The Hindu Lit for Life | Booker Prize-winning author Banu Mushtaq on life before and after the prestigious literary honour

When the Booker shortlist was announced, local media installed a permanent camera in my hall. And ever since I won the prize, I have either been travelling by road, air, or waiting at airport lounges. I have been attending 10 to 15 events a month. Even now, I’m on my way to the airport to catch a flight to Jaipur, after which I will travel to Chennai. At home too, I have been giving four to five interviews a day. I haven’t been able to write much, except for one or two poems. All this exhausts me.

While these varied experiences are nice, too much of something is always too bad. I keep thinking I should cut down to one or two events a month. I will soon be receiving a fellowship in Germany which should hopefully give me some time to write.

Now, post the Booker, the one indulgence that would make my day better would be to lose myself in reading or writing, undisturbed by phone calls or doorbells, with nothing breaking the rhythm of my inner world — and to spend the whole day without having to speak to anyone.

But I do enjoy meeting people. This gives me an insight into their attitudes, thinking process, and actions. I’ve always been very active since my school days. I’m a social activist and have spent a lot of time with people. Before the Booker, I would go to my office in the morning — I’m a practicing lawyer — to meet clients, to go court, and do some writing once at home.

For me, living well right now means living attentively and ethically. It is not about comfort or acclaim, but about remaining answerable — to language, to injustice, and to the quiet truths of everyday lives. At this moment, living well means protecting one’s inner integrity while staying open to the world’s wounds, and allowing literature to remain a space of listening rather than authority.

I often return to writing that does not announce its greatness, but earns it quietly. Right now, I find myself rereading short stories and essays that attend closely to ordinary lives — work that trusts silence, understatement, and moral complexity. Reading for pleasure, for me, is returning to language that slows me down, reminds me why I began reading in the first place, and restores humility before the act of writing. I read works in Urdu, Hindi, English and Kannada, except other Dravidian languages. I have started reading Arundhati Roy’s Mother Mary Comes to Me, but haven’t been able to progress beyond a few pages. There are so many such books on my table that need my attention.

This is going to be my first literary festival in Chennai, my first time in the city. I haven’t been to Tamil Nadu much, but have travelled extensively in Kerala, meeting readers at various festivals since my works have been translated to Malayalam since 1997. I’m looking forward to visiting the city and exploring some of its interesting places.

In Heart Lamp: The Stories Behind The Stories, Banu Mushtaq will be in conversation with Pankaja Srinivasan on January 18, 9.30am to 10.20am at Sir Mutha Concert Hall