Kannada author in race for Man Booker Prize

“My selection is a triumph of the Kannada language,which is being represented on the global stage today alongside other world languages. As a writer,I am just one among many writing in their mother-tongues in India. I am here on their behalf,” Ananthamurthy told PTI here today.

The 80-year-old flew down from Bangalore despite his ill health to attend the first-ever awards ceremony for the prize at Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

“I have to be dialysed four times a day for my kidneys and my health is not very good but when I saw the list,I felt I must come to represent all my fellow authors from India. It has been a very exciting experience. I hope this award arouses the curiosity of readers around the world and creates an awareness about spaces unfamiliar to many,” added the author best known for his novels ‘Samskara’ and ‘Bharatiputra’.

Ananthamurthy is considered a leading representative of the “Navya” or new movement in the literature of the Kannada language.

A recipient of the Padma Shree and Jnanpith Award,he has been praised by the Booker judging panel for the humanity of his works,which question cultural norms.

“Navya is not essentially a break from the past but a continuation of the best of the past. I chose to write in my own language because I felt it was important to be connected with my own environment,” Ananthamurthy said.

“Literature keeps itself alive by reinventing and translations,if done well,are a great medium for crossing borders with that literature. English is a very hospitable language,which creates that space for experiences from other countries,” said the Mysore-born author,whose own books have been translated into English by fellow Kannada author and poet A K Ramanujan.

At this year’s Man Booker International Prize,worth 60,000 pounds,the Indian author has been shortlisted alongside fellow subcontinent author Intizar Husain from Pakistan.

Previous winners of the prize included Philip Roth (2011),Alice Munro (2009),Chinua Achebe (2007) and Ismail Kadare (2005) and the winner is chosen at the sole discretion of the judging panel with no submissions from publishers.

In seeking out literary excellence,the judges consider a writer’s body of work rather than a single novel.

The five judges for this year’s prize are scholar and literary critic Christopher Ricks (Chair),author and essayist Elif Batuman,writer and broadcaster Aminatta Forna,novelist Yiyun Li and author and academic Tim Parks.

“English is a very hospitable language,which creates that space for experiences from other countries,” said the Mysore-born author,whose own books have been translated into English by fellow Kannada author and poet AK Ramanujan.

At this year’s Man Booker International Prize,the Indian author was shortlisted alongside fellow subcontinent author Intizar Husain from Pakistan.

Others in the race included Yan Lianke (China),Marie NDiaye (France),Josip Novakovich (Canada),and Peter Stamm (Switzerland).

“I am honoured to be on a list with Intizar,who is a fellow author I have worked with in the past to break down cultural barriers between our countries despite all other differences that may exist,” Ananthamurthy said.

Previous winners of the international Booker have included Philip Roth (2011),Alice Munro (2009),Chinua Achebe (2007) and Ismail Kadare (2005) and the winner is chosen solely at the discretion of the judging panel with no submissions from publishers.

The other judges on the panel this year included author and essayist Elif Batuman,writer and broadcaster Aminatta Forna,novelist Yiyun Li and author and academic Tim Parks.