After S.L. Bhyrappa's Death, Banu Mushtaq Recalls Hosting Him, Questions 'Aavarana' Research

Overview

• The Kannada novelist died Wednesday in Bengaluru of a reported cardiac arrest, with final rites to be held in Mysuru with state honours.
• Mushtaq says he spent a week at her Hassan home to observe Muslim family life as preparation for writing Aavarana.
• During that stay, she recounts, he took notes while visiting a mosque during namaz and touring a Muslim educational institution in Alur.
• She contends the brief immersion yielded only a surface view and that the novel deployed selective examples that contributed to the demonisation of Muslims.
• She adds that she once admired his work but later distanced herself over what she calls prejudice, even as she expressed personal loss in her condolence.