Autobiography as History :
Midnight's Children
By
Salman Rushdie
The Author
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Born in Bombay in June, 1947
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Studied in Cathedral School, Bombay
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Left for England in 1961
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Completed schooling at Rugby
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Degree in History from King's College,
Cambridge
Worked with a multimedia theatre group and an
advertising company
The Book
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The tale of Saleem Sinai – an
individual born at the exact instant of
India's independence
The tale of post-colonial India
Connection between the two –
allegorical and literal. e
The Themes
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Magical Realism
”characterized by an equal acceptance of the
ordinary and the extraordinary”
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One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel
García Márquez – a classic of this Genre
Autofiction – Fictional (?) Autobiography
Life narrative presented as metaphor for a
nation's journey
Trivializing/Personalizing History
Salman and Saleem
• Saleem Sinai born on 15th August 1947; Salman
Rushdie born on 19th June, 1947
• “It was a family joke that the British left only two
months after my arrival”
• Very similar parent profiles
• Like Saleem, Rushdie's maternal grandfather
was officially Muslim, but was an agnostic
Salman and Saleem
•
When Salman was a child, the Rushdie family
lived in a colonialist estate called Windsor Villa
– which probably served as a model for
Methwold's Estate
•
Like Saleem, Salman had a nanny called
Mary.
•
The young Salman Rushdie also believed he
was the center of the universe.
•
“Being the only son and eldest child in a
middle-class Indian family does make you
tend to think that the world revolved around
Salman and Saleem
•
One major difference – Rushdie was sent to
England at the age of 14 and has lived in
England ever since
•
Saleem Sinai lived all his life in the subcontinent.
•
Saleem's Indianness is a function of Rushdie's
Britishness
•
Previous political novels Waiting for the
Mahatma and Kanthapura were focussed on
the village/town than the nation
Autobiography as History
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Saleem's personal story inextricably linked to
the story of India
Various narrative devices used to establish this
connection
Timing and Circumstances of births used as
powerful metaphors
Traits of individual matched with the nation
Various historical events linked with Saleem's
friends and family
Birth Pangs
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"I had been mysteriously handcuffed to history,
my destinies indissolubly chained to those of
my country"
But that's not all!
1000 other children born at the same instant –
represent India's post-independence generation
and the power it had
(More)
Birth Pangs
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Saleem's child born at midnight of the day when
Emergency was imposed in India
Parvati's 13-day labour => the 13 day of
political turmoil preceding Emergency
Nightmarish parallels between the travails of
India and Parvati
”come on Parvati, push, push, push and while
Parvati pushed in the ghetto, J . P. Narayan and
Morarji Desai. . . . were forcing Mrs. Gandhi to
push. . . . the Prime Minister was giving birth to
a child of her own. . . . suspension of civil rights,
and censorship-of-the-press, and armoured-unitson-special-alert, and arrest-of-subversiveelements.”
The Individual..and the Collective
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Only individuals in typical Historical texts –
Kings and Emperors.
What about the common man?
Attempt to present history through the
autobiography of a comman man
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”I have watched the mountains being born ; I
have seen Emperors die . . . I saw that Isa, that
Christ, when he came to Kashmir. Smile, smile,
it is your history I am keeping in my head.”
Tai is accorded the central place in the
narrative.
History Comes Home
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Rushdie shows history's momentous – often
violent – events as having trivial causes linked
to his family and friends.
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Language riots in Bombay
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Emergency imposed by the Widow
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Murder of Homi Catrack by the husband of Lila
Sabarmati (remember the Nanavati case?)
Theft of the Prophet's Hair
History Comes Home
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Family members and friends are closely linked
to historical/political figures
Salim's uncle Zulfikar is a Pakistani General
who helps Ayub Khan seize power
Salim's mother first married to Shaikh
Abdullah's right hand man
The Magic in Reality
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Fantastical occurrences included in the real
world and presented as normal events
The powers of Salim and other midnight's
children
Narlikar's luminescent ashes and Ahmed's
fading skin
The view of history centered around Salim and
his family
The Magic In Reality
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”I was born in the city of Bombay...once upon a
time.”
Is the presence of 'magical' events a metaphor
for the role of religion in the Indian society?
Is it present to pander to the West's view of
India as a country of tantriks and yogis?
Points to Ponder
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The troubles of Salim and Midnight Children
symbolize the troubles of post-independence
India
Rushdie blames the system.
But what did the children, with their special
powers and abilities do to change/overcome the
system?
Does this inaction symbolizes our lethargy to
carve our own destiny?
Thank You
Questions?