Lal Salam: Visit India's Only Leftist Bookstore In Delhi

We often walk into bookstores and immediately hover around the sections we know we love. Our bias toward certain things is usually deemed negative but sometimes it can be beautiful. Your choice and preference of specific types of books make you fall in love with an author, a style of writing and a genre.

Visualise a book store that is dedicated to a whole category of books you like. Imagine the variety, the diversity and the possibility of endless discoveries. For the left-leaning citizens of Delhi, this possibility is a reality. May Day Bookstore is a book shop in Shadipur, West Delhi which possesses a fascinating variety of books on queer, Dalit, and feminist literature as well as books on every other line of leftist thought.

Founded in 2012 on the 1st of May as a homage to Labour Day to celebrate the working class, May Day started its journey to be a space of knowledge and camaraderie. With frequent events like book launches, Second-Hand book sales and discussions, May Day strives to stand out of the ordinary as a Book Store that encourages immersion in leftist thought.

As the country’s only leftist book store, it attracts a community of like-minded people who come together for their love of revolutionary texts to discuss the politics of literature. The sense of community and camaraderie in a space like this, allows people to feel like they are seen and have their thoughts heard and their interests taken into account.

With their fascinating posters and their quotes like “8 hours for work, 8 hours for rest and 8 hours for coffee and books”, May Day embodies the ideas that it pushes out into the work through its selection of books. All of their events are catered by local small food business owners and there’s free entry to all events for the local rickshaw wallas who helped in setting up the store; welcoming them to drop-by any time for a cold drink in scorching Delhi summers.

For their events, people from across the world come together to celebrate their art. People who attend these get to experience lectures, poetry, songs and the exchange of ideas. The book selection at May Day is immensely diverse and makes you want to pick up every book to absorb what each of them has to say. With books from English and Hindi authors available for grabs, you will find texts like Jai Bhim by Justice K. Chandru, Farmers on the Move by Ajit Navale, Zero Mile Patna by Sanjay Kundan, Warli Adivasi Vidroh by Archana Prasand, and many more.

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