Geetanjali Shree wins International Booker Prize for first Hindi novel 'Tomb of Sand'

Author Geetanjali Shree's Hindi novel ‘Tomb of Sand’ has become the first book in any Indian language to win the prestigious International Booker Prize. At a ceremony in London on Thursday, the New Delhi-based writer said she was “completely overwhelmed” with the "bolt from the blue" as she accepted her prize, worth GBP 50,000 and shared with the book's English translator, Daisy Rockwell. ‘Tomb of Sand’, originally ‘Ret Samadhi’, is set in northern India and follows an 80-year-old woman in a tale the Booker judges dubbed a “joyous cacophony” and an "irresistible novel". “I never dreamt of the Booker, I never thought I could. What a huge recognition, I’m amazed, delighted, honoured and humbled,” said Shree, in her acceptance speech.