Those Fifty Days is a powerful account of human suffering, displacement, and survival during India's COVID-19 lockdown. Originally written in Marathi as Te Pannas Diwas, the novel portrays the desperate journeys of displaced workers forced to trav...
Those Fifty Days is a powerful account of human suffering, displacement, and survival during India's COVID-19 lockdown. Originally written in Marathi as Te Pannas Diwas, the novel portrays the desperate journeys of displaced workers forced to travel long distances on foot in search of food, safety, and home. Hunger, thirst, illness, police repression, exploitation, and the particular hardships faced by women form the emotional and political core of the narrative. Moving beyond the idea of migration as a voluntary choice, the novel examines displacement as a consequence of economic inequality and social injustice. Through the experiences of ordinary people, it raises urgent questions about labour rights, state responsibility, caste, class, and human dignity. The book stands as a literary testimony to a painful chapter in contemporary Indian history.