Delhi-based author Gitanjali Shree’s ‘Tomb of Sand’ won the International Booker Prize for the first Hindi novel.
Highlight
- Geetanjali Shree has become the first Indian author to win the prestigious International Booker Prize
- The Delhi-based writer won the award for her “totally original” Hindi novel ‘Tomb of Sand’.
- I never dreamed of a booker, says Gitanjali Shree in her speech
International Booker PrizeGitanjali Shree has become the first Indian author to win the prestigious International Booker Prize for her “entirely original” Hindi novel ‘Tomb of Sand’, a family saga about an 80-year-old woman in northern India who lives in Pakistan. travels to. Face the unresolved trauma of your teenage experiences of partition and reevaluate what it means to be a mother, a daughter, a woman, and a feminist.
At a ceremony in London on Thursday, the 64-year-old writer from New Delhi said she was “absolutely overwhelmed” by “Bolt from the Blue” as she accepted her £50,000 prize, sharing it with the book’s English did. Translator Daisy Rockwell. The prize is divided equally between the author and the translator.
‘The Tomb of the Sands’, originally ‘Ritt Mausoleum’, is set in northern India and follows an 80-year-old woman who was dubbed by the Booker judges a “joyful cacophony” and an “irresistible novel”.
In his acceptance speech, Mr. said, “I never dreamed of Booker, I never thought I could. What a great recognition, I am amazed, delighted, honored and humbled.”
“There is a melancholy satisfaction in knowing this award. ‘Sand Mausoleum/Sand Tomb’ is an ode to the world in which we live, an enduring energy that keeps hope in the face of impending doom. Booker certainly gives it a go. Will take far more people than it would have otherwise, it shouldn’t do any damage to the book,” she said.
Considering it to be the first work in Hindi to cut Booker, the author said it felt good to be the medium for this to happen.
“But behind me and this book is a rich and rich literary tradition in Hindi and other South Asian languages. World literature will be enriched to know some of the best authors of these languages. Such conversations will enhance the vocabulary of life,” he said. Told.
Rockwell, a painter, writer and translator living in Vermont, USA, joined her on stage and described her translation of the novel as a “love letter to the Hindi language”.
“Ultimately, we were captivated by the power, poignancy and playfulness of ‘Sand of Sand’, a polyphonic novel of identity and belonging in Daisy Rockwell’s prolific, cohesive translation of Gitanjali Shri,” said judging panel chairman Frank Wayne.
“It is a dazzling novel of India and Partition, but one whose charm and fierce compassion weaves youth and age, man and woman, family and nation into a kaleidoscope,” he said.
The book’s 80-year-old heroine, Ma, insists on traveling to Pakistan, due to the distraction of her family, as well as coping with the unresolved trauma of her teenage experiences of Partition, and what it means to be a mother, a daughter. , reevaluates it. Woman, Feminist.
Booker Jury Response:
The Booker jury was impressed that, rather than responding to the tragedy with solemnity, Mr.’s playful tone and spirited word play resulted in a book that was “catchy, witty and utterly original”, as well as an immediate counter-argument against the destructive. And there was protest at the time. The effect of boundaries and borders, whether between religions, countries or genders.
The Mainpuri-born author of three novels and several story collections, Shree has translated her works into English, French, German, Serbian and Korean.
Originally published in Hindi in 2018, ‘Tomb of Sand’ is his first book to be published in English in the UK by Tilted Axis Press in August 2021.
Mr.’s novel was selected from a shortlist of six books, the others being: ‘Cursed Bunny’ by Bora Chung, translated from Korean by Anton Hur; ‘A New Name: Septology VI-VII’ by John Fosse, translated by Damien Sears of Norwegian; ‘Heaven’ by Miko Kawakami, translated from Japanese by Samuel Bate and David Boyd; ‘Elena Nose’ by Claudia Pinero, translated from Spanish by Francis Riddle; and ‘The Books of Jacob’ by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from Polish by Jennifer Croft.
This year judges considered 135 books and for the first time in 2022, all shortlisted authors and translators will receive £2,500, up from £1,000 in previous years – bringing the total value of the prize to £80,000.
As a complement to the Booker Prize for Fiction, the International Prize is awarded each year to a single book that is translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland.
(with inputs from agencies)
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