MUMBAI: Well-known Marathi poet Narayan Surve, who passed away today, was a social activist who put the voice of Mumbai's working class in Marathi literature.

"Aisa Ga Mee Brahma" (1962), is his first collection of poems followed by "Majhe Vidyapeeth", another collection that hit stands in 1966. His poems described the world of urban population that lived in a metro like Mumbai, who did whatsoever work they could lay their hands on to eke out a living.

He brought before the world the bitter truth of those whose life was a mess in search of a mere morsel and also the lives of toiling workers whose life melted away like that of burning candle in the struggle to make a living.

In his words, "Bhakricha chandra shodhnyaatach jindagi barbaad" (Wasted a lifetime in search of the moon of a Bhaakri (flat bread). He is mostly known for his poetry collection "Majhe Vidyapeeth (My University).

Born on October 15, 1926, Surve grew up in the streets of Mumbai and raised by a mill worker. He slept on the pavement and earned a meagre livelihood by doing odd jobs. He taught himself to read and write. Surve actively took part in the workers' union movement in Mumbai and supported himself as a schoolteacher.