MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN

Saleem Sinai was born at midnight, the midnight of India's independence, and found himself mysteriously 'handcuffed to history' by t he coincidence. He is one of 1,001 children born at the midnight hour, each of them endowed with an extraordinary talent - and whose privilege and curse it is to be both master and victims of t heir times. Through Saleem's gifts - inner ear and wildly sensitive se nse of smell - we are drawn into a fascinating family saga set against the vast, colourful background of the India of the 20th centu ry.