Geetanjali Shree’s ‘Tomb of Sand’ made history. It became the first Indian language book to win the Booker Prize. The book is a story of an 80-year-old woman in northern India. (https://wbctx.com) The original title of the book is ‘Ret Samadhi.’ While accepting the prize of GBP 50,000, Geetanjali said she would share it with the book translator Daisy Rockwell.
“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,” The Booker Prizes said in a tweet.
Tomb of Sand: First Hindi book to win Booker Prize
“I never dreamt of the Booker, I never thought I could. What a huge recognition, I’m amazed, delighted, honored, and humbled,” said Shree. “There is a melancholy satisfaction in the award going to it. ‘Ret Samadhi’/’Tomb of Sand’ is an elegy for the world we inhabit. Lasting energy that retains hope in the face of impending doom. The Booker will surely take it to many more people than it would have reached otherwise, that should do the book no harm,” she added.
The 64-year-old novelist expressed her delight at being the first piece of fiction in Hindi to enter the Booker shortlist. She expressed, “it feels good to be the means of that happening. But behind me and this book lies a rich and flourishing literary tradition in Hindi, and in other South Asian languages. World literature will be richer for knowing some of the finest writers in these languages. The vocabulary of life will increase from such an interaction.”
Moreover, Shree has written three novels and several short story collections. There are translations of her works into English, French, German, Serbian, and Korean languages. Tomb of Sand,’ was first published in Hindi in 2018.