Khattam-Shud, otherwise known as the Cultmaster of Bezaban, a tongueless ice idol, is described as "the Arch-Enemy of all stories, even language itself. He is the Prince of Silence and Foe of Speech." The character is introduced into the story by Rashid Khalifa the story teller, otherwise known as the " Shah of Blah" or the "Ocean of Notions." Khattam-Shud, therefore, is Rashid's complete opposite and adversary. When ending a story, rather than using the traditional, "The End," Rashid simply says, "Khattam-Shud." "Because everything ends," Rashid explains, " because dreams end, stories end, life ends, at the finish of evrything we use his nameÉIt's finishedÉit's over, Khattam Shud: The End."

***The Moon of Kahani

**Khattam-Shud

Khatam-Shud, however, ceases to be a simple phrase and comes to life as the Cultmaster of Bezaban, the despotic ruler of the land of Chup and leader of the Chupwalas in the dark half of the moon of Kahani, known as the land of Chup, (The other half of Kahani is in constant daylight). He has become uncontrollable and has been separated from his own shadow. He has allegedly kidnapped Prince Bolo's love, Princess Batcheat, and is destroying the Ocean of the Streams of Stories by polluting the source of all stories which the Gups have left unprotected and ignored in the Twilight Strip of the Old Zone, which divides the lands of Chup and Gup.

Khattam-Shud takes on the " sticky-thinÉwiny-voiced and mingy" characteristics of Mr. Sengupta, who runs away with Haroun's mother at the beginning of the story. Both Khattam-Shud and Mr. Sengupta are described as "skinny, scrawny, snivelling, drivelling, mingy, stingy, measly, weaselly,clerkish sort of fellow(s)." Mr. Sengupta also possesses the same attitude toward story telling as does Khattam Shud , and is the character who originally brings about Haroun and his mother's loss of faith in Rashid by asking the question, "What's the use of stories that aren't even true?" This causes Rashid to lose his gift to tell stories, which sends Haroun on his quest to the moon of Kahani to recapture that gift for his father.

***Khattam-Shud / Mr. Sengupta

Khattam-Shud, therefore, is an allegory within the story for Mr. Sengupta, for whom Haroun harbors dislike, as well as an allegory for Censorship itself and Salman Rushdie's own adversaries. Khattam Shud and his kidnapping of Princess Batcheat send Prince Bolo on a frantic rescue mission to save not the Ocean of the Streams of Stories, but more importantly his own Batcheat.