A STYLISTICS STUDY OF DISPLACEMENT AND NOSTALGIA IN GULZAR’S MAHAMARI LAGI THI
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i2s.2026.7180Keywords:
Coronavirus (Covid-19), Migrant Labourers, Pandemic, Literary Stylistics, Reverse MigrationAbstract [English]
The historic reverse migration of Indian migrant labourers, during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), revealed the profound socio-economic vulnerabilities faced by this marginalised community. Despite its magnitude, the human suffering associated with this crisis remained largely unheard and underrepresented. Gulzar’s poem Mahamari Lagi Thi emerges as a significant literary response to this unaddressed humanitarian issue, demanding critical attention to the stylistic and thematic strategies through which it articulates migrant anguish.
The research aims to examine the literary and stylistic techniques employed in Gulzar’s Mahamari Lagi Thi to foreground the plight, pain, and existential crisis of migrant labourers during the pandemic. It also seeks to explore how themes of nostalgia, displacement, and longing for homeland are used to evoke empathy and social awareness among readers.
The paper adopts a literary stylistics approach, integrating textual analysis with concepts drawn from migration and displacement theory. By analysing imagery, symbolism, diction, and narrative voice, the article interprets how Gulzar’s poetic strategies construct meaning and shape readers’ emotional responses.
The analysis reveals that Mahamari Lagi Thi effectively blends stylistic devices with socio-cultural realities to create a powerful and realistic narrative of migrant suffering. Gulzar’s use of emotive imagery, understated language, and symbolic references intensifies the sense of loss, nostalgia, and existential uncertainty experienced by migrant labourers. The poem’s interdisciplinary resonance enhances its coherence and deepens its impact on readers.
The study concludes that Mahamari Lagi Thi stands as a poignant literary testimony to the migrant crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through its nuanced stylistic construction and thematic depth, the poem not only documents a significant moment in recent Indian history but also functions as a moral and emotional appeal, fostering empathy and social consciousness. In doing so, Gulzar reaffirms the role of literature as a powerful medium for representing silenced voices and collective trauma.
References
Agoramoorthy, I., and Hus, M. J. (2020). COVID-19 and India’s Vulnerable Indigenous Populations. American Journal of Human Biology, 34(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23608 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23608
Clifford, J. (1994). Diasporas. Cultural Anthropology, 9(3), 306–307. https://doi.org/10.1525/can.1994.9.3.02a00040 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/can.1994.9.3.02a00040
Das, K. C., Saha, S., and Das, K. (2012). Inter-State Migration and Regional Disparities in India. Semantic Scholar.
De, S. (2020). Lockdown Liaisons. Simon and Schuster India.
Duggal, C., Ray, S., Konantambigi, R., and Kothari, A. (2022). The Nowhere People: Lived Experiences of Migrant Workers During COVID-19 in India. Current Psychology, 41(11), 8214–8223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02220-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02220-6
Gulzar. (2020). Mahamari Lagi Thi. In M. Anand (Ed.), Naya Gyanodaya. Bharatiya Jnanpith.
Jalil, R. (2020). ‘They Will go to Die There, where there is Life’: Gulzar Pens Poem on the Plight of Migrants. The Indian Express.
Khakhar, P. (2021, May 29). Shav-Vahini Ganga. Mainstream Weekly.
Khanna, A. (2020). Impact of Migration of Labour Force Due to Global COVID-19 Pandemic with Reference to India. Journal of Health Management, 22(2), 181–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972063420935542 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0972063420935542
Lee, E. S. (1966). A Theory of Migration. Demography, 3(1), 47–57. https://doi.org/10.2307/2060063 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2060063
Mambrol, N. (2016). Existentialist Movement in Literature. Literary Theory and Criticism.
Nag, A., Vyas, H., and Nag, P. (2016). Occupational Health Scenario of Indian Informal Sector. Industrial Health, 54(4), 377–385. https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2015-0112 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2015-0112
Nahata, P. (2020, April 5). India Faces Greatest Economic Emergency Since Independence, says Raghuram Rajan. The Quint.
Nair, S. K. (2020, May 25). Reverse Migration to Villages has Set Economy Back by 15 Years, Says JNU Professor. The Hindu.
Patnaik, A. (2022). The World Poetics of Lockdown in Pandemic Poetry. Journal of World Literature, 7(1), 70–86. https://doi.org/10.1163/24056480-00701008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/24056480-00701008
Rai, R. (2020). Corona se Atmagyan. Maple Press.
Ravi, N. (2020, May 30). Belated But Welcome Move on Migrant Workers. The Hindu.
Sachan, N. (2022). Stories of Hope from India During Second Wave of COVID-19. Asian Literary Project (YOMU).
Sainath, P. (2020, May 13). Urban India Didn’t Care about Migrant Workers Till 26 March; Only Cares Now Because it’s Lost their Services. Firstpost.
Singh, G. P. (2021). Psychosocial and Mental Health Issues of the Migrants Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic in India: A Narrative Review. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 43(6), 473–478. https://doi.org/10.1177/02537176211044802 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/02537176211044802
Yadav, S., and Ravi, K. R. (2021). Migrant Workers and COVID-19: Listening to the Unheard Voices of Invisible India. Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India, 70(1), 62–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/2277436X20968984 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2277436X20968984
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jyoti Jayal, Vijay Kumar, Ayush Vats
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
With the licence CC-BY, authors retain the copyright, allowing anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute, and/or copy their contribution. The work must be properly attributed to its author.
It is not necessary to ask for further permission from the author or journal board.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
