TWILIGHT IN DELHIBy

Mehwish Ali KhanLecturerSardar Bahadur Khan Womens UniversityEnrolled M.Phil American Studies (Quaid eAzam University

TITLETWILIGHT IN Delhi

TWILIGHT IN Delhi, the title is symbolical as well asmetaphorical,symbolical in a way that it symbolizes thedownfall or deterioration not only of Delhi but ways ofDelhi as well ,peoples moral ,religious and social valuesall were on the verge of death and metaphorical in a waythat the title not only refers to the twilight of Delhi butalso the Twilight of Mir Nihal

( you can elaborate this theme by emphasizing on thegiven points)

TWILIGHT IN Delhi, the title is symbolical as well asmetaphorical,symbolical in a way that it symbolizes thedownfall or deterioration not only of Delhi but ways ofDelhi as well ,peoples moral ,religious and social valuesall were on the verge of death and metaphorical in a waythat the title not only refers to the twilight of Delhi butalso the Twilight of Mir Nihal

( you can elaborate this theme by emphasizing on thegiven points)

Publication

Ahmed Ali wrote this book in 1939 and published it in1940 by Hogarth press in London ,it was not an easy job,he had to convince the English that this book is notagainst anybody ,as many of the publishers were of theview to eradicate Mir Nihals parts and the parts thatcontained anti British material.

(Elaborate)

Ahmed Ali wrote this book in 1939 and published it in1940 by Hogarth press in London ,it was not an easy job,he had to convince the English that this book is notagainst anybody ,as many of the publishers were of theview to eradicate Mir Nihals parts and the parts thatcontained anti British material.

(Elaborate)

Genre

Ttragedy psychological novel Historical Novel Transitional novel Social criticism

Ttragedy psychological novel Historical Novel Transitional novel Social criticism

Novel is Psychological, Ahmed Ali probes into the mind of hischaracter, bilqueece, when is pregnant says out all her feelingsrelated to her child

Asghar,s love for her beloveds is also portrayed psychologicallyand writer makes us realize that he is over indulged in self loveand self pity

Historical in a way that its a post colonial novel it portrayssome events of post colonialism eg George vis coronationconditions of Delhi in twentieth century

Transitional novel in a way that its a novel of change , changein the minds of people, change in the generation change in theculture of delhi Change in the way of living

We see family life shifting from the hands of Mir Nihal in thehands of Asghar.

Ahmed Ali being a progressive writer uses writing as a tool tocorrect his society ,he criticizes the society

Novel is Psychological, Ahmed Ali probes into the mind of hischaracter, bilqueece, when is pregnant says out all her feelingsrelated to her child

Asghar,s love for her beloveds is also portrayed psychologicallyand writer makes us realize that he is over indulged in self loveand self pity

Historical in a way that its a post colonial novel it portrayssome events of post colonialism eg George vis coronationconditions of Delhi in twentieth century

Transitional novel in a way that its a novel of change , changein the minds of people, change in the generation change in theculture of delhi Change in the way of living

We see family life shifting from the hands of Mir Nihal in thehands of Asghar.

Ahmed Ali being a progressive writer uses writing as a tool tocorrect his society ,he criticizes the society

Plot

Story carries a well knit plot,story revolves around onemain story that is of Mir Nihal and his family ,there is nosubplot in the story though there are some incidentsmentioned time n again that also due to Ahmed Ali beingnostalgic but Ahmed ali never loses his grip on the story

Story has a proper beginning ,middle and ending asmentioned by Aristotle

Story carries a well knit plot,story revolves around onemain story that is of Mir Nihal and his family ,there is nosubplot in the story though there are some incidentsmentioned time n again that also due to Ahmed Ali beingnostalgic but Ahmed ali never loses his grip on the story

Story has a proper beginning ,middle and ending asmentioned by Aristotle

Literary tools

Similes similes are used in abundance give examples Metaphors Mir Nihals character is metaphorical and there are many

other examples Symbolism : whole novel is symbolical ,writer through incidents and characters

symbolizes different issues like cats symbolize vulgarity ,and dancinggirls ,Dogs as uncultered man looking for offal or dirt ,Mir Nihal sparalysis is symbolical to his being immobile in life and loss of powerbegum Nihals blindness shows her faliure to see life through her eyes.

Realism novel is based on sheer realist view ,writer has portrayed Delhi , muslim

life ,individuals feelings and emotions in a pure realist view he has notover done it with his artistic pen nor has he delimited himself in beingconnected with facts ,he has liberally discussed what he saw around him.This is also one of his progressive characteristics that he portrays whathe sees nothing more and nothing less then that

Similes similes are used in abundance give examples Metaphors Mir Nihals character is metaphorical and there are many

other examples Symbolism : whole novel is symbolical ,writer through incidents and characters

symbolizes different issues like cats symbolize vulgarity ,and dancinggirls ,Dogs as uncultered man looking for offal or dirt ,Mir Nihal sparalysis is symbolical to his being immobile in life and loss of powerbegum Nihals blindness shows her faliure to see life through her eyes.

Realism novel is based on sheer realist view ,writer has portrayed Delhi , muslim

life ,individuals feelings and emotions in a pure realist view he has notover done it with his artistic pen nor has he delimited himself in beingconnected with facts ,he has liberally discussed what he saw around him.This is also one of his progressive characteristics that he portrays whathe sees nothing more and nothing less then that

Irony Amed Ali uses irony also abundantly as he is criticizing

the society , he uses irony as a tool ,he doesnt critisizesdirectly all the time but uses irony instead e g when hedescribes Nisar ahmed he says he is an excellentMOAZZIN with a deep voice like hazrat bilal and he willdirectly go to heaven despite of his being a shadybusiness man because his azan compensates for it

Irony Amed Ali uses irony also abundantly as he is criticizing

the society , he uses irony as a tool ,he doesnt critisizesdirectly all the time but uses irony instead e g when hedescribes Nisar ahmed he says he is an excellentMOAZZIN with a deep voice like hazrat bilal and he willdirectly go to heaven despite of his being a shadybusiness man because his azan compensates for it

Humour

Ahmed ali,s criticism is not harsh ,its benign it stingsbut doesnt bite ,he satirizes society in a light manner,unveiling their dark pictures ,it is not wrong if one saysthat the novel is a mirror to society

Language is clear and lucid ,he doesnt use difficultvocabulary to show his mastery on language but his gripon the language is visible ,he often translates Urduproverbs and sentences directly into English language ,and he uses some urdu language words to give an Asianeffect to his novel

Ahmed ali,s criticism is not harsh ,its benign it stingsbut doesnt bite ,he satirizes society in a light manner,unveiling their dark pictures ,it is not wrong if one saysthat the novel is a mirror to society

Language is clear and lucid ,he doesnt use difficultvocabulary to show his mastery on language but his gripon the language is visible ,he often translates Urduproverbs and sentences directly into English language ,and he uses some urdu language words to give an Asianeffect to his novel

Themes

Degeneration of family family of Mir Nihal withers like petals of roses Asghars wife dies Mehro lives an un happy life Habibuddin dies Begum jamal leaves ,destroying the personality of Mir

Nihal

Mir Nihal becomes paralysed ,gives away his authority Begum Nihal also loses position Hence family is broken

Degeneration of family family of Mir Nihal withers like petals of roses Asghars wife dies Mehro lives an un happy life Habibuddin dies Begum jamal leaves ,destroying the personality of Mir

Nihal

Mir Nihal becomes paralysed ,gives away his authority Begum Nihal also loses position Hence family is broken

Downfall

It is the time when Delhi had lost its grandeur and its position henceits values

Ahmed ali portrays only muslim life in Delhi and through muslim lifehe shows people loosing their religious values social norms.humanity was considered an alien word during that modernperiod.

Characters were shallow and empty from inside( examples ofcharacters and incidents)

Relations had lost their values, relations were made only to fulfillsocial needs ,they were not considered important( asghar andbilqueeces relation Mir nihal and begum Nihals relation

Loss of religious values could be highlighted by throwing a light onshroud thieves ,merchants,

Selling expensive cloth for dead ones .

It is the time when Delhi had lost its grandeur and its position henceits values

Ahmed ali portrays only muslim life in Delhi and through muslim lifehe shows people loosing their religious values social norms.humanity was considered an alien word during that modernperiod.

Characters were shallow and empty from inside( examples ofcharacters and incidents)

Relations had lost their values, relations were made only to fulfillsocial needs ,they were not considered important( asghar andbilqueeces relation Mir nihal and begum Nihals relation

Loss of religious values could be highlighted by throwing a light onshroud thieves ,merchants,

Selling expensive cloth for dead ones .

Social values were lost if one sees ghafoor marriage with afourteen year old orphan girl ,she responsibility of society ,

Delhi had lost its cultural values too ,pigeon flying wasdying, kite flying had ended too, Joint family system hadalso lost its importance people had started living in one unitfamily system

Portrayal of Delhis culture Twilight in Delhi is sheer portrayal of grandeur of Delhi

,Delhi the city of monarchs the city of poets as well as cityof beggars,

The things that are highlighted ARE Delhi,s architecture

Social values were lost if one sees ghafoor marriage with afourteen year old orphan girl ,she responsibility of society ,

Delhi had lost its cultural values too ,pigeon flying wasdying, kite flying had ended too, Joint family system hadalso lost its importance people had started living in one unitfamily system

Portrayal of Delhis culture Twilight in Delhi is sheer portrayal of grandeur of Delhi

,Delhi the city of monarchs the city of poets as well as cityof beggars,

The things that are highlighted ARE Delhi,s architecture

Pigeon flying Kite flying Dancing girls Poets & poetry Beggars Superstitions Marriages Births Deaths

Pigeon flying Kite flying Dancing girls Poets & poetry Beggars Superstitions Marriages Births Deaths

Females in the novel

Females nodoubt hold a subordinate place in Asianhomes but they are nevertheless backbones of Asianfamilies,men are emotionally,physically.morally,financially dependent on their women, this position is partially taken by dancing girls but stillit is always a woman mandatory for a man in Asianculture and society.

Females nodoubt hold a subordinate place in Asianhomes but they are nevertheless backbones of Asianfamilies,men are emotionally,physically.morally,financially dependent on their women, this position is partially taken by dancing girls but stillit is always a woman mandatory for a man in Asianculture and society.

Females are of two types in the n ovel House wives and dancing girls dancing girls are not only part of Indian culture but also

ventilators for men who need an outlet of theiremotional and physical needs that is fulfilled by thesedancing girls

House wives like begum nihal are almost blind to theneeds of their husbands or like bilqueece who doesnotidentify the need of her husband n indulges in self pity ndestroys her self.

Females are of two types in the n ovel House wives and dancing girls dancing girls are not only part of Indian culture but also

ventilators for men who need an outlet of theiremotional and physical needs that is fulfilled by thesedancing girls

House wives like begum nihal are almost blind to theneeds of their husbands or like bilqueece who doesnotidentify the need of her husband n indulges in self pity ndestroys her self.

Mir Nihal was a strong personlity entirely displayingIndia as a whole and in its composed form but he alsostarted to break when he started loosing his possessionsand asghar was one of themMir Nihal reluctant tochange and Asgahr eager to change into the modernBritish ways of life

Asghar changes his way of life entirely ,n that influenceof british culture is still seen in the youth of Asia.

Modernism vs Conservatism

. Mir Nihal was a strong personlity entirely displaying

India as a whole and in its composed form but he alsostarted to break when he started loosing his possessionsand asghar was one of themMir Nihal reluctant tochange and Asgahr eager to change into the modernBritish ways of life

Asghar changes his way of life entirely ,n that influenceof british culture is still seen in the youth of Asia.

ARTISTRY OF THE WRITER

Ahmed Ali s mastery on his pen is evident in this novelhe pictures colourful and elegant Delhi as it is and hedoesnt hide anything. Portrays life as it is,simultaneously highlighting the follies of society andpenetrating into hearts and minds of his characters, hetakes life on a larger scale one can see all the aspects oflife in one novel ,starting from birth ,marriage anddeath,thus making the novel universal in its theme

Ahmed Ali s mastery on his pen is evident in this novelhe pictures colourful and elegant Delhi as it is and hedoesnt hide anything. Portrays life as it is,simultaneously highlighting the follies of society andpenetrating into hearts and minds of his characters, hetakes life on a larger scale one can see all the aspects oflife in one novel ,starting from birth ,marriage anddeath,thus making the novel universal in its theme

Hope it helps..