#Twilight_in_Delhi by #Ahmed_Ali #Summary Urdu Hindi
Twilight in Delhi by Ahmed Ali
Ahmed Ali as a Novelist
Twilight in Delhi Characters
Twilight in Delhi Summary
Twilight in Delhi Title Significance
Twilight in Delhi Symbolism
Twilight in Delhi as a Postcolonial Novel
Twilight in Delhi Themes
Twilight in Delhi Quotes
Twilight in Delhi Critical Analysis
Twilight in Delhi Important Questions
Explain in Hindi and Urdu language
Twilight in Delhi
by
Ahmed Ali
Ahmed Ali was a Pakistani novelist, poet, critic, translator, diplomat, and scholar who was highly active in Indian politics during the British occupation. A Founding Fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Letters, he was the author of three novels, two plays, three books of poetry, and twelve short stories.
Character List
MIR NIHAL
ASGHAR
BILQEECE
BEGUM NIHAL
BABBAN JAN
MUSHTARI BAI
ZOHRA
Important Questions
Title Significance
Themes
As a Postcolonial Novel
Characters : Mir Nihal, Asghar, Begum Nihal, Babban Jan
Symbolism
Twilight in Delhi is a historical novel by Pakistani novelist Ahmed Ali, first published in 1940.
Set during the 1910s in British-occupied India, it focuses on old Delhi and the Muslim inhabitants of the city.
The main character is Mir Nihal, a Muslim man who experiences dramatic changes in his life and the lives of his family during this period.
As his son Asghar struggles with problems in his marriage, India undergoes a major upheaval of its own as King George is named the ruler of a newly conquered India, and the glory of Delhi begins to fade.
Exploring themes of colonialism, alienation, gender roles, nostalgia, and the passage of time and empires, Twilight in Delhi was Ali’s debut novel and was controversial for its frank depiction of the negative effects of British colonialism. It was published only after the intervention of acclaimed English author E.M. Forster, but today it is considered one of the great early modern Indian novels.
Twilight in Delhi begins on a hot summer evening
Mir Nahal + Wife discussion
Asghar, must be married first
A snake sneaking into Mir’s pigeons’ quarterst
Asghar arrives home and is chastised by his father for his English fashion. Asghar leaves rather than argue, his thoughts occupied by his would-be wife, Bilqeece, a girl from a lower class.
Asghar contacts his older sister, Begam Waheed
Begam Waheed talks to their mother, Begam Nihal, to ask for her help. Begam Nihal agrees to help because she’s worried about her son.
When she talks to Mir, he becomes angry because he’s worried that this will ruin the family’s reputation. Their servant, Dilchain, overhears and tells Begam Jamal, Begam Nihal’s sister-in-law. Although she gloats to her sister-in-law over the family’s misfortune, she also offers to help arrange the marriage without Mir’s blessing.
Asghar goes to visit his mistress, Mushtari Bai, along with a friend of his
Begam Waheed suggests that Asghar return with her to her home in Bhopal to wait out the time before he can marry Bilqeece
The heat is so extreme that several of his beloved pigeons have died.
His servants arrived in a hurry to reveal to him that his mistress, Babban Jan, is dying.
He hurries to her home, forgetting to lock the pigeon coop
Babban Jan has passed away | pigeons were killed by a stray cat.
he spends time focusing on his old hobby of Alchemy. This is when King George is crowned King of Britain and as such rules over India
Asghar and Bilqeece get married
They move out and get their own place, filling it with English items. This causes controversy with their families, but they don’t care. Soon they have a daughter named Jehan Ara.
Bilqeece’s father passes away and she goes into a depression, and this causes more conflict between them. Soon, she comes down with tuberculosis and dies
Asghar and Zohra
Asghar’s older brother Habibuddin comes home as he suffers from an illness, and Mir is consumed with grief as he sees India descend into chaos at the same time his eldest son dies.
After the funeral, Asghar receives a letter from Zohra, telling him she’s being married off to someone else.
He’s left with a broken heart. Mir returns to his room and reflects on all the misfortune that has befallen his family, and dies in his sleep.