The Many Lives of Syeda X : The Story of an Unknown Indian

What does the life of an ordinary working-class Indian look and feel like? In this outstanding 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 left Banaras for Delhi with her young family 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 fifty different types of work, earning paltry sums in the process. And if she ever took a day off, her job would be lost to another faceless migrant.