A Guide to Salman RushdiesMidnights Children

ContextSalman Rushdie was born on June 19, 1947, to an affluent family in Bombay,

India. Rushdies birth coincided with a particularly important moment in Indian history:after nearly one hundred years of colonial rule, the British occupation of the SouthAsian subcontinent was coming to an end. Almost exactly three months after Rushdiesbirth, Pakistan and India achieved their long-awaited independence when, at the strokeof midnight on August 14 and 15, respectively, power was transferred from Great Britainto the sovereign governments of each country. The period that immediately followedindependence proved tumultuous. Political and social tensions between Hindus andMuslims caused not only the division of India into two separate countriesa calamitousevent referred to as Partitionbut also wide-scale riots that claimed hundreds ofthousands of lives. The violence that accompanied independence was a prelude to themultiple wars, coups, and governmental abuses that plagued the area in the years thatfollowed.

The political upheaval and constant threat of violence that marked the firstthree decades of independence forms the backdrop for Midnights Children, Rushdiesmost celebrated novel. Like Rushdie himself, Saleem, the narrator of MidnightsChildren, is born on the eve of independence, and the events of his life closely parallelevents in the development of both India and Pakistan. Most of Rushdies novelsconcern themselves, to some extent, with the character and history of these two majorSouth Asian nations and describe the various, often violent struggles between differentreligions, classes, languages, and geographical regions. In the thirty years followingindependence, India and Pakistan fought three separate wars: two over Kashmir, andone over the creation of an independent Bangladesh. The wars produced millions ofrefugees, claimed thousands of lives, and led to a nearly permanent state of tensionbetween the two countries.

Raised in a well-to-do Muslim household, Rushdie was given an excellenteducation. After graduating from the University of Oxford in 1968, he moved briefly toPakistan, where his family had immigrated after Partition, before returning to England towork as an actor and copywriter. Soon after, Rushdie published his first novel, Grimus(1975). A blend of science and literary fiction, Grimus, though generally ignored bycritics, nonetheless marked the debut of a new literary talent that incorporated myth,magic, and fantasy into his narratives. Six years later, Rushdie published MidnightsChildren, which won the Booker Prize in 1981, and was later deemed the best Booker-winning novel from the first twenty-five years of the competition, earning the titleBooker of Bookers. Heralded by critics as an enormous literary achievement, the novelinstantly earned Rushdie comparison with some of the worlds greatest contemporarywriters. However, Rushdies great international fame is mainly owed to his 1988 novelThe Satanic Verses and the controversy that followed its publication. Muslim religiousclerics and politicians deemed The Satanic Verses sacrilegious and offensive for itsharsh, critical portrayal of Islam and for its less-than-reverent treatment of the ProphetMohammed. The novel was banned in Rushdies native India and prompted thetheocratic Iranian government to issue a fatwaa religious rulingcalling for his deathin 1989.

Rushdie spent the next nine years living in secrecy, under the protection ofbodyguards and the British government. Fearful for his life, Rushdie nonethelesscontinued to write and publish books, most notably Haroun and the Sea of Stories(1990) and the Moors Last Sigh (1995), as well as two works of nonfiction, The JaguarSmile (1987) and Imaginary Homelands (1991). When the Iranian government lifted the

fatwa in 1998, Rushdie was able to enjoy a return to a moderately normal life andeventually settled in New York City.

Rushdies work, and Midnights Children in particular, is often associated withseveral categories of literary fiction, including magical realism, postcolonial fiction, andpostmodern literature. His work is often compared to, and admittedly influenced by,novels like Gunter Grasss Tin Drum and Gabriel Garca Mrquezs One Hundred Yearsof Solitude. Equally significant as the incorporation of mythical and fantastical elementsinto his fiction is Rushdies uniquely Indian perspective on the English language.Rushdies novels hum with an eclectic mix of prose styles, which echo the rhythm andslang of English as it is colloquially spoken in India. Familiar English words getcombined in new and unusual ways, and long, unbroken sentences run on freely,sometimes spanning a page or more. The inspiration Rushdie draws from both ancientand contemporary Indian culture is also notable in his fiction. Elements taken fromtraditional Indian mythology and religion thread themselves through the novel, as dothe artistic conventions of modern Bollywood, the vigorous, populist cinema industrybased in Bombay. In its sheer exuberance and sprawling range of cultural sources, aswell as its attempt to include as much of Indias vast cultural identity and contemporaryhistory as possible, Midnights Children is as complete a reflection of the life andcharacter of the subcontinent as any single novel could possibly provide.Plot Overview

Saleem Sinai, the narrator of Midnights Children, opens the novel byexplaining that he was born on midnight, August 15, 1947, at the exact moment Indiagained its independence from British rule. Now nearing his thirty-first birthday, Saleembelieves that his body is beginning to crack and fall apart. Fearing that his death isimminent, he grows anxious to tell his life story. Padma, his loyal and loving companion,serves as his patient, often skeptical audience.

Saleems story begins in Kashmir, thirty-two years before his birth, in 1915.There, Saleems grandfather, a doctor named Aadam Aziz, begins treating Naseem, thewoman who becomes Saleems grandmother. For the first three years Aadam Aziztreats her, Naseem is always covered by a sheet with a small hole in it that is moved toexpose the part of her that is sick. Aadam Azis sees his future wifes face for the firsttime on the same day World War I ends, in 1918. Aadam Aziz and Naseem marry, andthe couple moves to Agra, where Aadama doctor whose loss of religious faith hasaffected him deeplysees how protests in the name of independence get violentlysuppressed. Aadam and Naseem have three daughters, Alia, Mumtaz, and Emerald,and two sons, Mustapha and Hanif. Aadam becomes a follower of the optimistic activistMian Abdullah, whose anti-Partition stance eventually leads to his assassination.Following Abdullahs death, Aadam hides Abdullahs frightened assistant, Nadir Khan,despite his wifes opposition. While living in the basement, Nadir Khan falls in love withMumtaz, and the two are secretly married. However, after two years of marriage,Aadam finds out that his daughter is still a virgin, as Nadir and Mumtaz have yet toconsummate their marriage. Nadir Khan is sent running for his life when Mumtazs sister,Emerald, tells Major Zulfikaran officer in the Pakistani army, soon to be Emeraldshusbandabout his hiding place in the house. Abandoned by her husband, Mumtazagrees to marry Ahmed Sinai, a young merchant who until then had been courting hersister, Alia.

Mumtaz changes her name to Amina and moves to Delhi with her newhusband. Pregnant, she goes to a fortune-teller who delivers a cryptic prophecy abouther unborn son, declaring that the boy will never be older or younger than his country

and claiming that he sees two heads, knees and a nose. After a terrorist organizationburns down Ahmeds factory, Ahmed and Amina move to Bombay. They buy a housefrom a departing Englishman, William Methwold, who owns an estate at the top of a hill.Wee Willie Winky, a poor man who entertains the families of Methwolds Estate, saysthat his wife, Vanita, is also expecting a child soon. Unbeknownst to Wee Willie Winky,Vanita had an affair with William Methwold, and he is the true father of her unborn child.Amina and Vanita both go into labor, and, at exactly midnight, each woman delivers ason. Meanwhile, a midwife at the nursing home, Mary Pereira, is preoccupied withthoughts of her radical socialist lover, Joseph DCosta. Wanting to make him proud, sheswitches the nametags of the two newborn babies, thereby giving the poor baby a lifeof privilege and the rich baby a life of poverty. Driven by a sense of guilt afterward, shebecomes an ayah, or nanny, to Saleem.

Because it occurs at the exact moment India gains its independence, the pressheralds Saleems birth as hugely significant. Young Saleem has an enormouscucumberlike nose and blue eyes like those of his grandfather, Aadam Aziz. Hismischievous sister, nicknamed the Brass Monkey, is born a few years later.Overwhelmed by the expectations laid on him by the prophecy, and ridiculed by otherchildren for his huge nose, Saleem takes to hiding in a washing chest. While hiding oneday, he sees his mother sitting down on the toilet; when Amina discovers him, shepunishes Saleem to one day of silence. Unable to speak, he hears, for the first time, ababble of voices in his head. He realizes he has the power of telepathy and can enteranyones thoughts. Eventually, Saleem begins to hear the thoughts of other childrenborn during the first hour of independence. The 1,001 midnights childrena numberreduced to 581 by their tenth birthdayall have magical powers, which vary accordingto how close to midnight they were born. Saleem discovers that Shiva, the boy withwhom he was switched at birth, was born with a pair of enormous, powerful knees anda gift for combat.

One day, Saleem loses a portion of his finger in an accident and is rushed tothe hospital, where his parents learn that according to Saleems blood type, he couldntpossibly be their biological son. After he leaves the hospital, Saleem is sent to live withhis Uncle Hanif and Aunt Pia for a while. Shortly after Saleem returns home to hisparents, Hanif commits suicide. While the family mourns Hanifs death, Mary confessesto having switched Saleem and Shiva at birth. Ahmednow an alcoholicgrows violentwith Amina, prompting her to take Saleem and the Brass Monkey to Pakistan, whereshe moves in with Emerald. In Pakistan, Saleem watches as Emeralds husband, GeneralZulfikar, stages a coup against the Pakistani government and ushers in a period ofmartial law.

Four years later, after Ahmed suffers a heart failure, Amina and the childrenmove back to Bombay. India goes to war with China, while Saleems perpetuallycongested nose undergoes a medical operation. As a result, he loses his telepathicpowers but, in return, gains an incredible sense of smell, with which he can detectemotions.

Saleems entire family moves to Pakistan after Indias military loss to China. Hisyounger sister, now known as Jamila Singer, becomes the most famous singer inPakistan. Already on the brink of ruin, Saleems entire familysave Jamila and himselfdies in the span of a single day during the war between India and Pakistan. During theair raids, Saleem gets hit in the head by his grandfathers silver spittoon, which eraseshis memory entirely.

Relieved of his memory, Saleem is reduced to an animalistic state. He findshimself conscripted into military service, as his keen sense of smell makes him anexcellent tracker. Though he doesnt know exactly how he came to join the army, he

suspects that Jamila sent him there as a punishment for having fallen in love with her.While in the army, Saleem helps quell the independence movement in Bangladesh.After witnessing a number of atrocities, however, he flees into the jungle with three ofhis fellow soldiers. In the jungle of the Sundarbans, he regains all of his memory exceptthe knowledge of his name. After leaving the jungle, Saleem finds Parvati-the-witch,one of midnights children, who reminds him of his name and helps him escape back toIndia. He lives with her in the magicians ghetto, along with a snake charmer namedPicture Singh.

Disappointed that Saleem will not marry her, Parvati-the-witch has an affairwith Shiva, now a famous war hero. Things between Parvati and Shiva quickly sour, andshe returns to the magicians ghetto, pregnant and still unmarried. There, the ghettoresidents shun Parvati until Saleem agrees to marry her. Meanwhile, Indira Gandhi, theprime minister of India, begins a sterilization campaign. Shortly after the birth of Parvatisson, the government destroys the magicians ghetto. Parvati dies while Shiva capturesSaleem and brings him to a forced sterilization camp. There, Saleem divulges thenames of the other midnights children. One by one, the midnights children arerounded up and sterilized, effectively destroying the powers that so threaten the primeminister. Later, however, Indira Gandhi loses the first election she holds.

The midnights children, including Saleem, are all set free. Saleem goes insearch of Parvatis son, Aadam, who has been living with Picture Singh. The three take atrip to Bombay, so Picture Singh can challenge a man who claims to be the worldsgreatest snake charmer. While in Bombay, Saleem eats some chutney that tastesexactly like the ones his ayah, Mary, used to make. He finds the chutney factory thatMary now owns, at which Padma stands guarding the gate. With this meeting, Saleemsstory comes full circle. His historical account finally complete, Saleem decides to marryPadma, his steadfast lover and listener, on his thirty-first birthday, which falls on thethirty-first anniversary of Indias independence. Saleem prophesies that he will die onthat day, disintegrating into millions of specks of dust.Character List

Saleem Sinai - The narrator and protagonist of the novel. Born at the moment ofIndias independence and blessed with the powers of telepathy and an uncannysense of smell, Saleem tells his extraordinary life story as his body begins tocrumble, an account that significantly parallels the history of postcolonial India. As anarrator, Saleem can be both unreliable and self-centered at times.Aadam Aziz - Saleems grandfather. Aadam is the patriarch of the family, a doctorand skeptic whose loss of faith leaves what he refers to as a hole inside of him.Aadam falls in love with his wife, Naseem, after only being allowed to see herthrough a hole in a perforated sheet.Ahmed Sinai - Saleems father. A shrewd businessman who is nonetheless destinedfor failure, Ahmed spends much of his marriage fighting his wife and his alcoholaddiction.Mumtaz (Amina Sinai) - Saleems mother, and the daughter of Aadam Aziz. BornMumtaz, she changes her name to Amina after her marriage to Ahmed. A loving,devoted mother, she inherits her fathers skepticism and her mothers determination.Despite being married to Ahmed, she is never able to forget her first husband, NadirKhan.Mary Pereira - Saleems ayah and surrogate mother. Mary is responsible forswitching Saleem and Shiva at birth out of a misguided sense of social justice. Inorder to compensate for her crime, she dedicates her life to raising Saleem.

Shiva - Saleems archrival. Shiva is born at exactly the same moment as Saleem.While Saleem is raised in a loving, wealthy household, Shiva is raised in abjectpoverty by a single father. He is blessed with a pair of preternaturally strong kneesand an amazing prowess in war. Shiva is named after the Hindu god of destruction,who is also the god associated with procreation.Parvati-the-witch - A real witch, and, like Saleem, one of the children born at themoment of Indias independence. Parvati is Saleems closest ally as a child and laterbecomes his wife. Despite her fantastic powers, she is unable to make Saleem fall inlove with her and, as a result, embarks on an affair with Shiva that results in a child. Inthe Hindu religion, Parvati is the consort of Shiva.Padma - Saleems devoted caretaker and future wife. Padma is as strong anddown-to-earth as Saleem is weak and dreamy. She provides Saleem with askeptical yet patient audience.Naseem Ghani - Saleems grandmother, and Aadam Azizs wife. After marriage,Naseem becomes known as Reverend Mother, in part because of her religiousdevotion. As her husband withers away with age, Reverend Mother growsincreasingly large and powerful.William Methwold - Saleems biological father. An Englishman, William Methwoldseduces women with his perfectly parted hair, which is actually a wig. He ownsMethwolds Estate, a portion of which he sells to Ahmed Sinai. He sees his departurefrom India as marking the tragic end of an era.Alia - Saleems aunt, and a sister of Amina. After Ahmed Sinai rejects her for hersister, Alia harbors a lifelong bitterness and determination to destroy her sister andher sisters family.Hanif - Saleems uncle, and a brother of Amina. Hanif was once one of the mostpromising film directors in India. However, his dream to create art free frommelodrama and superstition fails, and, as his career falls apart, he commits suicide.Nadir Khan - Aminas first husband. As a young man, Nadir Khan is the personalassistant to Mian Abdullah, as well as a bad poet. He falls in love with Amina but isforced to divorce her on account of his impotence. He later changes his name toQasim Khan and becomes a communist.Mustapha - Saleems uncle, and a brother of Amina. Mustapha is the ideal, obedientcivil servant. He is so passive, hes nearly inconsequentiala fate he takes out on hischildren by constantly beating them until they have no personality left.Emerald - Saleems aunt, and a sister of Amina. Emerald marries Major Zulfikar andenjoys an opulently comfortable lifestyle. Selfish and self-absorbed, she onlyreluctantly comes to her sisters aid.General Zulfikar - Emeralds husband, and an important figure in the Pakistani army.General Zulfikar helps orchestrate a coup against the Pakistani government andmakes money by smuggling items into the country. His constant abuse of his son,Zafar, eventually provokes Zafar into killing him.Zafar - The son of General Zulfikar and Emerald. Zafar wets himself throughout hislife and is ridiculed and abused by his father as a result.Aadam Sinai - The biological son of Shiva and Parvati-the-witch. Saleem raisesAadam as if he were his own child. Aadam is just three years old at the novelsconclusion.Picture Singh - A snake charmer, and the leader of the magicians ghetto. Charmingand diplomatic, Picture Singh is Saleems closest friend. He is undone by his desireto prove himself the worlds greatest snake harmer.Wee Willie Winkie - Shivas father. Wee Willie Winkie is a poor man who earns aliving by singing for the wealthy families of Methwolds Estate.

Vanita - Saleems biological mother. Vanita dies during labor.Evie Lilith Burns - A violent, tough American girl. Evie is briefly the leader of thechildren living on Methwolds Estate, and she is Saleems first love.Sonny Ibrahim - One of the children living on Methwolds Estate. Sonny is Saleemsbest friend. He is also in love with Saleems sister, the Brass Monkey.Joseph DCosta - A social radical who later becomes a ghost. Joseph DCostaspolitical beliefs inspire Marys decision to switch Shiva and Saleem, and his ghostlater compels her to confess her crime.Commander Sabarmati - A high-ranking official in the Indian navy. After learningthat his wife, Lila, has had an affair, Commander Sabarmati shoots her, kills her lover,and then surrenders. He temporarily becomes a national hero.Homi Catrack - A film magnate, and resident of Methwolds Estate. Homi Catrackhas an affair with Lila, the wife of Commander Sabarmati, and is subsequentlymurdered by the commander.Lila Sabarmati - The wife of Commander Sabarmati. Lilas husband shoots her in thestomach for having an affair.Doctor Narlikar - A doctor, and Ahmeds business partner. Dr. Narlikar devises ascheme for reclaiming land from the ocean but dies before he can implement it.Alice Pereira - Marys sister. Alice eventually works for Ahmed Sinai and isresponsible for Marys chutney factory.Farooq, Shaheed, and Ayooba - Three soldiers assigned to work with Saleem in thePakistani army. Each one is eventually killed during the war.Narlikar Women - An unnamed, unnumbered group of grossly competent womenwho take over Dr. Narlikars affairs after his death.Mian Abdullah - A political figure before independence. Mian Abdullah is thefounder of the Free Islam Convocation, an organization dedicated to resisting thepartition of India along religious lines.Ghani - Naseems father. Ghani is a blind, wealthy landowner.Tai - An old boatman from Kashmir. Tai is a mysterious, ancient, and wise figure whoremains resentful of the worlds encroachment into his territory until his death.Ramram Seth - A prophet who predicts Saleems future while Amina is pregnant.

Analysis of Major CharactersSaleem Sinai

Saleem Sinai is the protagonist and narrator of Midnights Children. He is born,along with one other child, at the exact moment of Indias independence. His identity,however, is switched at birth. As a result, he is raised by a prosperous family in Bombay,while his counterpart and future rival, Shiva, is raised in poverty. Saleem has the powersof telepathy and a preternaturally acute sense of smell, which allow him to find theother children of midnight and create the Midnights Childrens Conference. As heapproaches his thirty-first birthday, he says he is nearing death. His body is literallyfalling apart, and its only a matter of time before he crumbles into dust. Driven by adesire to beat his biological clock, Saleem narrates his life story to his devoted andloving caretaker, Padma. His tale, which begins with his grandfather Aadam and is attimes unreliable and contrived, represents not only his individual life story but also theentire history of postcolonial India. All the major events in his life correspond toimportant political events in Indian history, leading him to compare his narrative to

religious texts. Given his fantastic birth and extraordinary powers, the prime minister ofIndia, Indira Ghandi, seeks to destroy him along with the other midnights children.Padma

Padma is Saleems loving companion and caretaker, and she will become hisfiance at the end of the novel. She is the audience for Saleems narrative. With strong,hairy forearms, a name associated with dung, and a cynical and often impatient ear,Padma represents the antithesis to Saleems magical, exuberant, freewheelingnarration. She hurries the narrative along, imploring Saleem to get on with the plotrather than veering off into tangents, and often she expresses doubts as to the veracityof Saleems account. As a rhetorical device, Padma allows Rushdie the chance toacknowledge explicitly any doubts or frustrations the reader may feel in response tothe novel. She is the practical voice of criticism. Because she is there to counteract itsmost extreme tendencies, she supports the novels more willfully excessiveindulgences. Saleems frequent interruptions, digressions, and self-obsession are all, tosome degree, made possible by Padmas expressions of doubt and frustration: the twosides work together to create a holistic reading experience. By explicitly taking intoaccount the difficulties of the narrative, Rushdie is able to move beyond them.Shiva

Born at the stroke of midnight and named after the Hindu god of destruction,Shiva is Saleems rival and counterpart. Switched at birth with Saleem, Shiva is robbedof his affluent birthright and raised in abject poverty. Blessed with a pair of enormousand powerful knees, Shiva is a gifted warrior and, therefore, a foil for the more mild-mannered Saleem. Shiva represents the alternate side of India: poor, Hindu, and asaggressive as Saleem is passive. As a young child, he is the leader of a street gang andpossibly a murderer. He is driven by a determinedly individualist perspective and growsup unable to form any human attachments. Although he is a violent character, he is,nonetheless, a tragic figure, damaged and shaped by the forces of history and class.During the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, Shiva lives up to his name andbecomes a war hero, eventually promoted to the rank of major. Along with his militaryreputation, Shiva also becomes a noted lover among the women of Indian high society,siring a number of illegitimate children. In the end, Shiva hunts Saleem down and turnshim over to one the camps opened during Indira Gandhis state of Emergency, whereSaleem, along with the other midnights children, is administered an operation thatrenders him sterile. In this way, Shiva manages to effectively destroy the children ofmidnight.The Widow

Indira Gandhi was the prime minister of India from 19661977, then again from19801984, a term that ended with her assassination. Indira was the daughter ofJawaharlal Nehru, Indias first prime minister, and the widow of Feroze Gandhi, an Indianjournalist and politician. Though Mahatma Gandhi was a family friend and political ally,the two are not related.

In her first term, various political and economic reforms made Indira Gandhihighly popular, as did an Indian victory in the 1971 conflict with Pakistan over thecreation of an independent Bangladeshi state. However, in 1971, Gandhi was also found

guilty of election fraud. Rather than face charges, Gandhi declared a State ofEmergency, tightening her hold over the government and ushering in a period ofdrastically reduced civil liberties, as well as a severe crackdown on political opposition.The emergency lasted nineteen months, after which Gandhimisjudging the extent ofthe populations resentmentheld an open election and lost. She stepped down butwas reelected to office in 1980. Four years later, after a disastrous series of eventsinvolving Sikh activists, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. Herson, Rajiv Gandhi, succeeded her and was also assassinated while in office, in 1991. TheGandhi family, however, continues to be a central force in Indian politics.

Long before Indira Gandhi enters Saleems story in a direct fashion, vaguereferences to the Widow hint at her eventual role in the destruction of the midnightschildren. Her actual presence in the story is brief, but it is nonetheless of greatsignificance. Throughout the novel, Saleems personal life constantly reflects Indiaspolitical turmoil. Finally, with the arrival of Indira Gandhi and the State of Emergency,Rushdie fuses the two narratives with a single crisis. The reforms of the emergency,which included a widespread campaign of forced sterilization, were widely seen asmassive abuses of government power and human rights. The nation of India ismetaphorically thrown into perpetual darkness just as Saleems wife, Parvati-the-witch,is killed and the magicians ghetto destroyed. By making Indira Gandhis campaignresponsible for the destruction of the fictional midnights children, Rushdie holds heraccountable for destroying the promise and hope of a new future for India.The Brass Monkey (Jamila Singer)

Saleems younger sister, initially known as the Brass Monkey, is born into theworld with little fanfare. She eventually grows up to become the most famous singer inPakistan, adored throughout the country. As a child, Saleem notes that the BrassMonkey learned at an early age that if she wanted attention, she would have to make alot of noise, which is precisely what she does. She becomes a mischievous child whogarners attention by destroying things and remains unable to accept love throughouther adult life. The playful and impish nature of her youth is lost almost immediatelyupon her arrival in Pakistan. There, in a religiously devout country, she succumbs to thelaws of devotion and patriotism, just as her brother becomes more invested in theprofane elements of life. She goes through extraordinary lengths to keep herself veiled,and her voice is described as being pure, reflecting the ideals of a country that valueswholesomeness in its women. Despite her devotion, Jamila Singer retains elements ofher former self. She rebels against her dietary constraints by secretly eating leavenedbread, baked by Catholic nuns, and she openly criticizes the Pakistani army when theyabuse her brother.History and Locations

Midnight's Children is a massive work in terms of the number of years it covers,the historical events that are dealt with and the geographical space it traverses.However, it is a BIG mistake to assume that Midnight's Children can be described assimply an epic historical novel. The narrator Saleem Sinai uses historical events in hisnarrative - but not always accurately - he gets several important dates "wrong" and hisversion of events is often significantly different from "official" or more generallybelieved versions. The book cannot therefore be treated as an 'real' history of India -despite is encyclopaedic nature.

Locations featured in Midnight's ChildrenThe epic journey undertaken in Midnight's Children begins with Saleem Sinai's

Grandfather Aadam Aziz arriving in Kashmir. He and his bride then travel to Agra viaAmritsar. Their daughter Mumtaz who marries Ahmed Sinai (becoming Amina Sinai)both travel to Bombay. They then go to Pakistan with their son and daughter. From hereSaleem finds himself travelling with the army to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) andthen to Delhi. The book travereses a whole subcontinent!

Kashmir:Kashmir is where Midnight's Children's story begins with the story of

Aadam Aziz, the narrator's Grandfather. It is often described as "The Alps of India".It is a site of stunning natural beauty. It has held a special position throughouthistory. Before the first Islamic invasions it was ruled by local dynasties.Buddhism was the major religion until a renewal of Hinduism with a rigid castesystem overtook it. This system made it easy for the religion of Islam to take hold.It remains the dominant religion of the region. The area became troubled byconflict during the partition because of the akward political status of Kashmir andThe Princely States.Amritsar:

According to legend Guru Ramdas, the fourth Sikh Guru settled down by apool with miraculous healing powers. His son, Guru Arjan Dev built a temple inthe middle of the pool and enshrined in it the Guru Granth Sahib (the holy bookof the Sikhs). The land for this temple was originally sanctioned by the EmperorAkbar. It was pillaged and destroyed by Ahmad Shah Durrani the Afghanconqueror. The temple was rebuilt and in 1802, it was covered over with coppergilded plates by Ranjit Singh to be named the Golden temple.

During the independence and partition period, this region faced greatturmoil. The city was also the focal point of political turbulence in the mid-'80sduring the Khalistan movement. The infamous Operation Bluestar and Thestorming of the Golden Temple later led to Mrs. Gandhi's assasination.The Jalianwala Bagh Massacre

On April, 13th, 1919 troops commanded by the British general ReginaldDyer fired on an Indian crowd peacefully demonstrating against the Rowlatt Acts,by which the British administration had recently given itself emergency powers inAmritsar. The exits had been blocked off and the only way out was through anarrow opening or a deep well. Casualties were officially estimated at 379deaths and some 1,200 wounded. Hundreds of women and children dived intothe well to avoid getting shot, but most who dived into the well, died of the fall.The well and walls of Jalianwala Bagh still have bullet marks on them and havebeen preserved as a reminder of the spirit of the Indians who died. The site of themassacre, an open area, is now a national shrine.Agra:

Shah Jahan, the man associated most with Agra, constructed virtuallyevery monument of significance here in Agra and it was under his rule that theJami Masjid, the Agra fort and the Taj Mahal were built. The architect of the TajMahal was blinded after he made it so that he could never again conceiveanything so beautiful and many of the people who built it had their hands cut off

in Shah Jahan's paranoia that the Taj would be replicated. He had built the Taj asa tomb for Mumtaz Mahal, his beloved wife, who he could never really forget.Bombay:

Unlike Delhi or Calcutta, this city really began to develop in the 20thcentury. It was originally a collection of islands that were given to the British asdowry for Catherine of Braganza when she married Charles II. The city was thenleased to the East India Company for ten pounds of gold. The Parsi and Gujratibusinessmen settled here along with the existing Koli fisherfolk.

With the development of the port in Bombay, the economy of the citygrew. It had a natural port and soon became the mainstay of Indian trade. Since ithas been the epicenter of trade in India, it has become the most cosmopolitancity in the country. The film industry grew and even more people flooded in.Pakistan:

Originally, after the 1947 partition from India, Pakistan comprised tworegions: West Pakistan consisted of Punjab, North-West Frontier Province,Balochistan and Sindh; East Pakistan was made up of eastern Bengal. The tworegions were separated by about 1,000 miles of Indian territory. In 1971 thephysically divided country became constitutionally separated as well. EastPakistan became Bangladesh while West Pakistan remained Pakistan.

The Muslim revival in the subcontinent began towards the end of the lastcentury when the Muslim leader Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, launched a movementfor the intellectual renaissance of the Indian Muslims. In 1930, the well-knownpoet-philosopher, Dr. Mohammed Iqbal conceived the idea of a separate statefor the Muslims of the sub-continent. In 1940, the resolution was adopted by theAll-India Muslim under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah.Pakistan became a sovereign state on 14th August, 1947.East Pakistan (Bangladesh):

Before 1947, most of the territory now in Bangladesh was part of theprovince of British-ruled India known as East Bengal which in 1947 joined with theSylhet district of Assam and became East Pakistan in the new state of Pakistan.Growing economic and political differences with West Pakistan led East Pakistanto declare independence in 1971 as the new nation of Bangladesh. The nameBangladesh means "the Bengal nation." Not all who speak the Bengali languageand otherwise identify with the cultural history of Bengal, however, are includedwithin Bangladesh boundaries; many Bengalis live to the west of Bangladesh inthe Indian province of West Bengal.Delhi:

Delhi is the third largest city in India. New Delhi, the capital of India, liesimmediately to the the south of what is considered old Delhi. The present dayarea of New and Old Delhi is located on the west bank of the Yamuna River, atributary of the Ganges, and is landlocked by Haryana to the North, South, andWest and Uttar Pradash to the East

.Historical Narrative (or History as Narrative)

Rushdie uses unreliable events to subvert official notions of history. He perhapspoints to how unreliable these official versions of history are and how they completelyfail to take into account different notions of space and time. Or he shows how historyitself is a narrative which is dependent on interpretation.

The narrator seems to suffer paranoid reversals of significance. He states forexample that the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965 was started simply to destroy his family.Earlier he also states, paradoxically, that he was responsible for the war. He believes ithappened because "I dreamed Kashmir into the fantasies of our rulers". He is theprimary victim and also the source of India's post-1947 history.

Rushdie claims in Imaginary Homelands that he actually wrote Midnight's Children inNorth London. He was creating not actual histories of the cities he describes but"invisible ones, imaginary homelands, Indias of the mind.Intertextuality

Intertextuality is a common feature of Postmodern literature. Midnight's Children is awork that relies heavily upon intertexts - i.e. other texts and authors that it feeds off, orhas parallels with / influences from. Some of these are so integral that it is useful tohave at least a limited knowledge of them in order to appreciate Rushdie's work fully. Ihave listed some of them here:

Arabian Nights, TheThe stories of Scheherazade contained within the narrative framework of TheArabian Nights have a number of important thematic and structural similarities toMidnight's Children. Note that the original number of children that Saleem claimshave been born around midnight is 1001.

The Arabian Nights, also called The Thousand and One Nights, is a largecollection of stories, mostly of Arabian, Indian, or Persian origin, written in Arabicbetween the 14th and 16th centuries.The frame story, Persian in origin, turns on the woman-hating King Schahriah(Shahryar) who, after his queen's blatant infidelity, marries a different womaneach night and then slays her the next morning, thus ensuring her faithfulness.The bride Scheherazade (Shahrazad), however, beguiles the king with a series ofstories for a thousand and one nights, withholding the ending of each story untilthe next night. In this way she saves her life.

The elaborately plotted stories, filled with intrigue, are folkloric in origin.Three of the best known are "The History of Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp,""The History of Sinbad the Sailor," and "The History of Ali Baba and the FortyThieves."

The Arabian Nights, like Midnight's Children is an example of what mightbe called a self-conscious text or a Metafiction: it is a story about telling a story.Midnight's Children contains many metaphors about the process of writing andreading and the relationship between the reader and the narrator. The perforatedsheet and the pickle jars are just two examples. Midnight's Children owes a greatdeal to the traditions and myths of Arabic literature of which The Arabian Nightsis an early example.

As in The Arabian Nights, Saleem Sinai is aware that if the reader losesinterest he will cease to exist. As narrator he is almost paranoid about retainingour interest and credulity through his fabulous tales. The character Padma whoseems to be reading the text along with us, acts humorously as a metaphor forthe reader who wants the story to be exciting but believable. Through herscolding and interventions, she has a role perhaps like that of King Schahriah, (ifnot with the same threat of violence) in shaping the story. Or perhaps it is us, thereaders who are the true Schahriahs - we after all have the power to 'put thenarrative to death' by losing interest and discarding the book!Marquez, Gabriel Garcia: - particularly One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1928- ) is a major Colombian novelist and short-story writer who is associated with Magic Realism.

One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967; Engish translation: 1970) won himthe Nobel prize for literature in 1982. It is a saga about a family whose historyruns parallel to the history of Colombia. It is an ironic tale describing the family'sexperiences of the decay of their town.

It is set, like many of his works in the fictional town of Macondo, a townsimilar to the author's native Aracataca. The story mixes both realism and fantasy.Sterne, Laurence: - particularly Tristram Shandy

Tristram Shandy has been described as "the longest shaggy dog story inthe history of the English language". On first inspection, the book seems to be anautobiography of the narrator who begins with circumstances of his conception.The book turns out to be a parody of concepts such as coherence and rigidordering that were so prevalent in the novels of the author's time. It consists

mostly of anecdotes and personality sketches of the narrator's familly and theParson Yorrick who is thought to be modelled on Sterne himself.

Sterne was influenced by the satirist Swift, but this book was looselybased on John Locke's theory of the association of ideas. Much of its comedycomes from the special associations that define each character. The obsessionsof characters are played upon and they seem to have difficulty comminicatingwhich creates comic confusions.Grass, Gunter: - particularly Tin Drum, The

Gunter Grass is one of post-war Germany's major novelists. He has beencalled the conscience of post-war Germany. His book The Tin Drum establishedhis international fame. The novel's protagonist, a dwarf named Oskar Matzerathtells the story from a mental assylum. The novel attempts an analysis of Nazismand is a brutal attack on the values of the German middle-classes.

Grass' work is characterised by a strong sense of political commitment.The Tin Drum parodies many literary styles. The complex, self-contradictorynarrator, is an amoral hero who narrates, like Saleem in Midnight's Children froman explicitly unreliable position.Ramayana, The

Unlike the Mahabharata, the other famous and ancient Sanskrit epic ofIndia, the Ramayana appears to be the work of one person - a legendary sagecalled Valmiki. It was probably composed around the 3d century BC.

Its best-known recension (the work of Tulsi Das, 1532-1623) consists of24,000 rhymed couplets of 16-syllable lines, organized into 7 books. The poemincorporates many ancient legends and draws on the sacred books of the Vedas.Literally translated as "relating to Rama," it describes the efforts of Kosala's heir,Rama, to regain his throne and rescue his wife, Sita, from the demon KingRavana.Mahabharata, The

The Mahabharata (/, ma: h ba: rt/), like The Ramayana is a famousancient Sanskrit epic of India which tells of five princes who were cheated out oftheir kingdom. After a period of banishment in the forest they returned to fight avictorious and righteous war to regain it.

An especially renowned section is called the Bhagavad Gita, in whichArjuna, one of the brothers, is counseled by his charioteer Krishna, an incarnationof Lord Vishnu. The epic is filled with didactic tales, edifying poems, and fables. Itis probably through their constant retelling that Hinduism is most efficientlydisseminated from generation to generation.Film, TV and comic books

A large portion of the action of Midnight's Children takes place in Bombaywhich is home of course to the famous Bollywood where upwards of 500 films ayear are produced. (You can even visit the Bollywood website from the linkspage.) As Saleem reminds us "nobody from Bombay should be without a basicfilm vocabulary".

Images from film and TV run through the novel. Saleem's uncle Hanif is afailed script-writer and his aunt Pia is a beautiful actress. More than this however,Midnight's Children is concerned with film as artifice - the illusion of anunproblematic portrayal of reality:

Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, themore concrete it seems - but as you approach the present, it inevitably seemsmore and more incredible. Suppose yourself in a large cinema, sitting at first inthe back row, until your nose is almost pressed against the screen. Gradually thestar's faces dissolve into dancing grain; tiny details assume grotesqueproportions; the illusion dissolves - or rather, it becomes clear that the illusionitself is reality ... [p.165]

The idea of a league of people, with special super-human powers (Likethe Midnight's Children Conference) is not an altogether new one. Think ofSuperman and the League of Heroes and you will realise that comics are anintertext of Midnight's Children!

Themes, Motifs & Symbols:In Midnight's Children physical objects periodically re-emerge to mark significant

transitions in both private an public history Symbolic objects and features such asspittoons and noses act as leitmotifs and talismans which give the impression ofpatterns in the narrative. Some of the more obvious motifs are listed below.

Repetition is one of Rushdie's distinctive narrative devices. "The Leitmotif," is a kindof non-conventional symbolism where you use as recurring things in the plot incidentsor objects or phrases which in themselves have no meaning or no particular meaningbut which form a kind of non-rational network of connections in the book. In thisinterview, Rushdie goes on to explain how he used the leitmotif idea to "orchestratewhat is otherwise a huge mass of material." A leitmotif provides a backbone to thenarrative.ThemesThe Single and the Many

Born at the dawn of Indian independence and destined, upon his death, tobreak into as many pieces as there are citizens of India, Saleem Sinai manages torepresent the entirety of India within his individual self. The notion that a single personcould possibly embody a teeming, diverse, multitudinous nation like India encapsulatesone of the novels fundamental concerns: the tension between the single and the many.The dynamic relationship between Saleems individual life and the collective life of thenation suggests that public and private will always influence one another, but it remainsunclear whether they can be completely equated with one another. Throughout thenovel, Saleem struggles to contain all of India within himselfto cram his personal storywith the themes and stories of his countryonly to disintegrate and collapse at the endof his attempt.

Politically speaking, the tension between the single and the many also marksthe nation of India itself. One of the fastest growing nations in the world, India hasalways been an incredibly diverse. Its constitution recognizes twenty-two officiallanguages, and the population practices religions as varied as Hinduism, Islam,Christianity, Sikhism, and Buddhism, among many others. Indian culture is similarlyhybrid, having been influenced by countless other cultures over the millennia of itsdevelopment. At the same time, however, maintaining Indias sprawling diversity in apeaceful fashion has often proved difficult: Indias division into the Islamic nation ofPakistan and the secular, but mostly Hindu nation of Indiaa process known as

Partitionremains the most striking example of the desire to contain and reduce Indiasplurality. In Midnights Children, the child Saleem watches as protestors attempt to dodivide the city of Bombay along linguistic lines, another attempt to categorize andcordon off multiplicity.

Saleem, a character who contains a multitude of experiences and sensitivities,stands in stark contrast to the protestors who demand their own language-basedregion, the strict monotheism of Pakistan, and Indira Gandhis repression ofcontradictory dissension. His powers of telepathy allow him to transcend the barriers oflanguage, while he himselfwith his English blood, poor background, wealthyupbringing, and eclectic religious influecesreflects Indias diversity and range. TheMidnight Childrens Conference that he convenes is, in its initial phase, a model forpluralism and a testimony to the potential power inherent within coexisting diversity,which is a natural and definitive element of Indian culture. In Midnights Children, thedesire for singularity or puritywhether of religion or culturebreeds not onlyintolerance but also violence and repression.The Unreliability of Memory and Narrative

Factual errors and dubious claims are essential aspects of Saleems fantasticnarrative. He willfully acknowledges that he misplaced Gandhis death, an obviouslyseminal moment in Indias history, as well as willfully misremembers the date of anelection. He frets over the accuracy of his story and worries about future errors hemight make. Yet, at the same time, after acknowledging his error, Saleem decides tomaintain his version of events, since thats how they appeared to occur to him and nowthere can be no going back. Despite its potential historical inaccuracies, Saleem seeshis story as being of equal importance as the worlds most important religious texts.This is not only his story but also the story of India. The errors in his story, in addition tocasting a shadow of doubt over some of what he claims, point to one of the novelsessential claims: that truth is not just a matter of verifiable facts. Genuine historical truthdepends on perspective and a willingness to believe. Saleem notes that memorycreates its own truth, and so do narratives. Religious texts and history books alike staketheir claim in truth not only because they are supported by facts but also because theyhave been codified and accepted upon, whether by time or faith. The version of historySaleem offers comes filtered through his perspective, just as every other version ofhistory comes filtered through some alternate perspective. For Saleem, his version is astrue as anything else that could be written, not just because this is the way he hasarranged it, but because this is the version he believes.Destruction vs. Creation

The battle between Saleem and Shiva reflects the ancient, mythological battlebetween the creative and destructive forces in the world. The enmity and tensionbetween the two begin at the moment of their simultaneous births. The reference toShiva, the Hindu god of both destruction and procreation, reflects not only the tensionbetween destruction and creation but also the inextricably bound nature of these twoforces.

Saleem, as the narrator of Midnights Children, is responsible for creating theworld we, as readers, are engaged in. He represents Brahma, the god of creation. WhatSaleem creates, however, is not life, but a story. By delivering Saleem into the hands ofthe Widow, Shiva is responsible for the destruction of the midnights children, and yet,

by fathering Aadam and hundreds of other children, he ensures the continuation oftheir legacy.MotifsSnakes

Beginning with the snake venom that saves Saleems young life, snakes playan ambiguous and complicated role in the novel. Saleem often refers to his favoritechildhood board game, Snakes and Ladders. In the games simple formula of good andevil, Saleem learns an important lesson: for every up, there is a down, and for everydown, there is an up. Missing from the board game, however, is the ambiguity betweengood and evil that he later detects as a natural part of life. Generally considered torepresent evil, snakes are, in fact, much more complicated than that simplegeneralization might imply. While venom has the power to kill, it also has the ability tobring life, and it does so not once but twice in the novel. Snake venom represents thepower of Shiva, who is both destroyer and procreator in the Hindu pantheon. InMidnights Children, snakes are also associated with Picture Singh, Saleems closestfriend, whose career is both dependent upon and destroyed by snakes.Leaking

Throughout the novel, the past finds ways to mysteriously insinuate itself intothe present, just as Saleems personal compulsions and concerns find themselvesinexplicably replicated in national, political events. Perhaps inspired by his ownconstantly running nose, Saleem uses the term leaking to describe this phenomenon.The lines separating past, present, and futureas well as the lines separating thepersonal and the political, the individual and the stateare incredibly porous. WhenSaleem begins having dreams about Kashmir, for example, the stirring images of hisdreams seems to seep into the national consciousness, and India and Pakistan begin tobattle over possession of the beautiful region. In Midnights Children, the interplaybetween personal and public, past and present, remains fluid and dynamic, like leakingliquid.Fragmentation

Saleem claims that, much like his narrative, he is physically falling apart. Hisbody is riddled with cracks, and, as a result, the past is spilling out of him. His story,spread out over sixty-three years, is a fragmented narrative, oscillating back and forthbetween past and present and frequently broken up further by Saleems interjections.In addition to the narrative and physical fragmentation, India itself is fragmented. Tornapart by Partition, it is divided into two separate countries, with the east and westsections of Pakistan on either side of India. This division is taken even further when Eastand West Pakistan are reclassified as two separate countries, Pakistan and Bangladesh.Within India, language marchers agitate for further partitions based upon linguistic lines.New nationalities are created, and with them come new forms of cultural identity thatreflect the constant divisions.SymbolsThe Silver Spittoon

The silver spittoon given to Amina as part of her dowry by the Rani of CoochNaheen is responsible for Saleems loss of memory. Even when he has amnesia,however, Saleem continues to cherish the spittoon as if he still understands its historicalvalue. Following the destruction of his family, the silver spittoon is the only tangibleremnant of Saleems former life, and yet it too is eventually destroyed when Saleemshouse in the ghetto is torn down. Spittoons, once used as part of a cherished game forboth old and young, gradually fell out of use: the old men no longer spit their betel juiceinto the street as they tell stories, nor do the children dart in between the streams asthey listen. The spittoon is the symbol of a vanishing era, which, in retrospect, seemedsimpler and easier. And so, although Saleem may not be able to recall the specificassociation between the spittoon and his family, the spittoon maintains its symbolicquality as both a container of memory and source of amnesia.The Perforated Sheet

The perforated sheet through which Aadam Aziz falls in love with his futurewife performs several different symbolic functions throughout the novel. Unable to seehis future wife as a whole, Aadam falls in love with her in pieces. As a result, their lovenever has a cohesive unity that holds them together. Their love is fragmented, just astheir daughter Aminas attempts to fall in love with her husband are also fragmented.Haunted by the memory of her previous husband, Amina embarks on a campaign tofall in love with her new husband in sections, just as her father once fell in love with hermother. Despite her best attempts, Amina and Ahmeds love also lacks the completionand unity necessary for genuine love to thrive. The hole of the perforated sheetrepresents a portal for vision but also a void that goes unfilled. The perforated sheetmakes one final appearance with Jamila Singer: in an attempt to preserve her purity,she shrouds herself completely, except for a single hole for her lips. The perforatedsheet, in addition to preserving her purity, also reduces to her to nothing more than avoice. The sheet becomes a veil that separates her from the rest of the world andreflects her inability to accept affection.

Perforated sheets, (and things with holes in generally) are perhaps the mostimportant metaphors of the book. Because of the nature of the hole, whatever isrevealed conceals everything else. This could be seen as true also of narrative: Thetelling of stories is a temporal process. Describing people, places and events in wordscan only be done a bit at a time. A narrative might focus on a nose or a certain trait ofspeech - like repeating "whatsisname" arbitrarily in sentences. Narrative is a fragmentaryprocess. It builds up the illusion of a reality through fragments only. But thesefragments glimsped through a hole - cannot be said to constitute a person or an event- instead they make something else. A fiction.

The concealing/revealing process works from both sides of the sheet. What sort offace does the eye belong to? What sort of person is it? We can only guess from theclues that we are given. In Rushdie's narrative the process of constructing the illusion ofpeople from fragments is made explicit.Knees and Nose

The seer, Ramram, predicts the birth of knees and nose, which representShiva and Saleem, respectively. In addition to symbolizing each boys special power,knees and nose also play another role. When Aadam Aziz first kneels down to pray, hisknees touch the floor and his nose hits the ground. Knees and nose, in this instance,represent an act of prayer, as well as the submission and humility necessary faith. After

hitting his nose on the ground, however, Aadam rejects that submission, and a holeopens up inside of him. Knees and nose also become significant with Farooqs death viaa sniper bullet. Shot, Farooq first drops to his knees, then hits his nose on the ground.Just as Aadam bowed before god, Farooq bows before death. Shiva is suspected ofkilling a string of prostitutes with his powerful knees, while Saleem uses his nose todiscover the most decrepit prostitute in the city. Knees and nosejust like Shiva andSaleem, destruction and creation, faith and humilityare inextricably related.

Noses and smells play a prominent role for several members of the Aziz/Sinaifamilies. Tai, the boatman of Kashmir remarks that Aadam has "dynasties waiting insideit [...] like snot." The use of smells is a strategy perhaps for making abstract emotionaland moral concepts objectifyable. Saleem's nose can detect for example that"unfairness smelled like onions." It is also Saleem's nose that seems to give him magicalpowers. Saleem's rival Shiva seems to have, by contrast, remarkable knees and he usesthese in often quite shocking acts of violence.Pickle Jars and the Chutneyfication of History

There are numerous references in the book to chutney and the pickling process.The narrator seems actually to be writing his book from a pickling factory. Characters inthe book put their emotions - love, guilt - into their chutneys and this in turn effects thepeople who eat them.

This process could be seen as a metaphor for the process of making a historythrough narrative. Significant events are chosen for their flavour and according to thepreferences and interpretations of the pickler.

Towards the end of the book Saleem has one pickle jar for each chapter. He haspickled his past in the form of narrative. Saleem reminds us however that "the futurecannot be preserved in a jar; one jar must remain empty ..." [p. 462]Washing Chests and Baskets

Washing chests and baskets are a recurring image in Midnight's Children. NadirKhan hides in one as he waits to request refuge from Aadam Aziz. Saleem has an"accident" in one when he gets a pyjama cord stuck up his nose. It is a womb-like space- only really described from the inside. The distorted view through the wicker work isperhaps reminiscent of the perforated sheet through which Aadam Aziz first spies hisfuture bride.

Saleem also disappears entirely for a while inside Parvati's magical and "cryptic"basket in which Saleem is "[p]resent, but insubstantial; actual but without being orweight ... I discovered in the basket, how ghosts see the world. Dimly hazily faintly ... itwas around me but only just [...]"The Heidelberg Bag

The Heidleberg bag that Aadam Aziz brings back to Kashmir from his medicalstudies in Germany. Aadam's bag comes to represent the "foreign" part of Aziz that setshim apart. It acts and a symbol for non-Indian forms or colonial knowledge and culture(perhaps also seeping into the narrative). This is not a negative symbol - the bagcontains many useful things that Aadam uses to save lives - but it symbolicallycontributes to the "hole" that seems to stay with him through a loss of absolute faith ingod. It also gives him a bruise which lasts the rest of his life when he is crushed againstit during the massacre at Amritsar.Pointing Fingers

The pointing fisherman's finger in the picture hanging in Saleem''s bedroom inBombay evokes difficult and elusive meanings. It is not the only pointing finger in thebook. In Delhi when the Indiabike warehouse burns down - the smoke seems to forminto a finger that points towards the Muslim Muhalla. It points (perhaps?) towards thefuture - that which hasn't been written or contained.The fisherman's finger in Saleem's picture points out of the frame - out of the horizon to'reality'. It points towards 'truth' in the way, Saleem believes, Mary Pereira's stories do. Sowhile a piece of art cannot contain reality it can perhaps point to some sort of subjectivetruth - out of the window - to Saleem's true India out of the countless millions ofsubjective versions of India that exist.Summary and AnalysisBook One:Summary: The Perforated Sheet

Saleem Sinai opens the novel by explaining the exact date and time of hisbirth: August 15, 1947, at midnight. Saleems birth coincides precisely with the momentIndia officially gains its independence from Britain. Thus, as Saleem notes, hismiraculously timed birth ties him to the fate of the country. He is thirty-one years oldnow and feels that time is running out for him. Saleems believes his life is ending andhe must tell all of the stories trapped inside of him before he dies.

Saleem begins the story with his grandfather, Aadam Aziz, on an early springmorning in Kashmir. Saleem describes Kashmir as a place of incredible beauty andnotes that, in 1915, Kashmir was still pristine, looking just as it had during the time of theMughal Empire. At this point in the story, Kashmir is free of the soldiers, camouflagedtrucks, and military jeeps that will come to characterize it in later years.

While praying, Aadam bumps his nose against the hard ground, and threedrops of blood fall from his nose. As a result, he vows never again to bow before manor god, and consequently a hole opens up inside of him. Aadam has recently returnedhome from Germany, after five years of medical study. While Aadam was away, hisfather had a stroke, and his mother took over his duties in the family gem business. AsAadam stands on the edge of a lake, Tai, an old boatman, comes rowing toward him.Saleem describes Aadams features, particularly his prominent nose. Saleem alsodescribes the enigmatic Tai and the local rumors that surround him.

Tais boat draws closer. He shouts out to Aadam that the daughter of Ghanithe landowner has fallen ill. Here, Saleem interrupts his narrative to note that most ofwhat matters in our lives takes place in our absence, but he reassures us that he has theability to see things he didnt actually witness. In this way, he is able to describe Aadamtaking care of his mother, attending to the landowners daughter, and being ferriedacross the lake by Tai, all at the same time.

At the landowners opulent house, Aadam realizes that the old man, Ghani, isblind. While waiting to see the patient, Aadam gets nervous and considers fleeing, butthen he has a vision of his mother and decides to stay. Aadam is taken in to see thepatient, who is flanked by two extremely muscular women holding a white bed sheetover her like a curtain. In the center of the sheet is a hole, approximately seven inches indiameter. Ghani tells Aadam that, for modestys sake, he can only examine his daughterthrough the seven-inch hole.Summary: Mercurochrome

Saleem sits at his desk, writing. Padma, described as a great comfort despiteher inability to read, cooks for Saleem and presses him to eat. Saleem returns to hisstory, saying that his grandfathers premonition to run away was well founded, because,in the ensuing months and years, Aadam fell under the spell of the perforated cloth.The isolated parts of Naseems body that Aadam has seen begin to haunt him, and hismother notes that Ghani is using the illnesses as a ploy, to arrange a marriage betweenhis daughter and Aadam. Saleem notes that his grandfather fell in love through a hole ina sheet and that this love filled in the hole left by Aadams renunciation of his faith.

Naseem experiences numerous ailments over the next few years, and, in eachcase, Aadam examines her by moving the sheet so that the hole exposes the affectedarea. However, as Naseem never develops pains in her head, Aadam never lays eyesupon her face. On the day World War I ends, Naseem finally complains of a headache,and the doctor receives permission to see her face, at which point he falls even furtherin love with her. In that same year, Doctor Azizs father dies, followed shortly by hismother. Ilse, Aadams anarchist friend from Germany, comes to visit him and deliver thenews that their friend Oskar has died. Agra University offers Aadam a job, and hedecides to leave Kashmir and proposes to Naseem. Ilse drowns herself in the lake thatsame day, in a spot where, as Tai once told the young Aadam, foreign women oftencome to drown themselves without their knowing why.

Padma, who has brought in Saleems dinner, interrupts the narrative anddemands he read her what he has written. When Saleem returns to the story, it isAugust 6, 1919, and Aadam and Naseem are in the city of Amritsar. Mahatma Gandhihas issued a call for a day of mourningHartalon August 7, to protest the Britishpresence. On the day of Hartal, riots break out, and Aadam treats the wounded withMercurochrome, which leaves bloodlike red stains on his clothing. Six days later, apeaceful protest erupts, in violation of the martial law regulations. The crowd movesinto a compound, where Brigadier R. E. Dyer and his troops eventually surround them.Aadams nose begins to itch furiously. As the brigadier issues a command, Aadamsneezes violently, falling to the ground and thereby missing a bullet aimed in hisdirection. The troops continue to fire into the crowd. Of the 1,650 rounds fired, 1,516 findtheir mark.

Before concluding the chapter and going to bed, Saleem discovers a crack inhis wrist. He then tells how Tai, the boatman, died in 1947, protesting India andPakistans dispute over Kashmir. Tai walked to where the troops were stationed,intending to give them a piece of his mind, and was shot dead.Analysis

Saleems account of his grandfather, Aadam Aziz, resembles the story found inthe biblical book of Genesis. Aadams name suggests the biblical Adam, the worlds firstman. Adam and his consort, Eve, lived in the Garden of Eden, and Aadams hometownin Kashmir is similarly described as a lush, beautiful locale. The story of Adam, Eve, andtheir eventual expulsion from Eden provides Christians with an inaugural narrative, fromwhich they can trace the development of the world. Similarly, the story of Aadam andNaseem in Kashmir provides Saleem with an original myth that helps shape and givemeaning to the rest of his story. Rushdies use of the biblical tale demonstrates hiswillingness to incorporate and transform various literary traditions into his own narrative.

Aadams friend Tai plays an important role in the novels early development ofcertain symbols and themes. Although most of the local people attribute his seeminglynonsensical statements to delirium, insanity, or stupidity, Tai ultimately demonstrates

great wisdom. Regarding Aadams prominent nose, Tai warns the boy to trust the nosesfeelings, as the nose will indicate when something is wrong. Here, Tai alludes to theimportant role noses will play not only in Aadams life but in future generations of hisfamily. Tais comments also introduce the idea that sensory experience and instinctualbehavior are linked entities. Most important, however, Tais warning suggests the waysin which personal and public concerns collide, a dominant theme of the novel.

Throughout Midnights Children, Indian and global politics resonate in the livesof the characters, often to an improbable degree. As Saleems grandparents fall in love,we witness the first occasion in which a great event in world history corresponds to apersonal event in the lives of Saleems family: World War I ends on the same day thatAadam finally sees Naseems face. Rushdie links the two events to illustrate the ways inwhich humans rely on their individual experiences to make sense of huge, abstracthistorical events. Sometimes, public history and private history relate in parallel butapparently unconnected ways. Aadam doesnt see Naseems face because the war hasended, but the two events seem linked, because each heralds a major transition.Sometimes, however, public and private histories intersect directly, as when Aadamparticipates in the proindependence riots and, miraculously, manages to avoid beingshot. The proindependence riots are significant for the nation, but they gain an addedsignificance for Saleems family, since Aadams experience there provides one moreprominent example of the important role of noses play in Midnights Children.

From the very first passages of Midnights Children, Rushdie establishes thenovels unique narrative voice. Saleem narrates in the first person, often addressing theaudience directly and informally. He also writes in a prose style that feels spontaneousand improvised, as if he were writing his thoughts down as fast as he can, withoutstopping to revise or edit. Midnights Children doesnt represent a cool, composedaccount of past events, nor does it resemble an objective voice recollecting eventsfrom a distant vantage point. Saleem rambles and veers off, rephrases and reworks,much as one does in coversation. This prose style is referred to as stream ofconsciousness, and, in its immediacy, it reflects Saleems desperate, urgent need tofinish his tale before he dies.

The prose style also makes the novel resemble a session of oral storytelling, afeature highlighted by the presence of Padma, Saleems faithful listener and thereaders stand-in within the pages of Midnights Children. At times, Padma plays the roleof a passive audience member, while at other moments she actively interjects, makingcomments and suggestions and calling Saleem to task for some of his more excessiveflights of fancy. In this way, acting on our behalf, Padma plays the role of skeptic andcritic. Through Padma, Rushdie can anticipate and acknowledge the readers potentialfrustrations. By preemptively addressing any doubts and concerns we might have,Rushdie is then free to pursue the narrative as he sees fit.Summary: Hit-the-Spittoon

Saleem claims that his bodyworn down by time, history, and fatiguewillsoon break into hundreds of millions of pieces. He describes how he makes his livingmaking chutney and other condiments and how Padma prepares his food and bed inthe factory. Being impotent, Saleem cant respond to Padmas sexual advances.

Saleem returns to his family history, jumping ahead to the summer of 1942.Aadam and Naseem now live on Cornwallis Road, in Agra, and have five children: Alia,Mumtaz, Hanif, Mustapha, and Emerald. Naseem has become a formidable figure withage and is now generally referred to as Reverend Mother. She has also developed averbal habit of referring to things as whatsitsname. Saleem recounts a story of how, in

the early 1930s, Naseem became furious with Aadam for dismissing the childrensreligion tutor, whom he felt was teaching the children to hate people of other faiths.Incensed, Naseem refuses to feed Aadam, waiting until hes almost dead of hungerbefore she relents.

Back in 1942, Aadam has aligned himself with a charismatic man named MianAbdullah, also known as the Hummingbird. Abdullah heads the Free Islam Convocation,which opposes the creation of a separate Muslim state. One day, during a visit to auniversity campus with his personal secretary, Nadir Khan, Mian Abdullah is attacked bya band of assassins. When the assassins begin to cut him with their knives, Abdullahstarts to hum, the pitch growing increasingly higher. One of the killers eyes shatters andfalls out of its socket; the surrounding windows shatter as well. Dogs throughoutBombay hear the Hummingbird and rush to the scene, injuring the assassins to such adegree that the murders are rendered unrecognizable. Mian Abdullah dies, but NadirKhan manages to escape and, finding Rashid the rickshaw boy in the field surroundingDoctor Azizs house, pleads with Rashid to notify Aadam of the situation.Summary: Under the Carpet

The period of optimism that Mian Abdullah inspired ends with hisassassination. The Rani of Cooch Naheen, one of Abdullahs allies, takes to her bed,while Aadam puts his energy into treating the poor. One day, while using the bathroom,Aadam is startled to find Nadir Khan hiding in the laundry bin. Aadam agrees to providehim sanctuary, despite his wifes protests and concerns for their daughters purity. Inretaliation, Naseem promises never to speak again, and silence descends upon thehouse.

Several suitors line up for the three Aziz daughters, including Major Zulfikar, anofficial in the Pakistani army; Nadir Khan, who lives hidden in the Aziz basement; andAhmed Sinai. Mumtaz, Aadams favorite daughter and the darkest-skinned of all thechildren, tends to Nadir Khan. The two fall in love without ever exchanging a word, andNadir asks Aadam for his daughters hand in marriage. The family arranges a secretmarriage between the two. Afterward, Mumtaz happily moves into the basement,returning to the upper floors by day to preserve the secrecy of her husbandsconcealment.

The Rani of Cooch Naheen dies, her skin having turned completely white, andbequeaths a silver spittoon to the Aziz family. Mumtaz falls ill, and, while giving her acheck-up, Aadam discovers that after two years of marriage Mumtaz remains a virgin.Upon hearing the news, Naseem ends her three years of silence, releasing a torrent ofabusive words at her husband. Saleem notes that this occurred on the same day thatAmerica dropped the atomic bomb on Japan: August 9, 1945. Emerald runs out of thehouse and tells her suitor, Major Zulfikar, that Nadir Khan is living in her basement. NadirKhan flees, leaving a note for Mumtaz that reads, I divorce you.

Emerald goes on to marry Major Zulfikar. At Emeralds wedding, Mumtaz andAhmed Sinaiwho had previously been courting Alia, the eldest daughterhave aconversation. They eventually marry, and Mumtaz changes her name to Amina Sinai.Analysis

In these chapters, the private life of Saleem Sinai once again coincides withthe public life of India. Saleem claims that his body is falling apart and that hes destinedto crumble into approximately 630 million particles of anonymous dust. At the time ofMidnights Childrens publication, Indias population stood at about 630 million. Born at

the moment of Indias independence, Saleem symbolizes modern India and conceivesof himself as a physical embodiment of Indias history. By claiming that he will crumbleinto 630 million pieces, Saleem suggests that when his body falls apart, he will releaseall of India. With the notion that, in his individual body, Saleem contains a physicalrepresentation of every single anonymous Indian citizen, Rushdie takes a symbolicmetaphorSaleem as modern Indiaand makes it concrete. Saleems bodilydisintegration also reflects the literary fragmentation of the novel as it skips haphazardlythrough time. Because Saleems body seems doomed to collapse from the beginning,we might wonder whether the narrative is destined to fall apart as well. Saleemsconstant pleas for his story to be taken seriously cast further doubt on the truthfulnessof his accountand make Saleem an increasingly unreliable narrator.

Once again, Padma urges the narrative forward, and we jump to 1942 andwhat Saleem refers to as the optimistic epidemic. The word epidemic suggests thatthe hope inspired by Mian Abdullah is contagious, out of the ordinary, and potentiallydangerous. In the early 1940s, time has not only put a strain on Aadam and Naseemsrelationship but on the country as well. Religious strife is beginning to fill the air, and thattension takes violent shape in the form of the crescent knives that kill Mian Abdullah.The shape of the knives is particularly significant, since they recall the crescent moonand star, which together serve as a symbol of the Islamic faith. The knives silence MianAbdullahs optimistic hum and symbolically destroy any hope for a unified India,postindependence. The tension between religious pluralism and dogmatism can alsobe seen in Aadams relationship with his wife, whose new name testifies, in part, to herstubborn religious devotion. Reverend Mother remains dogmatic in her faith, so muchso that she is ready to watch her husband die of starvation in order to defend herprinciples. And yet Saleem comments that his grandmother, despite her convictions,remains adrift in the universe. Her constant use of the word whatsitsname suggests thatReverend Mother has increasing difficulty pinning down names to objects or, byextension, meaning to reality.

At this point, members of Saleems extended family, including his parents,aunts, and uncles, have all entered the story. The silver spittoon of the Rani of CoochNaheen, the impotence of Nadir Khan, and the steely determination of ReverendMother each play an important role as the narrative progresses. That Reverend Motherbreaks her silence on the same day the United States drops the atomic bomb on Japannot only repeats the continued theme of personal history intersecting with politicalhistory, but it also illustrates the significance of individual events in the history of afamily.Summary: A Public Announcement

Saleem begins describing the political events of 1947. He interrupts his story atone point to complain that a Dr. N. Q. Balliga has dismissed his claims to have cracks inhis body. He returns to his historical account and describes his mother and fathersdeparture from Agra and their subsequent arrival in Delhi. Amina remains in love withher first husband, Nadir Khan. However, with her typical assiduousness, she trainsherself to fall in love with her new husband by focusing on one part of his body orpersonality at a time, echoing the courtship of her mother and father through theperforated sheet. Without fully being aware of it, she slowly transforms her new houseinto the basement she used to live in, and Ahmed gradually begins to resemble NadirKhan as he puts on weight and loses his hair.

One morning, two of Ahmeds business associates, Mr. Mustapha Kemal andMr. S. P. Butt, arrive at Ahmed and Aminas house. The men tell Ahmed about a fire at

one of his warehouses, set by a radical anti-Muslim organization named Ravana, after amany-headed demon. On the street, a young man named Lifafa Das calls out forpeople to come see the world through his peepshow box. The peepshow contains asmany postcard images as Lifafa could find depicting global scenes. As eager youngchildren surround him, one girl starts a chant, scorning Lifafa as a Hindu. Soon, othersjoin in, and a mob forms, accusing Lifafa of being a rapist. Amina brings Lifafa into herhouse, securing his safety by announcing to the crowd that theyll have to kill her, apregnant woman, before shell let them harm him. In exchange for saving his life, Lifafaoffers to take Amina to see his cousin, a great seer who will tell her unborn childsfortune. Musa, a household servant, says nothing, although Saleem notes that Musa willeventually be responsible for destroying the world, albeit by accident.Summary: Many-headed Monsters

Saleem questions the roles that chance and providence play in determiningthe future. He wonders about his fathers perspective on fate as it relates to Saleemsown impending birth and considers the role time plays in the partition of India. He notesthat whats true isnt necessarily whats real and briefly introduces his ayah, or nanny,Mary Pereira and the stories she told him during his childhood.

Amina Sinai sets off to visit the seer as her husband sets off, with moneyhidden under his coat, to pay off the Ravana. The narrative jumps back and forthbetween these two clandestine journeys. As Amina leaves the city in a taxi with Lifafa,she loses her city eyes and becomes aware of the abject poverty around her: thebeggars, cripples, and starving children clutching at her saris. Meanwhile, Ahmed,surrounded by the stench of failure, is consumed by his money problems and theknowledge that he will never rearrange the Quran in chronological order, as he hasalways wanted too. Saleem relates a host of disappointments and missed opportunitiesthat will haunt his unhappy father for the rest of his life, as well the tragic deathsawaiting Ahmeds companions, Mustapha Kemal and S. P. Butt. Lifafa reassures andcomforts the frightened Amina as they walk up dark steps, past cripples, to the roomwhere Lifafas cousin appears to be sitting six inches above the ground. Ahmed and hiscompanions follow the orders of the Ravana and deposit the money at an ancient fortoverrun with wild monkeys who are taking the building apart brick by brick. In the roomwith the prophet, Ramram, Amina lets him touch her belly, at which point he falls into atrance and begins to deliver an almost incomprehensible prophecy. He tells her that herson will never be older or younger than his country and there will be two heads, knees,and a nose. He eventually collapses onto the floor, overwhelmed by what he has seen.At the temple, wild monkeys attack the Ravana members assigned to collect theransom, and Ahmed and his associates begin scrounging to re-collect their money. As aresult, the Ravana burn down the mens warehouses. Ahmed decides to get out of theleather business and move to Bombay, where land is cheap. On June 4, as EarlMountbatten announces the partition of India into two separate nations, Ahmed andAmina board a train for Bombay.Analysis

Historical patterns become more apparent now, as Saleem reflects on theincidents leading up to Indias independence as well as on his parents relationship. Therole of the perforated sheet, which first appeared in the love affair between Aadam andNaseem, seems to be reprised between Ahmed and Amina. One person falls in love

with the other through a series of isolated glimpses, creating affection in a piecemealfashion.

This approach fared poorly for Aadam and Naseem, who, after falling in lovewith each other in parts, failed to recognize each other as whole people. Whether thesame will be true of Ahmed and Aminas relationship remains to be seen. However, asthese patterns grow clearer, a sense of inevitability begins to emerge. Indian historyseems to be moving inexorably toward independence, and the power of Aminasreenactment of the perforated sheet proves so great that it seems to physicallytransform Ahmed Sinai into Nadir Khan. However, just as the formal patterns of thenovel are becoming increasingly complex, Saleem casts doubt over his reliability as anarrator. Saleem tells us that Dr. N.Q. Balliga has rejected Saleems self-diagnosis andthat the doctor cannot find any cracks on his body. Saleem takes the parallels betweenIndia and his physical body as evidence of the fact that he, as an individual, representsthe totality of Indian history. If that piece of evidence is questioned, it is possibleandperhaps wiseto doubt all the patterns and parallels that Saleem has so painstakinglyinsisted upon.

The incident with Lifafa Das represents another manifestation of the tensionbetween pluralism and singularity. Lifafas peepshow box literally symbolizes theconcept of looking at the world through a multiplicity of perspectives and viewpoints.The mob that surrounds him, however, can only see Lifafas religion and nearly kills himbecause of its singular view. The allusion in these chapters to Ravana, a many-headeddemon from the Indian epic the Ramayana, emphasizes the frightening specter of mobmentality. The incident with the peepshow box exemplifies the nationwide tensionalready threatening to tear India apart along religious lines. That tearing will, of course,become literal once India gets divided into the Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan.

That Saleems birth should first be proclaimed to an angry mob foreshadowsthe intensely public role Saleem will play for the rest of his life. This event also providesa glimpse into the world he will be born into, a world divided by religious tension andconstantly threatened by outbreaks of violence. As the story draws closer to his birthand Indias independence, Saleem begins to cryptically foreshadow many forthcomingevents. He introduces his ayah, Mary Pereira, and enigmatically refers to Musasdestruction of the world, as well as the role of fate, chance, and lies. The prophecy ofRamram represents the most significant and explicit example of foreshadowing in thesesections: although we can understand very little of what he says at this point, hisdivination will prove crucial.

Aminas experience with Ramram includes a shocking, vivid portrayal of thedestitution and abject poverty that afflicts so much of India. In the world of MidnightsChildren, the magical and the squalid are interconnected. As Amina encounters theimpoverished people she had once ignored, Ahmed and his business associates carryhuge bags of money earmarked for a terrorist ransom. When the Ravana membersdrop the money, Saleem describes Ahmed and his partners scrounging through dirtand feces to pick it up, just as starving men, women, and children beg Amina for sparechange in order to survive. The narrative deliberately oscillates back and forth betweenthese two scenes, calling attention to the drastic divide that separates rich from poor inIndia.Summary: Methwold

Saleem describes the estate that once belonged to an Englishman, WilliamMethwold. It is comprised of four identical houses, each bearing the name of a differentEuropean palace. Saleems parents buy one of the houses, agreeing to the conditions

that they purchase everything inside the house and that the legal transfer of propertywill not occur until midnight, August 15. Methwold says that his reasons for theconditions are allegorical, as he equates the sale of his estate with the national transferof sovereign power.

Saleem lists the other inhabitants of Methwolds Estate: Mr. Homi Catrack, afilm magnate who lives with his idiot daughter; old man Ibrahim, his sons, Ismail andIshaq, and his wife, Nussie; the Dubashes, who become parents of Cyrus, Saleems firstmentor; Doctor Narlikar; and finally, Commander Sabarmati, his wife, Lila, and their twosons, who will grow up to be nicknamed Eyeslice and Hairoil. As the transfer of powerdraws closer, the inhabitants of Methwolds Estate complain incessantly of having tolive among Methwolds things. As the inhabitants settle in, they remain unaware of thefact that they have begun to imitate Methwolds habits, from the cocktail hour he keepsto the accent with which he speaks.

The Times of India announces a prize for any child born at the exact momentof independence. Still recalling the prophets words, Amina declares that her son willwin. The summer rains begin, and Amina grows so heavy she can scarcely move. Afterthe rains end, Wee Willie Winkie, a poor clown, returns to the estate to perform forMethwold and the new families. Willie Winkie tells the crowd that his wife is expecting achild soon as well. Saleem tells us that the child actually belongs to Methwold, whoseduced Winkies wife with his perfectly parted hair. Saleems narrative then jumps to achurch, where a midwife named Mary Pereira sits in a confessional booth, telling theyoung priest about her relationship with an orderly named Joseph D Costa, who hastaken to committing acts of violence against the British. Saleem says that on the night ofhis birth, this woman made the most important decision in the history of twentieth-century India. Back at Methwolds Estate, Musa is still ticking like a time-bomb as thehour approaches midnight.Summary: Tick, Tock

On August 13, 1947, Bombay comes alive as the city prepares for Indiasimminent independence from the British. At midnight, the nation of Pakistan willofficially be created, a full day before India will be declared independent. Violencebreaks out on the borders of Punjab and in Bengal.

A series of events occurs all at once, and Saleems narrative skips betweenthem. At Methwolds Estate, Ahmed and William Methwold drink cocktails in thecourtyard. Meanwhile, at the old house on Cornwallis Road, in Agra, Aadam Aziz risesfrom his bed and nostalgically pulls out the perforated sheet, only to discover thatmoths have eaten it. Back at Methwolds Estate, Wee Willie Winkies wife, Vanita, goesinto labor. William Methwold walks into the courtyard of his former compound, standsin the exact center, and salutes the landscape. Shortly afterward, a sadhuji, or holy man,enters the compound and sits under a dripping water tap. He proclaims that he awaitsthe birth of the One, the Mubarak. As soon as he says this, Amina goes into labor. Oncethe sun has set, Methwold ends his salute and pulls off his hairpiece. Amina and Vanitalie in adjacent rooms at the nursing home, and two boys are born at midnight. Uponhearing the news, Ahmed drops a chair on his toes. In the ensuing confusion, MaryPereira switches the babies nametags in memory of her revolutionary Joseph, givingSaleem, biologically the son of Willie Winkie and Vanita, to Ahmed and Amina.

Padma interrupts the story to call Saleem a liar. He responds by saying thateven after his parents discovered what Mary Pereira had done, they could not go backand erase the past, so he remained their son. Saleem mentions a letter the primeminister sent when he was born, which he buried in a cactus garden along with a

newspaper article titled Midnights Child. He tells us