Midnight's Children

Mary returns to Methwold estate with Saleem. There, she speaks to “the ghost of Joseph D’Costa” (214). He tells her she is guilty of the crime of switching the two babies and she must confess. Ahmed now favors the Brass Monkey and wants nothing to do with Saleem. Saleem notes his sister is just as surprised by her new role as the favorite as he is. She rebels by becoming a Christian. This will not be the first time she becomes fanatical about religion, Saleem explains. Saleem is concerned about the “gradual disintegration” (215) of the Midnight Children’s Conference. The individual children are developing interests that often conflict with one another. They were all born in different places, to different families, and their “prejudices and world-views” (216) often conflict. Saleem and Shiva argue about the purpose of the MCC. While Saleem wants to bring the children together to help society, Shive denounces him as a naïve and privileged “little rich boy” (216). He claims Saleem is out of touch with real people due to his wealth and therefore he is not fit to run the MCC.

Saleem visits Dr. Schaapsteker, whose mental health is deteriorating with old age. Saleem mentions the doctor’s health faded like the Europeans’ influence in India. Though he has become a “mad old man” (217), the aging doctor teaches Saleem about snakes; Saleem studies the snakes’ ability to watch carefully for enemies. Saleem uses this newfound knowledge to launch an attack against Homi Catrack and Lila Sabarmati. He wants to punish them for their affair. Clipping up newspaper headlines and rearranging the letters, Saleem makes a note that tells Commander Sabarmati about his wife Lila’s affair with Homi. This, Saleem claims, was his “first attempt at rearranging history” (220). Commander Sabarmati hires a private detective to monitor his wife. When the detective confirms Saleem’s warning, Commander Sabarmati takes a gun and shoots Lila and Homi. He kills Homi, but Lila survives. Sabarmati is overcome with guilt. He tries to confess to a traffic police officer, but the officer runs away when he sees Sabarmati’s gun. Sabarmati takes over the man’s job, directing traffic until the man returns with a squad to arrest Sabarmati. His legal defense is handled by Ismail Ibrahim, the lawyer who petitioned the government to unfreeze Ahmed’s assets. Commander Sabarmati’s case becomes famous, turning him into something of a folk hero. The jury in his trial decides he is innocent, but the judge overrules them. As public opinion turns against Sabarmati, the President of India refuses to issue a pardon as the scandal has become a “public disgrace” (223).

Amina never sees Nadir Khan again. The people living on the Methwold estate begin to sell their properties to the female relatives of the deceased Dr. Narlikar, who plan to knock down the buildings and construct a giant mansion. Ahmed refuses to sell his home, however, as he is still angry about Dr. Narlikar’s death costing him a great deal of money. The neighbors move away, leaving Saleem to play by himself. As he plays with a globe, the Brass Monkey comes to him and breaks it. Saleem wonders whether she was angry about the departure of her admirer, Sonny Ibrahim even though she continually insisted that she was not interested in him. 

Saleem shares a poster advertising the services of a holy man named Lord Khusro. Lord Khusro is now one of the richest and most famous holy men in India, Saleem says, but he and Saleem were childhood friends. Then, Lord Khusro was known as Cyrus-the-great. Cyrus’s father choked to death on an orange seed, leaving his mother to claim her son was blessed by God. As a “religious fanatic whose faith had gone sour” (227), she invents a religious backstory for Cyrus based on an old comic book that once belonged to Saleem. Saleem pauses the narrative because Padma believes that Lord Khruso’s powers are real. Saleem praises Padma’s beauty while reflecting on his own poor health. On the Methwold estate, the female relations of Dr. Narlikar knock down the houses to build a mansion. Pia calls Saleem’s family with bad news: Hanif has died by suicide. As the family mourns, Pia refuses to take part. With dust from the demolished houses filling the air, Naseem becomes infuriated by Pia’s refusal to mourn. She announces a hunger strike. The strike lasts 20 days. Saleem apologizes to Pia for his own mistake that led to Hanif’s depression. However, Pia explains that she refuses to mourn because her husband hated melodrama, as shown by the films he wrote. However, the truth is she feels overcome by grief. Pia breaks down in tears and begs Naseem for forgiveness. Naseem tells Pia to move with her to Pakistan, where they will run a gas station and be near Emerald and her husband General Zulfikar.

Halfway through the mourning period, at the age of 68, Aadam Aziz experiences a religious revelation. He asked God about Hanif’s death and was told everything in life has a reason. Mary suspects Aadam talked to the ghost of Joseph D’Costa rather than God, but she does not tell anyone. Aadam is haunted by his interaction and the hole he has carried inside himself for many years. He does not like the idea of an indifferent God. In his old age, Saleem explains, Aadam will shout at religious institutions and holy men. Aadam takes a train to Kashmir and steals a “treasured relic” (234) from a mosque: a lock of hair supposedly belonging to the Prophet Mohammed. Aadam is never caught, but the government announces the hair has been replaced; Saleem knows that it is a replica. Aadam Aziz will die five days before the government announces the lock of hair has been found, and he will be “buried in the valley of his birth” (234). Saleem tells Padma he is dwelling on the story of his father’s future death because he is “afraid of what must be told next” (235).

Near the end of the mourning period, Mary calls the family together. She has spoken again to the ghost of Joseph D’Costa, and she wants to confess. While “weeping uncontrollably” (235), she explains she switched the nametags in the maternity ward, meaning that Saleem and Shiva grew up in the wrong households with the wrong families. Ahmed listens to her story. He realizes the ghost is not actually the dead Joseph D’Costa. Instead, it is the servant Musa, who is now stricken with leprosy and wants to be forgiven by the family. Mary leaves for her family home in Goa, but her sister Alice stays to continue her work with Ahmed. Padma is shocked when Saleem tells her about the way Mary’s scandalous story spread around the community in Goa. After Mary’s departure, Saleem enters into his “second exile” (237). 

Saleem is concerned that Shiva will learn the truth about their ancestry, so he bans Shiva from the Midnight Children’s Conference. The mourning period for Hanif ends at the same time the cloud of dust fades from the Methwold estate. The revelation about Saleem has a devastating effect on Ahmed, who drinks heavily and berates Amina. Naseem suggests to Amina that she take her children away from Ahmed, who she describes as “a man of unspeakable vileness” (239). Amina agrees, so Naseem arranges for her to travel with Saleem and the Brass Monkey to Pakistan onboard a ship and then a train. Saleem gets sunburned on the journey. In Pakistan, they live with Emerald and her husband, General Zulfikar. The General is a wealthy man and an important figure in the military. They live in a lavish house, though Emerald and Zulfikar do not treat Saleem, his sister, or his mother well. Saleem feels he and his sister are “helpless observers” (241) to their mother’s wilting depression. In Pakistan, Saleem is cut off from the other Midnight’s Children.

Saleem explains to Padma that he did not know much about the “internal affairs of Pakistan” (242) when he was an 11-year-old boy. He describes how General Zulfikar hosted a dinner for the high-ranking members of the Pakistani military. He allows his son Zafar and Saleem to join the men at the dinner table, but the boys do not understand the “jocund military references” (243) or the discussions of rigging elections and extortion. General Ayub is the head of the Army. He tells the other guests the government has failed, and he is planning to take power in a military coup. The news shocks Zafar, who has a habit of wetting his pants when stressed. General Zulfikar is disgusted. He ushers his son away from the table and then tells Saleem to assist him instead. Saleem joins the officers at the table as they pour over maps, using condiment pots “symbolically” (244) to represent troops. Padma is surprised that Saleem was in the room when history was made. Later that month, General Zulfikar tells Saleem to accompany him to the house of the President of Pakistan. Saleem witnesses the coup firsthand, seeing the President dragged naked from his bed to be forcibly placed on an airplane.

Saleem, his mother, and his sister spend four more years in Pakistan as “relations between India and Pakistan grew worse” (246). Saleem grows into a teenager. The Brass Monkey becomes increasingly religious; her Muslim faith grows stronger in Pakistan. However, the diplomatic relationship between Pakistan and India worsens. Soon, India is fighting small skirmishes along its border with China. When the Brass Monkey is 14 years old, she shocks everyone by revealing she has a wonderful singing voice. She will become known as Jamila Singer, and from this moment on Saleem knows he will always be “second place to her talent” (247).

On September 9, 1962, the Indian Defense Minister decides to use military force on the Chinese border. At the same exact moment, Amina receives a message while “cutting verrucas out of her feet” (248). The message from Alice Pereira says Ahmed is sick. Amina decides to return to Bombay with her family after four years in Pakistan. When she arrives in Bombay, she is saddened by Ahmed’s debilitated condition. She wants to help him recover, and as she dotes on him their love slowly returns. Meanwhile, Alice leaves Ahmed’s employ to work for the Narlikar women.

A month later, India prepares for war with China. Saleem is able to use his telepathic powers to reconvene the Midnight Children’s Conference. The young members express “joy at being back together; ignoring the deeper truth” (250) that there are vast differences between them now. As the war with China starts, however, the members blame Saleem for the conflict. They claim he has driven Shiva away by not being available. The Indian Army loses badly to the Chinese Army, and the young members intensify their accusations against Saleem, claiming he is too secretive and too elitist. One by one, they leave the conference over the following month.

Though India initially loses to the Chinese Army, the country is gripped by a new wave of national optimism, and they believe they can win the war. Saleem describes this as a “disease of optimism” (252). As the Indian media declares China is almost defeated, Saleem’s nose becomes more blocked than ever before, and he cannot breathe through it. Saleem’s problems correspond with the problems faced by the Indian nation. As news breaks on November 20 that India has been beaten by China, Saleem’s parents take him to the hospital. An operation clears his sinuses, and he can breathe through his nose, but he discovers he has lost his ability to telepathically communicate with the other Midnight’s Children. As the story progresses, Saleem pauses to appreciate that his parents never disavowed him as their son, even after learning about his true heritage. He is thankful that his parents loved him.

After the war, Ahmed tells Amina “this country is finished” (256). Amina convinces him to move the family to Pakistan. They finally sell their home to the Narlikar family and leave Methwold’s old estate. On the final day in Bombay, Saleem recovers the letter he received from the Indian Prime Minister, the newspaper with his photograph, and his broken tin globe. He buries the items on the estate. The family returns to Pakistan on February 9, 1963. There, Jamila begins her career as a singer in earnest. For the first time, Saleem discovers he has “a sense of smell” (257) though he no longer hears the voices in his head.

Saleem discovers his unblocked nose is not only useful for detecting smells, but he can also detect feelings, emotions, lies, and “the glutinous reek of hypocrisy” (258) coming from his aunt. While living with Alia, he explores the city using a motor scooter. Ahmed plans to build a new home for the family, and he uses Saleem’s preserved umbilical cord to bless the building site. He gives Saleem a pickax to ceremonially break ground on the site of their new home and then buries the umbilical cord in the foundation.

Saleem struggles to adjust to Karachi; he misses Bombay. He compares his struggles to history’s failed invasions of the region. When Ahmed buys a factory that manufactures towels, he names it after Naseem. Their marriage is revitalized, and Saleem notices a “new brilliance” (261) about his parents. Ahmed announces that one day he will make the most famous towel on the planet. A short time later, Jamila is continuing her singing career. Her song is overheard by a retired military major named Alauddin Latif. Saleem and Jamila talk about Latif, giving him the nickname Uncle Puffs. He becomes “a fixture” (262) in the family. Latif visits the family home regularly and uses his influence to help Jamila’s singing career. However, he makes sure she hides her face from the audience, telling people she has been scarred after a terrible accident. When Jamila sings, a curtain hides everything except for her lips. Saleem compares Jamila’s singing talent to his own prodigiously talented sense of smell.

Jamila becomes the most famous singer in the country, but her identity remains a secret to all but a few people. Despite knowing she is his sister, Saleem falls in love with Jamila, fetching her favorite bread from a secret Catholic bakery inside a nunnery. He struggles with his “unspeakable sister-love” (264). Saleem spends more and more time riding his scooter around the city, missing Bombay and his old life. His sense of smell is so good that he searches out new and interesting odors, particularly profane smells. This search leads him to Tai Bibi, who claims to be the oldest sex worker in the world. Saleem finds the supposed 512-year-old woman to be irresistible due to her unique ability to take on the smell of anyone. Padma is appalled at Saleem’s story, calling him a “dirty-filthy man” (267). Tai Bibi shows her talent to Saleem, cycling through her scents until one is particularly affecting. Realizing that Tai has shown him Jamila’s unique smell, Saleem runs away. At the same time, the political situation between India and Pakistan becomes increasingly strained. The border closes, and the family cannot travel to Aadam Aziz’s funeral, which takes place at this time in Kashmir.

Zafar, the son of General Zulfikar, marries the daughter of a prince from the region of Kif, and Jamila performs at the wedding. There, she sings for the prince’s son, Mutasim, who is regarded as a handsome and charming young man but who is more interested in “polo-ponies and the guitar on which he picked out strange Western songs” (269). Though Mutasim has never seen Jamila’s face, he instantly falls in love. He takes Saleem aside and asks him to describe Jamila. When Mutasim asks Saleem to give Jamila a token of his affection, Saleem takes the gift and gives it to Jamila as though it were his. In a flurry of chaotic action, Mutasim tries to see Jamila’s face; Saleem scares him away, but Mutasim proposes marriage to Jamila, which she then declines. She realizes that Saleem loves her also, but she rejects his romantic attention and Saleem realizes that she is right. The “tragedy of Mutasim the Handsome” (271) is a subplot in the story, Saleem says, but it makes him think about the difference between his lives in India and Pakistan.

At midnight on September 22, 1965, Saleem claims he “achieved purity” (274). In the lead up to September 22, he dreamed often about Kashmir. He believes his dreams spread to other people, and soon India and Pakistan go to war over control of the region. During this time, Naseem and Pia run a gas station. Naseem is growing old while Pia has a “series of liaisons” (275) with famous figures, which lead nowhere. However, gossip about her flings spread around the small town. At the same time, Saleem is ashamed of his encounter with Tai Bibi and his unspeakable love for Jamila in what is supposed to be “the Land of the Pure” (276). Alia becomes overwhelmed by her bitterness and uses her cooking to take revenge through “the impregnation of food with emotions” (276). Because Alia feels bad, the taste of her cooking reflects her emotional state. In January 1965, Amina becomes pregnant again. Alia’s emotion-infused cooking causes terrible nightmares for Amina, who begins to age rapidly as she worries about the child inside her. Ahmed is concerned for his wife’s health. Like her, he is a victim of Alia’s cooking. He becomes bored and distracted at work, which leads to the factory becoming less productive. Saleem struggles to write about his father with “his towel factory crumbling in his hands” (278).

In April 1965, Zafar is promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the Pakistan Army. He is posted to the “disputed territory” (280) named Rann of Kutch on the border with India. There, he and his fellow soldiers become convinced they have seen an “army of ghosts” (281) advance toward them. They surrender to the ghosts only to realize their opponents are actually smugglers, working in collusion with General Zulfikar. Shamed, Zafar goes back to his family home. He cuts his father’s throat with the smuggler’s knife due to the shame of the revelations in the press. Afterward, Emerald receives permission to leave for Great Britain to escape the scandal. However, a war between India and Pakistan means that she cannot travel. The war, beginning over a dispute over who controls Kashmir and then expanding, shows Saleem that neither state can really be trusted.

Looking back, Saleem is convinced the war between India and Pakistan was almost perfectly designed to hurt his family. Jamila is “called north, to serenade our worth-ten jawans” (283). During this period, Saleem remembers “nothing was real; nothing was certain” (284). On the night of September 22, 1965, Pakistan sounds the air raid sirens across the country. Bombs fall, dropped by Indian planes. Naseem and Pia are both killed by a bomb. Another bomb hits the nearby jail, releasing Zafar. A third bomb obliterates Emerald’s house. Also killed during the air raid on Karachi are Major Latif and his daughters. During the raid, Saleem is riding his scooter home. A bomb falls, killing his parents, their unborn child, and Alia. Another bomb falls on the unfinished house Ahmed was building for the family. Saleem watches his house crumble. The only object that survives is the silver spittoon that once belonged to Aadam Aziz. The spittoon is thrown from the house; it hits Saleem in his head. The blow wipes Saleem’s memory. This, Saleem believes, purified him. The war ends the next day, but peace only lasts for six years before there is “another war” (287).