The Many Lives of Syeda X - Neha Dixit in conversation with Shayoni Mitra

What does the life of an ordinary working-class Indian look and
feel like? In this book, the award-winning journalist Neha Dixit
traces the story of one such faceless Indian woman, from the early
1990s to the present day. What emerges is a picture of a life lived
under constant corrosive tension. Syeda X, a weaver left Benares for
Delhi with her alcoholic husband and three small children in the
aftermath of riots triggered by the demolition of the Babri Masjid. In
Delhi, she settled into the life of a poor migrant, juggling multiple
jobs a day -- from trimming the loose threads of jeans to cooking
namkeen, and from shelling almonds to making tea strainers. Syeda has
done over 50 types of unskilled work in three decades, earning paltry
sums in the process. And if she ever took leave, to nurse an illness
or to attend a school PTA meeting, her job would be lost to another
faceless migrant fighting to take her place.
Researched for close to a decade, in this book, we meet an
unforgettable cast of characters: from a rickshaw driver in Chandni
Chowk who ends up tragically dead in a terrorist blast to a slumlord,
who grew 'too big' for his own good, and is shot by rival landlords.
From a doctor who gets arrested for pre-natal sex determination to a
gow rakshak whose daughter elopes with Syeda's son. From corrupt
policemen who delight in beating young Muslim men to a cheerful band
of home-based working women who look out for each other.
In the end, things come to a grotesque full circle for Syeda. Her life
is upturned for the umpteenth time as the Delhi riots of 2020 caused
another cataclysmic displacement. But displacement, tragedy and
hardship are something she is used to -- being poor and Muslim and a
woman. Written with deep insight, The Many Lives of Syeda X is a
portal to a messy world hidden away from elite Indians. It is the
story of untold millions and a searing account of urban life in New
India.

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