May Day special Podcast

Niwala by Ali Sardar Jafri
Sadak ban rahi hai by Salam Machhli Shahri ~ Poems read by Mahtab Alam ~ May Day

Mahtab Alam is a Delhi based multilingual journalist, researcher and podcaster on politics, law, media, literature and human rights. He was the founding executive editor of The Wire Urdu. Mahtab is also a guest podcaster with SunoIndia.in and the founder of Radio Urdu, an exclusive platform for podcasts in Urdu. In 2021, he received the RedInk Award for Excellence in Journalism.

Couplets from the Rekhta app

Shahr men mazdoor jaisa dar-ba-dar koi nahin,
Jis ne sab ke ghar banae us ka ghar koi nahin.
There is no one as homeless as a labourer in a city
He who has made everyone’s homes, has no home of his own ~ unknown

so jaate haiñ fōtpath pe aḳhbār bichhā kar
mazdūr kabhī niiñd kī golī nahīñ khāte
~ Munawwar Rana

kuchal kuchal ke na fōt-pāth ko chalo itnā
yahāñ pe raat ko mazdūr ḳhvāb dekhte haiñ ~ Ahmad Salman

mill mālik ke kutte bhī charbīle haiñ
lekin mazdūroñ ke chehre piile haiñ
~ Tanveer Sipra

tirī zamīn pe kartā rahā huuñ mazdūrī
hai sūkhne ko pasīna muāvza hai kahāñ
~ Asim Wasti



May Day and Mazdoors: How Urdu Poets Have Portrayed the Plight of the Workers ~ Rakhshanda Jalil
https://www.thequint.com/opinion/may-day-portrayal-labour-urdu-poetry-hindi-films#read-more#read-more

Other sources
'International Labour Day 2024'
https://indianexpress.com/article/when-is/international-labour-day-2024-date-origin-significance-may-day-9284138/
'The Unknown Ambedkar: India's First Labour Minister' https://theleaflet.in/the-unknown-ambedkar-indias-first-labour-minister/

The Lallantop video - https://youtu.be/NGitJNFCZO4?si=v2hUUW4ryH5fHcCY

Welcome to the 11th episode of Zabaan-e-aam podcast. Today is 1st of May, also known as Worker's day, May Day or Mazdoor Diwas. It is celebrated to recognise the contributions of the working class and workers' rights worldwide.


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