers and wives. Her background as a lawyer and activist championing women’s rights shines through, lending authenticity and depth to her narratives.
While some critics note a thematic similarity across the stories, focusing on abuse and oppression, the collection is largely celebrated for its compelling characters, sharp dialogue, and the simmering tensions that keep the reader engaged. Bhasthi’s translation is commended for capturing the nuances of the original Kannada, bringing Mushtaq’s significant voice in progressive literature to a wider English-speaking audience. Heart Lamp is a significant work, revealing the varied realities of contemporary women with both tenderness and unflinching honesty.
| Author | Banu Mushtaq |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Penguin Books |
| ISBN | 9780143464471 |
| Binding | Paperback |
| Pages | 216 |
| Year of Publication | 2025 |
| Condition | New |
| Country of Origin | India |
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| Shipping | This book will be shipped in 2-4 days. The time taken for you to receive it will depend upon the mode you choose, while completing your purchase. The rates applicable for each mode are different. You will be informed after the order is shipped. Shipping costs depend on the mode chosen, the weight of the item, and the distance it will travel to reach its destination. Shipping costs will be charged depending on the weight of the entire purchase (if more than one item is purchased). The same shipping mode will apply to all products in such a case. |
| About The Contributors | Banu Mushtaq, born in 1948 in Karnataka, is a celebrated Kannada writer, activist, and lawyer. Emerging from the progressive Bandaya Sahitya movement, she became a significant voice addressing caste and class inequalities, particularly as one of the few women writers within it. Her writing often centers on the lives of marginalized communities, especially Muslim women, tackling themes of patriarchy, social injustice, and religious fundamentalism with a blend of wit and stark realism.<br/><br/>Deepa Bhasthi is a writer and literary translator based in Kodagu, southern India. Her columns, essays and cultural criticism have been published in India and internationally. Her published translations from Kannada include a novel by Kota Shivarama Karanth and a collection of short stories by Kodagina Gouramma. Her translation of Banu Mushtaq’s stories has won her the English PEN Translates award. |
| Translator | Deepa Bhasthi |
About The Contributors
Banu Mushtaq, born in 1948 in Karnataka, is a celebrated Kannada writer, activist, and lawyer. Emerging from the progressive Bandaya Sahitya movement, she became a significant voice addressing caste and class inequalities, particularly as one of the few women writers within it. Her writing often centers on the lives of marginalized communities, especially Muslim women, tackling themes of patriarchy, social injustice, and religious fundamentalism with a blend of wit and stark realism.
Deepa Bhasthi is a writer and literary translator based in Kodagu, southern India. Her columns, essays and cultural criticism have been published in India and internationally. Her published translations from Kannada include a novel by Kota Shivarama Karanth and a collection of short stories by Kodagina Gouramma. Her translation of Banu Mushtaq’s stories has won her the English PEN Translates award.
This book will be shipped in 2-4 days. The time taken for you to receive it will depend upon the mode you choose, while completing your purchase. The rates applicable for each mode are different. You will be informed after the order is shipped. Shipping costs depend on the mode chosen, the weight of the item, and the distance it will travel to reach its destination. Shipping costs will be charged depending on the weight of the entire purchase (if more than one item is purchased). The same shipping mode will apply to all products in such a case.