The country was going to pot

"....That was the day on which taxes were raised and tax thresholds simultaneously lowered; my father, Ahmed Sinai, flung down the Times of India with a violent gesture and glared around him with red eyes I knew he only wore in his tempers. "It's like going to the bathroom!" he exploded, cryptically; egg toast tea shuddered in the blast of his wrath. "You raise your shirt and lower your trousers! Wife, this government is going to the bathroom all over us!" And my mother, Amina Sinai, blushing pink through the black, "Janum, the children, please,", but he had stomped off, leaving me with a clear understanding of what people meant when they said the country was going to pot. ....."

- Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children, 1980

When I read this I was ROTFL. I completed reading this novel at midnight, yesterday. This is a novel about the life of Saleem Sinai who was born on the same day and time as that of India; Midnight of 15th August 1947. As you read the novel you will find out that the happenings in Saleem Sinai's life mirrors the post Independence happenings in India. Beautiful narration which intertwines the birth, growth and life of Saleem to that of the independent India and its confusions as a newly independent nation, the wars with Pakistan, the independence of Bangladesh, the Kashmir issue, the language riots, the emergency period, the birth and death of communism in India, the remnants of the Anglepoise etc. Some of the obvious lines that can be drawn between the narration/story line to that of the history of India are;

***Spoiler***
- Saleem Sinai is actually the son of Lord Methwold and the wife of an Indian Street singer. India, the diamond in the crown of British empire too is in some sense a child of the England.
- The Thousand and one midnight children, who were born at the same time as the mother India. They had unique talents (one can fly, one can create gold from iron, one is a great warrior, one can change himself/herself into herself/himself etc etc). These indicate the immense potential that the new country named India had.
- The M.C.C - Midnight Children's conference, that happened due to the telepathic powers of Saleem Sinai, the eldest of the Midnight Children. The conference was often chaotic. The members talked about communism, individualism, capitalism, socialism, filial duty etc etc. This indicates the confusion of the "Young" India in choosing it's ideologies.
- Saleem's Aunt Alia loved Ahmed Sinai, who in turn married Alia's sister Mumtaz. In course of time, Alia migrated to Pakistan and Sinai family stayed in Bombay. Later when the Sinais visited Alia, Alia's vengeful feeling was so overflowing that Saleem could sense it. This feeling of Alia finally led to death of herself and the Sinai family. Here, I think Rushdie personifies Kashmir, India and Pakistan as Ahmed Sinai, Mumtaz (Amina) Sinai and Alia. Pakistan's interest in Kashmir and Alia's love for Ahmed!!
- Jamila Sinai or the brass monkey or Jamila Singer, sister of Saleem Sinai, migrated to Pakistan. After hearing what happened to Saleem Sinai in the War against Bangladesh, she disappeared in to the confines of a Karachi nunnery. This may be a personification of the Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

THE LIST GOES ON. There are few parts of the narration for which i couldn't come up with a suitable link to that of the Indian History. One Example is the Widow's hostel in Varanasi. Basically this book was written in 1980, 2 years before I was even born. So some minute details didn't make any sense to me. On the other hand, I was able to enjoy "Ground beneath her feet" thoroughly (because it was based on more recent happenings of the world). But I would still say, "Midnight's Children" Rocks!!! It is an Awesome read!! It kindles your imagination!! A very different book/writing style! It deserves to be the "Booker of the Booker's" (Well! This is my gut feeling, as I haven't read the other Booker's that competed with "Midnight's Children").

I have checkout "Satanic Verses" from the library! This book is banned in India. So I would never have read it if I hadn't come to US. I want to find out why there is much Hullabaloo about this book.