In 1997, ‘The New Yorker’ assembled ten star Indian novelists into a New York studio and declared a literary renaissance.

Salman Rushdie

, in his now-infamous introduction to ‘The Vintage Book of Indian Writing’, published the same year, claimed Indian writing in English had eclipsed work in India’s 18 recognised languages. This was followed by three Indian writers winning the

Booker

prize for fiction in English in quick succession— the last one being Aravind Adiga in 2008.
Almost two decades later, the tide has shifted in favour of regional writing. Three years after a novel in Hindi won the International Booker, a book of short stories originally written in Kannada has taken home the prize. It also came with many firsts, says literary agent Kanishka Gupta, who had pitched the book ‘

Heart Lamp

’ to a UK publisher. “Deepa Bhasti is the first translator of colour to win the prize. And it’s the first time a collection of short stories — not interconnected, not a disguised novel — has won,” he says.