India, May 21 -- Banu Mushtaq, a writer who talks about women's lives, caste, power and oppression, has been awarded the International Booker Prize along with her translator Deepa Bhasthi for her book "Heart Lamp".

Karnataka-based Banu Mushtaq, 77, is the first Kannada author to win the annual Booker Prize given to the best English-translated fiction. Talking about this breathtaking moment, Mushtaq said, "This feels like a thousand fireflies lighting a single sky - brief, brilliant and utterly collective."

Moreover, this is the second Indian book to win this international honour after Geetanjali Shree and translator Daisy Rockwell's Tomb of Sand (Ret Samadhi) in 2022.

Apart from her life as an author Mushtaq is also known for her advoc...