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Ustad Kulsoom Bi
The first friend Anjum makes when she moves to the graveyard, the old Imam Ziauddin is blind and often bonds with Anjum when she reads newspaper articles to him. While he is accepting of Anjum as a friend, he once makes the mistake of asking her where Hijras are buried when they die—implying that Hijras aren’t welcome in traditional Muslim burial ceremonies. Over the course of the novel, however, Imam Ziauddin will come to perform funeral rites for some of the many Hijras who are buried at Anjum’s Jannat Guest House and Funeral Services, who have nowhere else to go.
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Imam Ziauddin Character Timeline in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
The timeline below shows where the character Imam Ziauddin appears in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...or a “queen without a palace.” But once she befriends an elderly, blind imam named Ziauddin, the others in the graveyard leave her alone.
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...the vultures, Anjum enjoys reading. She makes a habit of reading the newspaper aloud to Ziauddin. One day, she is reading to him when he asks her, “Is it true that...
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...asks the blind old man what goes through his mind when people speak of color. Ziauddin has no reply, and Anjum continues, asking the imam to answer his own question about...
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To this, Ziauddin has no response, and he ends his visit earlier than usual. Still, Anjum knows he’ll...
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Chapter 2
With time, Anjum’s home grows and grows. Imam Ziauddin eventually moves in permanently, and Anjum builds rooms over the graves of several of her...
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...third for nears and dears, a third for the poor.” For Eid, Anjum, Nimmo, Imam Ziauddin, and all of the addicts in the graveyard eat very well. Nimmo gifts Anjum a...
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Saddam soon partners with Anjum and Imam Ziauddin to begin another odd job when Anwar Bhai, the owner of a nearby brothel, arrives...
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...is buried in Anjum’s graveyard, along with many other Delhi Hijras. (This is how Imam Ziauddin finally receives the answer to the question he asks at the beginning of the story...
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Chapter 8
...has set up a party to welcome Tilo and the baby, and Zainab, Nimmo, Imam Ziauddin, and Ustad Hameed are all awaiting the arrival of the baby and her adoptive mother....
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