At the very start of the book, there is an illustration of a
family tree which traces the progression of the Da Gama-Zogoiby family via four
generations. This forms the very first introduction to an important duality
present in the text; that of the family, its origins and history. It is not surprising
that there is such an intense and rich focus on notions of lineage, roots and origins
in this work of Salman Rushdie from the year 1995. Rushdie brings together a
diverse mix of lineage and religion to the forefront so much so that the tales
narrated by the narrator seem to be an eclectic mix of fantastical stories.
However, while the grand history of the family as traced to pre-colonial roots
is presented as elaborate, majestic and almost with an element of mysticism,
the micro family descriptions and interactions are mostly made out as bizarre,
dysfunctional and almost comical. With the title of the story, it is evident to
the reader the kind of relationship and historical grounding this novel will
contain in regards to family and religion. Moor is the youngest son of the Da
Gama-Zogoiby family and the narrator of the story. His name is a direct but
broad reference to the Muslims and Al-Andalus. More associations are drawn continually
with Granada, the decline of the Muslim Empire, and the banishment of the Jews
and Muslims by the Christian conquerors. Over all, the text situates the family
within a very historically deterministic and grounded context of Islam and the
Islamic Empire which lends it grandeur and some sort of magic realism (term
used with reservations). However, once looked at within the microcosm of India
under colonization, the same family appears dysfunctional and almost ludicrous
at times. To this reader, this difference between the family and its origins
questions the notion of family and filial bonds themselves. Is this a larger representation
of the failure of the Islamic Empire and the nation state itself? Or is this a
negation of everything that has a relationship with "filiation"?
A very interesting passage to look at is the one in which
the narrator describes the birth of his sisters. It is the process of
christening the children that relates to the absurdity of family as pictured
here. Once Aurora had "ejected each of them" she made very "few
concessions to their post-partum needs", and this is shown here by the
selection of the names. In order to compromise with Abraham, Aurora names the
eldest Ina. At the time of the second child, Abraham protests against
Inamorata, while eventually Aurora names her Minnie after the famous cartoon
character. The third sister was predictably named Mynah after the mother
decided the child can mimic a bird of the same name. The name Moo appeared to
follow naturally. Together, the four children formed the popular jingle of
Eenie Meeny Miney Mo. This small passage is one of the ways which illustrate
the unnaturalness and oddities of this family. It fails in the basic function
of being able to provide the children with proper names and unmistaken
identities. Of course, the fact that the youngest child of the family is an
anomaly himself in terms of his biological condition points to a whole other
direction of how this family fails to
produce a functional and essentially 'normal' human being.
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