How rural India toils – a glimpse

Rural India does not work 9-5. Villagers do not sit in cubicles tied to their gadgets. For this year’s May Day, otherwise known as Labour Day or International Workers’ Day , we give you a glimpse into how the working class in rural India toils. Thanks to our growing community of photographers across India, we bring you the colorful shades of labour on and off the field.

Women return home after a long day at work, walking over the rice grains and carrying paddy saplings on their heads (Photo by Soumyadip Dey)

Sharing the load – a couple carries a piece of firewood on their bicycle through the wheat fields of Uttar Pradesh (Vinay Gupta)

A woman completely engrossed in her work in a paddy field in Assam (Photo by Amlanjyoti Deb)

A working mother teaches her daughter the alphabet while spinning charkha wheels in Nadia, West Bengal (Photo by Pallab Pramanik)

A bamboo artisan in Assam weaves his magic in the shadows (Photo by Utpal Deka)

After dyeing the cotton, a weaver checks the yarn drying in the baking sun of Nadia, West Bengal (Photo by Ajoy Dutta)

In spite of the heat, men and women farmers spread golden paddy to dry (Photo by Dibakar Roy)

A busy morning in a village in the Purulia district, West Bengal (Photo by Soumayan Biswas)

Back to work in the fields of West Bengal after recovering from COVID-19 (Photo by Nimai Chandra Ghose)

On a summer morning, a fisherman in Canning, West Bengal, beautifully castes his fishing net (Photo by Debanjan Das)