Seminar 9

Salman Rushdie: Midnight's Children

1. Read through this extract from Book 1, Chapter 1, "The perforated
sheet", of Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children (1981) several times
before attempting the questions which follow it.
"I was born in the city of Bombay... once upon a time. No, that won't do,
there's no getting away from the date: I was born in Doctor Narlikar's
Nursing Home on August 15th, 1947. And the time? The time matters, too.
Well then: at night. No, it's important to be more... On the stroke of
midnight, as a matter of fact. Clock-hands joined palms in respectful
greeting as I came. Oh, spell it out, spell it out: at the precise instant of
India's arrival at independence, I tumbled forth into the world. There were
gasps. And, outside the window, fireworks and crowds. A few seconds
later, my father broke his big toe; but his accident was a mere trifle when
set beside what had befallen me in that benighted moment, because thanks
to the occult tyrannies of those blandly saluting clocks I had been
mysteriously handcuffed to history, my destinies indissolubly chained
to those of my country. For the next three decades, there was to be no
escape. Soothsayers had prophesied me, newspapers celebrated my arrival,
politicos ratified my authenticity. I was left entirely without a say in the
matter. I, Saleem Sinai, later variously called Snotnose, Stainface, Baldy,
Sniffer, Buddha and even Piece-of-the-Moon, had become heavily
embroiled in Fate –at the best of times a dangerous sort of involvement.
And I couldn't even wipe my nose at the time."

a) This is the beginning of Midnight's Children. Why is the narrator

dissatisfied with the phrase "once upon a time"? Why won't the phrase do?
„Once upon a time” is the traditional beginning for fairy tales; here the
narrator is referring to a particular time and place in recent history: the
specific historical setting of this novel is contrasted with the timelessness
and the lack of historical background of fairy tales. Unlike the fairy tale,
the realistic novel is a literary genre characterised by its depicting
individuals within a particular social, historical and cultural setting: this is
why the traditional "Once upon a time" will not do for the narrator.
This beginning might also be an indication of the mixture of realistic and
unrealistic elements in Midnight's Children.

b) How does the narrator feel about the coincidence in time of his birth
and the birth of India as an independent nation?
He feels that the coincidence conditions his whole life: that public history
and private story are all the same for him. This is not a pleasant situation
for Saleem, as he speaks of being "handcuffed to History". His initial
reluctance to tell the reader that his birth coincided with the birth of India
as a nation shows that he feels somehow unjustly trapped by history. His
fate is not only his personal fate, but the fate of his nation, and he seems to
resent that this should limit his options as a human being.

c) Salman Rushdie was born in Bombay, but lives in England and writes in
English. In your opinion, can we say that Midnight's Children is an
English novel?
I would say that Midnight's Children is a post-colonial novel in English.
Rushdie has lived for a number of years in England, but his novels deal
mostly with Indian identity. Although Rushdie is a British citizen, he is not
an Englishman.
Midnight's Children quiz

1.Where did Aadam Aziz get his medical degree?

a) France b) Germany c) Italy d) England

2.What was Aadam Aziz's most prominent feature?

a) His blue eyes b) His large nose c) His dark skin d) His light hair

3.How large was the hole in the bedsheet that hung between Aadam and Naseem?

a) Six inches b) Seven inches c) Four inches d) Five inches

4.Who is Padma?

a) Saleem's caretaker b) Saleem's wife c) Saleem's mother d) Saleem's nanny

5.Who told Aadam that his nose would always lead him in the right direction?

a) Tai b) His father c) His mother d) Naseem

6.What is Saleem's birthdate?

a) August 16th, 1947 b) August 14, 1947 c) August 17, 1947 d) August 15,
1947

7.What event coincides with Saleem's birthday?

a) India's independence b) Bangladesh's independence

c) Pakistan's independence d) China's independence

8.Which of the following characters is one of saleem's biological parents?

a) William Methwold b) Nadir Khan c) Wee Willie Winkie d) Ahmed Sinai

9.Which of the following characters is one of Shiva's biological parents?

a) Wee Willie Winkie b) Amina Sinai c) Vanita Winkie d) William

Methwold

10.Which of the following character has no biological children?

a) William Methwold b) Wee Willie Winkie c) Aadam Aziz d) Ahmed Sinai

11.Which of the following characters did Saleem consider his mother?

a) Padma b) Pia c) Reverend mother d) Mary Pereira

12.Which of the following characters represents western influence?

a) Ahmed Sinai b) Nadir Khan c) Aadam Aziz d) Tai

13.What ailment plagues modern-day Saleem?

a) Broken nose b) Failing liver c) Cracked skin d) Painful migraines

14.How many children did reverend mother and Aadam have together?

a) Six b) Seven c) Four d) Five

15.What phrase does reverend mother use repeatedly?

a) Whatintheworld b) Whoisthat c) Whatshisname d) Whyareyouhere

16.In what order was Mumtaz born?

a) First b) Second c) Fifth d) Fourth

17.Which man was Emerald's suitor?

a) General Zulfikar b) Nadir Khan c) Ahmed Sinai d) Mian Abdullah

18.What was mian Abdullah's nickname?

a) Hummingbird b) Bluebird c) Blackbird d) Songbird

19.Who is Nadir Khan in relation to Mian Abdullah?

a) Secretary b) Scribe c) Personal assistant d) Bodyguard

20.Who was Mumtaz's first husband?

a) Nadir Khan b) Mian Abdullah c) Ahmed Sinai d) Aadam Aziz

21.What name did Ahmed choose for his new wife?

a) Mumtaz b) Mary c) Emerald d) Amina

22.What terrorist organization burns down Muslim warehouses?

a) Ravana b) Vishnu c) Shiva d) Ganesh

23.Who does amina save from a racist riot?

a) Lafifas Das b) Picture Singh c) Ramram Seth d) Homi Catrack

24.Who owns the home where the sinais live?

a) Commander Sabermati b) Ibrahim Ibrahim

c) Wee Willie Winkie d) William Methwold

25.What two body parts are significant in ramram's prophesy?

a) Eyes and ears b) Head and shoulders

c) Nose and knees d) Fingers and toes