London: A Delhi-based writer Geetanjali Shree has become the first Indian writer to win the International Booker Prize for her novel 'Ret Samadhi'.
'Tomb of Sand' was the first Hindi-language book to be shortlisted for the £50,000 prize. Shree and Rockwell will slipt the prize money giving the author and translator equal recognition.
We are delighted to announce that the winner of the #2022InternationalBooker Prize is ‘Tomb of Sand’ by Geetanjali Shree, translated from Hindi to English by @shreedaisy and published by @tiltedaxispress@Terribleman @JeremyTiang @mervatim @VascoDaGappah @VivGroskop pic.twitter.com/TqUTew0Aem
— The Booker Prizes (@TheBookerPrizes) May 26, 2022
"Congratulations to Geetanjali Shree and @shreedaisy who have been longlisted with Tomb of Sand: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/tomb-of-sand #2022InternationalBooker #TombofSand #GeetanjaliShree #DaisyRockwell@TiltedAxisPress," The Booker Prizes said in a tweet.
"I never dreamt of the Booker, I never thought I could. What a huge recognition. I am amazed, delighted, honoured and humbled, "Geetanjali Shree said after the award ceremony in London.
Set in North India, the novel, orginally called 'Ret Samadhi', follows an 80-year-old woman who slips into depression after her husband's death but gains a lease of life after striking up a freindship with a hijra and travelling to Pakistan to confront the unresolved trauma of her teenage experiences of Partition.