Integrity Score 100
No Records Found
No Records Found
No Records Found
It’s a proud moment for every Indian – Geetanjali Shree’s novel Tomb of Sand has won the International Booker Prize (2022).
Geetanjali Shree (also known as Geetanjali Pandey) was born in Uttar Pradesh. She grew up in a humble household, reading children’s books in Hindi. This helped her develop an intimate connection with her mother tongue. She studied in Lady Shri Ram College and later at JNU. Her connection with Hindi developed into a full-fledged interest while she was pursuing her PhD, where she worked on Premchand. During these years, she also wrote her first story story – Bel Patra – which subsequently got published in Hans, a Hindi literary magazine.
But enough about the award-winning author – let’s talk about the award-winning book now. Tomb of Sand (original title – Ret Samadhi) was written by Shree in 2018 and translated to English by Daisy Rockwell. It’s a fictional account of an 80-year old woman (Ma) who slips into depression after the death of her husband. She then decides to travel to Pakistan – much to the consternation of her family – where she confronts the unresolved trauma of her teenage years of the India-Pakistan Partition. This proves to be a truly transformative journey for her.
Tomb of Sand is the first novel translated from an Indian language to win the International Booker Prize – ever. Why not give it a read?