Karnataka First

Heart Lamp, a collection of short stories by Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq, has been awarded the prestigious International Booker Prize for translated fiction. The English translation by Deepa Bhasthi marks a historic win — not only is Heart Lamp the first short story collection to claim the honour, but Bhasthi also becomes the first Indian translator to win the prize.

Presented at a ceremony at the Tate Modern in London on Tuesday evening, the £50,000 award is shared equally between Mushtaq and Bhasthi. A video of actor Ambika Mod reading an excerpt from the book was screened as part of the celebrations.

Originally penned in Kannada, the official language of Karnataka, the 12 stories in Heart Lamp delve into the interior worlds of women living in patriarchal communities across southern India. Bhasthi selected these stories from a larger body of work spanning six collections and three decades of Mushtaq’s literary career.

Max Porter, author and chair of this year’s judging panel, praised the book as “something genuinely new for English readers: a radical translation” of “beautiful, busy, life-affirming stories.”

Bhasthi, who has long been an advocate for translation that carries the rhythm and resonance of the source language, described her approach as “translating with an accent.” In an earlier interview with Scroll.in, she explained: “It reminds the reader that they are engaging with a world set in another culture, without exoticising it. So the English in Heart Lamp has a very deliberate Kannada hum to it.”

The International Booker Prize annually celebrates outstanding works of fiction translated into English from other languages. This year’s shortlist featured:

• On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J Haveland
• Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, translated by Helen Stevenson
• Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Asa Yoneda
• Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, translated by Sophie Hughes
• A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre, translated by Mark Hutchinson

Past laureates of the prize include Jenny Erpenbeck and translator Michael Hofmann (Kairos, 2023), Olga Tokarczuk and Jennifer Croft, Lucas Rijneveld and Michele Hutchison, and Han Kang with Deborah Smith.

With Heart Lamp, Mushtaq’s vivid portrayals of women’s lives — and Bhasthi’s textured, culturally sensitive translation — offer international readers an intimate look at a deeply rooted Kannada literary tradition now receiving global recognition.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

Over 200 underprivileged children have got a new lease of life through affordable liver transplants at a private hospital in the city.

Through its affordable paediatric transplantation initiative — an effort that combines corporate social responsibility (CSR), government health schemes, and crowdfunding to make life-saving care accessible to underprivileged children — Aster CMI Hospital in Bengaluru and Kochi has successfully facilitated 200 transplants since 2016.

With this, the hospital has emerged as one of the largest facility in the country that supports paediatric liver transplants at affordable costs.

Sonal Asthana, lead consultant – Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) and Liver Transplant Surgery at the hospital, said liver transplants are expensive and usually cost around ₹20 lakh to ₹25 lakh. 

“However, we have created a mechanism that combines philanthropy, CSR, and government support to reduce the financial burden by nearly 80%. Families now only bear around ₹4 lakh to ₹5 lakh per transplant. This initiative is now the largest-of-its-kind in the country,” said Dr. Asthana.

The affordable liver transplant programme is driven by a specialised transplant team led by Dr. Asthana. The team includes Mallikarjun Sakpal, consultant – HPB and Transplant physician; Vachan S. Hukkeri, consultant – Liver Transplant and HPB Surgery, and  Ashritha A., consultant – Pediatric Hepatology and Liver Transplant.

The hospital’s work has also drawn national attention, being featured as a case study by IIM Ahmedabad, and recognised by Harvard Business Publishing, for redefining how philanthropy can fund high-end medical care in a scalable, accountable way.

Hospital chief operating officer S.G.S. Lakshmanan said the hospital’s CSR model is structured to create lasting impact and scale nationally.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

The partnership aims to deliver a cutting-edge GenAI platform, specifically tailored to BIAL’s operational ecosystem.

Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the operator of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru, has tied up with KPMG in India to harness the transformative capabilities of Generative AI (GenAI).

BIAL said that this partnership aims to redefine airport operations, enhance efficiency, and establish new global benchmarks in aviation by leveraging pioneering GenAI models within a flexible and adaptable architecture.

The partnership aims to deliver a cutting-edge GenAI platform, specifically tailored to BIAL’s operational ecosystem. This platform may be a paradigm shift within the aviation industry, offering transformative capabilities that are expected to redefine airport operations while significantly enhancing customer experience.

By processing and analysing vast datasets in real time, powered by a highly flexible and efficient technology stack, the platform aims at enabling smarter decision-making that generates predictive insights that could aid in the delivery of adaptive solutions that evolve with operational demands. Its ability to recognise patterns and forecast trends could empower airports to proactively anticipate and mitigate disruptions, helping ensure smoother operations and greater resilience.

The platform would help to drive operational excellence, augment decision intelligence, elevate the passenger experience, and unlock data-led efficiency by automating routine tasks, surfacing insights, and providing real-time AI-driven support across airport functions.

The advanced and state-of-the-art platform will look at incorporating stringent data privacy measures, adherence to responsible AI principles, robust cybersecurity protocols, and scalability across various domains in an airport ecosystem, which will help  to maintain the different facets of airport operations and maximise the impact with a high level of consistency across the board.

“At BIAL, we are committed to driving innovation at every level, and our association with KPMG in India is a significant step in unlocking the immense potential of GenAI at Kempegowda International Airport. GenAI’s capabilities, like real-time decision-making, predictive analytics, and adaptive intelligence, enhance our operations, leading to greater efficiency and sustainability,” George Fanthome, chief digital and information officer, BIAL said.

He added that with a platform centred in data privacy, responsible AI, and scalability, BIAL which is recognised for embracing the latest technological innovations, is set to take a leadership position in the aviation industry with a future-ready airport.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Pramod Rai, a research associate at ATREE, found the wild orchid species along with Isodon neorensis, another rare plant species, in Sikkim.

A researcher from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) has recorded the discovery of Eulophia siamensis, a rare plant species, for the first time in India. Pramod Rai, a research associate at ATREE, found the wild orchid species along with Isodon neorensis, another rare plant species, in Sikkim.   

Eulophia siamensis is previously known only to China, Myanmar and Thailand. Isodon neorensis, which belongs to the mint family, is newly noted for Sikkim, having previously been recorded only in West Bengal’s Neora Valley and Bhutan. 

Mr. Rai chanced upon the rare plants during a field survey in the state. These findings underscore Sikkim’s ecological richness and emphasise the critical need for ongoing conservation efforts, said a release from ATREE. 

A chance discovery

Eulophia siamensis, belonging to the genus Eulophia R. Br. ex Lindl, was found in the Sirisay forest of Namchi district. A single plant was found in a rocky and pebbled area, while another was discovered in a shaded forest floor rich in humus.  

“This suggests the plant can survive in different types of environments. The orchid’s genus, Eulophia, is particularly noted for its remarkable morphological diversity,” said the release. 

The researchers from ATREE also documented Eulophia siamensis co-existing with native plants such as Cissus discolor, Aristolochia cathcartii, Aeginetia indica, Tephrosia candida, Clerodendrum infortunatum and Begonia picta, highlighting its integral role in the local ecosystem.  

The findings have been published in the journal ‘Acta Phytotaxonomica et Geobotanica’, co-authored by Santosh Kumar Rai from Sikkim University, Prakash Limboo from Sombarey Senior Secondary School and Sudhizong Lucksom, a retired Director from the Forest and Environment Department and orchid expert.  

Haven for unique flora

The second discovery, Isodon neorensis, was found growing in a disturbed habitat on a highway roadside in the Daragaon area of Tadong. It is characterised by attractive red flowers on elongated inflorescences. The species found in the Daragaon area exhibits unique features, such as heart-shaped leaf bases and an extended flowering period into late October and November – traits previously unrecorded in this species. This discovery was documented in the ‘Journal of Threatened Taxa.’  

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)