Bengaluru, 4 June

Karnataka Media Academy and the Press Club of Bengaluru jointly hosted an interaction session with Banu Mushtaq and Deepa Bhasthi — recipients of the International Booker Prize — for bringing global recognition to Kannada literature. The event was attended by Ayesha Khanum, Chairperson, Karnataka Media Academy; Shivakumar Bellittatte, General Secretary, Press Club of Bengaluru, among others.

When Mushtaq was asked: “Did you ever think about your writings on the oppression of women, and Rising Beyond the Ceiling—a book on 100 Muslim achievers—did they come from a shared vision?”

Banu replied modestly, “We didn’t even know about the Booker. Writing gave us personal joy—we just submitted it, and history followed.”