The beginning of this novel features the crazy boatman Kai and the protagonist's grandfather, a doctor named Aadam Aziz.  
Early in this novel, one character comes home drenched in mercurochrome, which his wife mistakes for blood; that character is later actually soaked in blood during an event dubbed a "jolly good thing" by Reginald Dyer.  The main character is born to the clown Wee Willie Winkie and his wife, but is actually the son of William Methwold, an Englishman who leaves shortly after his birth.The beginning of this novel features the crazy boatman Kai and the protagonist's grandfather, a doctor named Aadam Aziz.  The protagonist is switched at birth by Mary Pereira, with a boy named Shiva; both infants received special powers due to their time of birth. For 10 points, name this work written as a narrative by Saleem Sinai, by Salman Rushdie.
Early in this novel, one character comes home drenched in mercurochrome, which his wife mistakes for blood; that character is later actually soaked in blood during an event dubbed a "jolly good thing" by Reginald Dyer.  
{Midnight’s Children}