NB BUREAU
Geetanjali Shree has become the first Indian author to win the prestigious International Booker Prize for her Hindi novel ‘Tomb of Sand.
At a ceremony in London on Thursday, the 64-year-old New Delhi-based writer said she was “completely overwhelmed” with the “bolt from the blue” as she accepted her 50,000-pound prize, and shared it with the book’s English translator Daisy Rockwell. The prize is split between author and translator equally.
Tomb of Sand’, originally Ret Samadhi’, is set in northern India and follows an 80-year-old woman in a tale the Booker judges dubbed a “joyous cacophony” and an “irresistible novel”.
“I never dreamt of the Booker, I never thought I could. What a huge recognition, I’m amazed, delighted, honoured and humbled, said Shree in her acceptance speech.
Reflecting upon becoming the first work of fiction in Hindi to make the Booker cut, the author said it felt good to be the means of that happening.
“But behind me and this book lies a rich and flourishing literary tradition in Hindi, and in other South Asian languages. World literature will be richer for knowing some of the finest writers in these languages. The vocabulary of life will increase from such an interaction, she said.
This year the judges considered 135 books and for the first time in 2022, all shortlisted authors and translators will each receive 2,500 pounds, an increase from 1,000 pounds in previous years bringing the total value of the prize to 80,000 pounds.
Complementing the Booker Prize for Fiction, the international prize is awarded every year for a single book that is translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland.
(With PTI inputs)
