“लोग टूट जाते है एक घर बनाने में, तुम तरस नहीं खाते बस्तियाँ जलाने में।” People come apart in attempts to build a home, You don’t hesitate in burning down whole settlements. — Bashir Badr If one were to be asked why one reads, chances are one would say it’s the grip of the story or the beauty of the craft. But every once in a while, one stumbles upon a book that fundamentally reorients how one perceives and engages with the world.
It rescues from obscurity the people, patterns and dynamics that underpin our collective realities, and makes visible what has been invisibilised by the power structures within which we operate. Neha Dixit’s first book, The Many Lives of Syeda X is one such work. By tracing one woman’s negotiations with the exigencies of global markets and rising socio-political strife in the country, it casts light on the lives of those who serve as the backbone of our economy and yet remain among the most marginalised and vulnerable groups in modern India – migrants, especially women urban migrants.
In the heart of Delhi Every year, millions migrate from rural to urban India in search of freedom, security and opportunity. According to the last count , three out of every ten citizens in urban India are immigrants. Grappling with the aftermath of the 1992 riots, Syeda, Akmal and their three children – Shazeb, Salman and Reshma – left Baza.