Taapsee Pannu has shared a poem highlighting the struggles of migrant workers.

Actor Taapsee Pannu has shared a powerful poem highlighting the struggles of migrant workers amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Taapsee, 32, shared the poem titled ‘Pravaasi’ – or ‘Migrant’ – on social media Wednesday, along with a series of images that, she said, would “never leave our mind”.

Thousands of migrant families were left without jobs or money and forced to travel long distances back to their hometowns when the country went into lockdown in late-March to slow the spread of coronavirus. Visuals of migrant workers walking, cycling or riding in trucks for thousands of kilometres became the defining image of the coronavirus crisis in India.

Taapsee Pannu highlighted their struggle in her post by compiling some of the most heartbreaking visuals to emerge from the lockdown – a young boy sleeping on a suitcase being dragged by his exhausted mother, workers being sprayed with disinfectatnt, a daughter cycling her father home and a baby trying to wake up his dead mother, among others.

The poem, narrated by Taapsee, begins and ends with the same question – “Hum to bas pravaasi hain, kya iss desh ke vaasi hain? (We are just migrants, are we also citizens of this nation?)

A series of pictures that probably will never leave our mind.The lines that will echo in our head for a long time.This pandemic was worse than just a viral infection for India.हमारे दिल से , आपके दिल तक, उन हज़ारों दिलों के लिए जो शायद हम सब ने तोड़े हैं । #Pravaasi#CovidIndiapic.twitter.com/dB5yyYvEYB

— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) June 10, 2020

‘Pravaasi’ by Taapsee Pannu has won praise on social media. Many thanked the Pink actor for her efforts to highlight on the hardships being faced by migrant workers during the pandemic.

Never thought some images and an emotional voice could bring tears to my eyes ????????????

— Kirty Kochar (@kirty_kochar) June 10, 2020

Heart wrenching

— Samir kureshi (@samir_kureshi) June 10, 2020

In April, Taapsee Pannu had also starred, along with other celebrities, in a morale-boosting video titled “Muskurayega India (India will smile)”, which encouraged people to support each other during the coronavirus crisis.

Other Bollywood stars have also been helping with coronavirus relief efforts in the country. Actor Sonu Sood has been arranging buses to send stranded migrant workers back home, while Amitabh Bachchan on Wednesday arranged four special flights to send about 700 migrants from Mumbai to Uttar Pradesh.