geetanjali shree swf
In 2022, Geetanjali Shree’s decades-long career was unlocked for the English-speaking world when her magnum opus Tomb of Sand (originally Ret Samadhi) won the International Booker Prize. The achievement won Indian literary world international acclaim, having been the first ever Hindi novel, as well as the first book originally written in an Indian language, to achieve the illustrious literary award.
Now, Sydney finally gets the chance to welcome the literary visionary. Shree is coming to Sydney Writers’ Festival for a special evening event, reflecting on her expansive literary career, her acclaimed epic Tomb of Sand and her most recently translated novels, Our City That Year and The Roof Beneath Their Feet, in conversation with Roanna Gonsalves.
At the heart of her award-winning masterpiece is an 80-year-old north Indian woman, Ma, who spirals into depression after her husband’s demise and then rises from the shadows to gain a new lease on her life. Her eagerness to fly in the face of convention – such as befriending a transgender person – brings great confusion to her bohemian daughter, who had always seen herself as the ‘modern one’ among the both of them.
The desire to continue flying washes over her, so Ma does not just stop there — she chooses to fly even further, and this time to Pakistan where she intends to face the unresolved trauma of Partition from her teenage years. Somewhere along her newly carved path, she finds herself re-evaluating what it truly means to be a mother, a daughter and a woman.
One of the finest works by Shree, Tomb of Sand garnered a lot of appreciation from readers and continues to do so till date, lauding it as engaging, funny and utterly authentic. Based on a tragic premise, Shree’s luminous novel, however, carries a playful tone and flaunts an exuberant wordplay. All at once, Tomb of Sand comes as a timely protest against the adverse consequences that borders and boundaries bring, whether between religions, countries, gender or creed. geetanjali shree swf
When interviewed a year after winning the International Booker Prize with translator Daisy Rockwell, Shree expressed that the recognition had become an antidote to the despair she felt in the years prior to her victory. ‘It returned a world of literature to me,’ she shared. ‘Suddenly, my world expanded and it was all about readers and writers and books again. It was life-affirming for me, to know that while many things may be going wrong there are still these things to celebrate and there are people who are totally immersed in literature.” Shree’s words still ring true – there will be things to celebrate despite the adversities, and literature will always be loved through time.
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Renowned for her kaleidoscopic voice and inventive use of language and structure, Shree has written five other novels, five collections of short stories, numerous essays, giving talks in both Hindi and English as well as working on theatre scripts in collaboration with Delhi based group, Vivad. Recently this year, Shree completed a DAAD writer-in-residence program in Berlin.
Geetanjali Shree will appear at the Sydney Writers’ Festival on 25th August 2026. For more information and tickets, visit swf.org.au.
READ ALSO: ‘Tomb of Sand’ becomes first Hindi novel to win Booker Prize
