Episode 1

Heart Lamp - by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi - is a collection of 12 stories originally written in Kannada, the official language of the state of Karnataka in southwestern India. The collection chronicles the lives of women living in the patriarchal, largely Muslim communities of the region.

In this story, split into two episodes, the protagonist Mehrun returns unexpectedly to her family home. She is hoping for the support of her parents and brothers against her philandering husband.

The author and translator were jointly awarded the International Booker Prize and £50,000. The collection is published in the UK by And Other Stories.

Receiving the award, Mushtaq said, “In a world that often tries to divide us, literature remains one of the last sacred spaces where we can live inside each other’s minds.”

Listen to Banu Mushtaq being interviewed on BBC World Service’s Outlook : https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct6xcd

Abridged by Jill Waters
Read by Deepti Gupta
Translated by Deepa Bhasthi
Produced by The Waters Company for BBC Radio 4