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Banu Mushtaq scripts history by winning the International Booker prize
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'Heart Lamp' first Kannada book to win Booker Prize
Indian writer, women activist Banu Mushtaq scripted history by winning the International Booker prize for the short story anthology, Heart Lamp in 2025. It is the first short-story collection and a Kannada book to win the honour in London on Tuesday.
Originally written in the Kannada language, the stories in Heart Lamp were translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi. She was also honoured with the International Booker Prize along with writer Mushtaq.
As per the Booker Prize website, Heart Lamp is a collection of 12 short stories chronicling the everyday lives of women and girls in patriarchal communities in southern India. The collection of 12 stories spans more than 30 years, written between 1990 and 2023.
Mushtaq is the author of six short-story collections, a novel, an essay collection and a poetry collection.
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Holding expertise in the Kannada language, the writer has won major awards for her literary works, including the Karnataka Sahitya Academy and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe awards, as per The Booker Prizes website.
Heart Lamp is the first book-length translation of Mushtaq's work into English. Following her win, Mushtaq becomes the second Indian writer to win the International Booker Prize, while Heart Lamp book is the first winner to be translated from Kannada.
As for Deepa Bhasthi, she is a writer and literary translator based in Kodagu, southern India. Her published translations from Kannada include a novel by Kota Shivarama Karanth and a collection of short stories by Kodagina Gouramma, as stated by The Booker Prizes website.
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Max Porter, Chair of the International Booker Prize 2025 judges praised the book and called it a "joy" to listen to the "evolving appreciation" of the book from the different perspectives of the jury.
"This was the book the judges really loved, right from our first reading. It's been a joy to listen to the evolving appreciation of these stories from the different perspectives of the jury. We are thrilled to share this timely and exciting winner of the International Booker Prize 2025 with readers around the world," said Max Porter as quoted by The Booker Prizes website. ANI
Navy inducts traditionally-built stitched ship as INSV Kaundinya
Names it after legendary mariner
The Indian Navy on Wednesday inducted a traditionally-built stitched ship as INSV Kaundinya at a ceremony held at the strategically located Karwar naval base in Karnataka. It is a recreation of a fifth-century vessel and is named after Kaundinya, a legendary Indian mariner who sailed across the Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia, officials said.
The ship serves as a tangible symbol of India's long-standing traditions of maritime exploration, trade, and cultural exchange, and its induction and naming marks a culmination of an "extraordinary project" that celebrates India's rich shipbuilding heritage, they said.
"The Indian Navy formally inducted and named the stitched ship as Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Kaundinya today at a ceremonial event held at the Karwar naval base. Union Minister of Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat presided over the event," a Navy spokesperson said.
The newly inducted vessel incorporates several culturally significant features.
"Her sails display motifs of the Gandabherunda and the Sun, her bow bears a sculpted Simha Yali, and a symbolic Harappan style stone anchor adorns her deck, each element evoking the rich maritime traditions of ancient India," he said.
INSV Kaundinya will be based at Karwar. The ship will now embark on her next historic phase, involving preparations for a trans-oceanic voyage along the ancient trade route from Gujarat to Oman, scheduled for later this year, the Navy spokesperson said.
Unlike any modern vessel, the stitched ship is equipped with square sails and steering oars, which are "entirely alien to modern-day ships". The hull geometry, rigging, and sails had to be reimagined and tested from first principles, according to the Navy. PTI
India lost 18,200 ha of primary forest in 2024: Global Forest Watch
India lost 18,200 hectares of primary forest in 2024 compared to 17,700 hectares in 2023, according to new data from Global Forest Watch (GFW), a global collaboration of over 100 organisations.
The GFW said the country lost 3,48,000 hectares of humid primary forest between 2002 and 2024 -- about 5.4 per cent of the country's total humid primary forest. This is 15 per cent of India's total tree cover loss during the same period.
Between 2019 and 2024, India lost 1,03,000 hectares (1.6 per cent) of humid primary forest, which is 14 per cent of its total tree cover loss in those years.
The country lost 16,900 hectares of humid primary forest in 2022, 18,300 hectares in 2021, 17,000 hectares in 2020, and 14,500 hectares in 2019, the data showed.
The GFW defines primary forests as "mature natural humid tropical forests that have not been completely cleared and regrown in recent history".
These forests are identified using Landsat satellite images and special algorithms for each region.
Since 2001, India has lost 2.31 million hectares of tree cover, equivalent to a 7.1 per cent decrease in tree cover during this period and 1.29 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
However, from 2000 to 2020, India also gained 1.78 million hectares of tree cover, which was about 1.4 per cent of the global total increase.
Between 2001 and 2024, Assam recorded the highest tree cover loss at 3,40,000 hectares, much higher than the national average of 67,900 hectares. Mizoram lost 3,34,000 hectares, Nagaland 2,69,000 hectares, Manipur 2,55,000 hectares and Meghalaya 2,43,000 hectares.
During this period, 1.39 million hectares of tree cover was lost due to shifting cultivation. Another 6,20,000 hectares was lost to permanent agriculture. Logging caused the loss of 1,82,000 hectares while natural disturbances led to 35,100 hectares of loss. Settlements and infrastructure development caused 30,600 hectares of tree cover loss.
The GFW said its tree cover loss data is based on the best available satellite information. However, the data may change over time as algorithms improve. Therefore, it advises users not to directly compare older and newer data, especially before and after 2015.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, India had the second highest rate of deforestation in the world between 2015 and 2020, losing about 6,68,000 hectares of forest per year. PTI
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