Alia Aziz Character Analysis in Midnight’s Children

The “wise child” of Aadam Aziz and Reverend Mother. Alia initially falls in love with Ahmed Sinai early in Midnight’s Children; however, Ahmed avoids proposing to Alia and ultimately leaves her for her sister, Mumtaz, after Mumtaz is divorced by her first husband. Alia never forgives Mumtaz or Ahmed, and she bitterly folds her jealously and resentment into her cooking, infecting all who consume it. Alia moves to Pakistan after India’s independence, and she is killed in an air-raid during the Indo-Pakistani War.

Alia Aziz Quotes in Midnight’s Children

The Midnight’s Children quotes below are all either spoken by Alia Aziz or refer to Alia Aziz. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Penguin edition of Midnight’s Children published in 1980.

What my aunt Alia took pleasure in: cooking. What she had, during the lonely madness of the years, raised to the level of an art-form: the impregnation of food with emotions. To whom she remained second in her achievements in this field: my old ayah, Mary Pereira. By whom, today, both old cooks have been outdone: Saleem Sinai, pickler-in-chief at the Braganza pickle works…nevertheless, while we lived in her Guru Mandir mansion, she fed us the birianis of dissension and the nargisi koftas of discord; and little by little, even the harmonies of my parents’ autumnal love went out of tune.

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Page Number and Citation: 378

Explanation and Analysis:

Alia Aziz Character Timeline in Midnight’s Children

The timeline below shows where the character Alia Aziz appears in Midnight’s Children. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...stubbornly declines to eat any food, prepared by anyone, until he nearly dies of starvation. Alia, Aadam and Reverend Mother’s “wise child,” suggests that Reverend Mother fake an illness to get... (full context)

Reverend Mother immediately objects to Nadir’s presence in their home. Thinking of their three daughters, Alia, Mumtaz, and Emerald—collectively known in town as the “three bright lights”—she forbids Aadam to hide... (full context)

...his feet, Major Zulfikar falls in love with Emerald and silently vows to marry her. Alia begins seeing Ahmed Sinai, a young, divorced merchant. Reverend Mother is sure that Ahmed intends... (full context)

...him to marry Emerald. Aadam agrees, and his youngest daughter is set to be married. Alia, however, continues to wait for Ahmed to propose. (full context)

...and at the wedding, Ahmed falls in love with a very depressed Mumtaz, much to Alia’s dismay. Ahmed and Mumtaz are married by June, and Ahmed changes Mumtaz’s name to Amina.... (full context)

British Colonialism and Postcolonialism Theme Icon

...them all to move to Pakistan. Emerald has already moved there with Zulfikar, along with Alia as well, who is teaching at a Pakistani school. (full context)

Living in Karachi in his aunt Alia’s home, Saleem’s clear nose and sinuses are now able to smell emotions. He smells Alia’s... (full context)

...Bombay.” He misses his city, and this one feels “hopeless,” having “grown too fast.” Aunt Alia’s house is in the “accusing shadow” of a minaret, and to Saleem, everything about the... (full context)

Major (Retired) Alauddin Latif arrives at aunt Alia’s to hear Jamila sing. He has heard about her from General Zulfikar, and he hopes... (full context)

Latif is soon a frequent presence at Alia’s house. They begin to refer to him as Uncle Puffs, and during his regular visits,... (full context)

Soon, Alia begins to work her revenge on Ahmed and Amina. She begins, like Mary Pereira and... (full context)

...the home of Uncle Puffs and his seven daughters. Another bomb falls on the home Alia, killing Saleem’s entire family, including Ahmed, Amina, and their unborn child. The final bomb in... (full context)