An anthology of short stories exploring the everyday lives of women in Muslim communities in Southern India has been shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. Heart Lamp, by Indian author Banu Mushtaq, is a collection of 12 stories that serve as portraits of families living in tight-knit neighbourhoods, featuring spirited children, ambitious grandmothers, hapless husbands and troublesome brothers. Together, they offer vivid snapshots of human nature and quiet meditations on family.
Published separately in the Kannada language between 1990 and 2020, the collection was translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, who could also share the £50,000 (Dh235,036) prize with the author, when the winner is announced at a ceremony at London’s Tate Modern on May 20.
The nomination marks the culmination of a remarkable five-decade literary career for Mushtaq, who began writing in the 1970s and went on to publish six short story collections, a novel, essays and poetry. Widely regarded as one of India’s most acclaimed authors, she has received major literary honours, including the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award. Heart Lamp is the first book-length translation of her work into English, following earlier editions in Urdu, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam.
In an interview published on the Man Booker website, Mushtaq revealed Heart Lamp was curated from 50 stories spanning her six previous collections. The selection, she explained, was a response to the persistent societal discrimination faced by women in her native India. “My stories are about women – how religion, society and politics demand unquestioning obedience from them, and in doing so, inflict inhumane cruelty upon them, turning them into mere subordinates,” she said. “The daily incidents reported in the media and the personal experiences I have endured, have been my inspiration. The pain, suffering and helpless lives of these women create a deep emotional response within me, compelling me to write.”
Heart Lamp is one of six titles shortlisted this year for the International Booker Prize – and the only short story collection among five novels. The other contenders include On the Calculation of Volume I by Danish writer Solvej Balle, the first in a planned septology centred on an antiquarian bookseller caught in a time loop; Small Boat by French author Vincent Delecroix, inspired by the real-life tragedy of migrants who died while attempting to cross the English Channel in a dinghy in 2021; Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Japan’s Hiromi Kawakami, which follows an expatriate millennial couple adjusting to a new life in Berlin; and A Leopard-Skin Hat by French author Anne Serre, an intimate exploration of the narrator’s evolving bond with a childhood friend.
One title that didn’t make the final cut, after being longlisted in February, is The Book of Disappearance by Palestinian author Ibtisam Azem. The Arabic novel follows a young Palestinian man as he comes to terms with the death of his grandmother, a survivor of the 1948 Nakba.
“These are books about survival and self-preservation – about our indomitable instinct to keep going in the face of catastrophe, oppression, extinction or hopelessness,” the Booker Prize jury said in a statement. “In a world that can often seem full of despair, this is a shortlist that celebrates the human spirit – our capacity to endure and our impulse to live a better life.”
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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
The five pillars of Islam
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2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The five pillars of Islam
SPECS
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
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The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
The specs
Common to all models unless otherwise stated
Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi
0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)
Power: 276hp
Torque: 392Nm
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD
Price: TBC
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
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- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
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*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
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Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
MATCH INFO
League Cup, last 16
Manchester City v Southampton, Tuesday, 11.45pm (UAE)
