With 607 million workers, India has the world's second-largest labour force, which is growing rapidly, with 46.6 million added in 2023-24 alone. With such a large workforce, how are the workers talked about? And how are they represented, if at all?
This was the topic of discussion at a book launch on gig workers of Kolkata, at Chapter 2 in Southern Avenue. Written by Ashok Mukhopadhyay in Bengali, the book, No.1 Akashganga Lane, has been translated by Zenith Roy. “It is the first book written on gig workers,” said the author.
Present among the dignitaries were filmmaker Gautam Ghose, artist Shuvaprasanna Bhattacharya, poet Subodh Sarkar and filmmaker Arindam Sil. The event was hosted by Trisha De Niyogi, director of Niyogi Books.
“Gig workers make up 7.7 million workers as of 2021. It is estimated to be 23 million by 2030,” said Gautam Ghosh. “This book has inspired me so much that I plan to make a film on it. I am yet not clear about the ideas, but only one song comes to my mind when I imagine them; Amra chonchol, amra odbhut, amra nuton joubon-er e doot,” he said.
The author described how he was inspired to write the book.
"I saw a 25-year-old youth fall down on a street in Salt Lake. He was a delivery boy, and had probably broken his foot from the fall. I rushed over to him. He was pleading to be put back on his bike, so he could drive off. When I explained to him, he was in no condition to drive, he finally sat down on the pavement and bawled,”
“‘My mother would die,’ he said. ‘If I got fired from the job, I would kill my mother with no income.’ This touched me deeply. I wanted to find out how gig workers functioned in today's society. I have travelled with over 50 workers to understand how they are treated, behaved with, and essentially seen," added Mukhopadhyay.
Shuvaprasanna Bhattacharya praised the author.
"I am so interconnected with Ashok, I cannot really express that to an outsider. From a young age, I have had the tendency to give advice and words of wisdom. Ashok was the recipient of that too. Not only in this book, he has been exemplary in his research all throughout his books," said Bhattacharya. "He is one of the best prose writers of contemporary times," he added.
While Arindam Sil talked about hope and empathy, Subodh Sarkar talked about literature and the resilience of time and how gig workers are still on the peripheries of society.