May Day Bookstore

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May Day Bookstore

Delhi's only left-wing bookstore. Browse new titles from independent publishers, and hunt for gems in our used books section! Metro: Shadipur on BLUE line.

First of its kind, May Day Bookstore and Café, was launched on 1st May 2012. It is a unique space where you can hang out, read, discuss culture and politics, and have great coffee, of course! Attached to it is Jana Natya Manch's space, Studio Safdar. The theatre space and the bookstore programmes a series of events every month, performances, readings, discussions, film screenings, etc. Avoid driving. Finding parking is tough, particularly on Mondays and Saturdays. Directions: Shadipur metro – Satyam Cinema – cycle ricksha – ‘Biyaasi number’ – May Day board next to Rahmat Medical Store. Email: [email protected]. Phone: 011 2570 9456.

09/09/2026

When and how did India turn to majoritarianism?

In Heartland Rising: The Making of Majoritarian India, Javed Gaya traces the political and social transformations that have reshaped the republic—from Partition and the making of the Constitution to the rise of majoritarian politics.

Examining the Hindi heartland, federalism, constitutional safeguards, caste and communal divisions, the book asks what happens when pluralism is steadily eroded—and where this leaves the idea of India.

Heartland Rising: The Making of Majoritarian India by Javed Gaya

Available now at May Day Bookstore and LeftWord.com

30/08/2026

📕Homo and Juliet: Q***r & Le***an Love Stories by Shruti Chakravarty

Homo and Juliet narrates eight love stories of le***an couples and non-binary persons. In these stories, we read about unrequited love, a sense of lost time, unfolding gender journeys, mental health care, chosen families, femme invisibility, finding community, asexual partnerships, trans-le***an love, butch-femme dynamics, desi family acceptance, runaway couples, celebration of q***r anniversaries, surviving heartbreaks, and activism. The book captures the confusion and conviction of first love and how it propels the q***r lover into a q***r life. Simultaneously, the dialectics of q***r intimacies, especially because of an interaction between the deeply personal and the oppressive social, unfold in each story. On the way, crucial differences from the normative emerge in how meanings are made of intimate feelings, how they are expressed in q***r ways and how they are navigated in a heterosexual world.

A powerful commentary on love itself, Homo and Juliet throws light on how we can reimagine all kinships through q***r love, and how, in q***r love stories, we can locate freedom and joy for all people.

📍Available now at May Day Bookstore and LeftWord.com

25/08/2026

Throughout history, a handful of thinkers have unsettled complacency, expanded the horizons of justice, and transformed the moral imagination of entire societies.
B R Ambedkar was one of them.
His writings challenge, illuminate, provoke and liberate. They confront the deepest injustices of the social order while offering a radical, humane blueprint for democracy, equality and dignity.

ON SERIES brings together Ambedkar’s most urgent ideas presented thematically for a new generation of readers.

👉Available now at May Day Bookstore and LeftWord.com

18/08/2026

SITA: Socialism Is The Alternative.

Remembering Sitaram Yechury (1952–2024), one of the most important voices of the Indian Left. His writings continue to engage with the political struggles shaping India and the possibilities of a socialist future.

13/08/2026

Celebrating Fidel Castro at 100 ✊🏽

To commemorate Fidel Castro’s centenary, we at May Day Bookstore have curated a selection of his essential writings.

📍Available now at May Day Bookstore and LeftWord.com
👉Order link in: https://leftword.com/creator/fidel-castro/

05/08/2026

📕 Love Jihad: A Feminist Retelling by Sameena Dalwai

Cutting through one of the most insidious communal myths of our time, Sameena Dalwai brings together memoir, reportage, and legal history to trace how communal propaganda, patriarchy, and vigilante violence converge to police women’s lives and interfaith relationships.

Don’t miss out on Sameena Dalwai’s conversation with Neha Dixit:
🗓️Friday, 7 August
🕔5:30 PM
📍Bookstore at HKS Surjeet Bhawan
10–12, Indrajit Gupta Marg, Near Mata Sundri Women’s College, Rouse Avenue, Mandi House,
New Delhi – 110002
Nearest Metro: ITO, Gate No. 3

02/08/2026

'Love Jihad: A Feminist Retelling' by Sameena Dalwai.

Friday, 7 August 2026
5:30 PM

Bookstore at HKS Surjeet Bhawan
10–12, Indrajit Gupta Marg, Near Mata Sundri Women's College, Rouse Avenue, Mandi House, New Delhi – 110002
Nearest Metro: ITO, Gate No. 3

Sameena Dalwai—author of the book, bilingual writer, and law professor—in conversation with Neha Dixit, independent journalist and author.

About the speakers

Sameena Dalwai is a law professor and writer whose work appears in Marathi and English newspapers. Her books include 'Bans and Bargirls: Performing Caste in Mumbai's Dance Bars', 'Babri Masjid: 25 Years On...', and 'Bhatak Bhawani'.

Neha Dixit is an independent journalist based in New Delhi and the author of 'The Many Lives of Syeda X: The Story of an Unknown Indian'. For over seventeen years, she has reported on politics, gender, and social justice, with a focus on investigative, narrative, and long-form journalism.

Join us for an engaging conversation on gender, politics, and the narratives surrounding one of the most debated issues in contemporary India.

All are welcome.

31/07/2026

मुंशी प्रेमचंद के जन्मदिवस के अवसर पर हमने उनकी कुछ महत्वपूर्ण कृतियों की एक सूची तैयार की है।

प्रेमचंद का मानना था कि साहित्य हमें जीवन और समाज को बेहतर ढंग से समझने में मदद करता है।

उनकी रचनाएँ आज भी हमें अपने समय और अपने आसपास की दुनिया को समझने की नई दृष्टि देती हैं।

17/07/2026

✨See you tomorrow✨

This Saturday, 18 July, join author Nirvana Bhandary in conversation with Sumedha Pal about her book Unsanskari: A Feminist Life.
Join the conversation, ask your questions, and get your copies signed!

🗓️ Saturday, 18 July
🕠 5:30 PM
📍HKS Surjeet Bhawan, 10, 11 & 12, Indrajit Gupta Marg, Rouse Avenue, Mandi House, New Delhi – 110002.
Nearest Metro Station: ITO, Gate 3 (Next to Mata Sundri College)

Address

2254/2A Ground Floor Shadi Khampur New Ranjit Nagar Shadipur
Delhi
110008

Telephone

+911125709456

Website

http://mayday.leftword.com/

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