Ahmad Ali wrote his famous novel “Twilight in Delhi” which offers to the reader the Fall of Muslim Empire and its cultural heritage. It depicts a clash between old and new. It brings before our eyes a true “motion-picture” of how the Muslims of the sub-continent used to live their religious, social, cultural, single and collective life during the chaotic years of 1857-1919.

• Another important thing to note is that, Ahmad Ali shows us all the positive as well as negative aspects of the Muslim Cultural life of sub-continent. So there is no taboo binding the hands of the writer to omit this or that part of the life: he presents life as a whole in all its aspects and colors.

• The title of Ahmad Ali’s novel as “Twilight in Delhi” is very significant in itself.

• Twilight means the time of the day just after sunset or before dawn when the sun is below the horizon.

• As the novel is aimed at writing about the fall of the moghals,& the death of culture.

Significance of the Title

• “Twilight in Delhi” deals with dying culture & civilization of Muslim India in the earlier part of twentieth century.

• The city Delhi had faced many ups & downs during the Muslim rule. It had a culture & social order of its own, but culture was under the threats of being demolished or changed by British colonizers.

Significance of the Title

Delhi was once a paradise,Where love held swayed & reigned;But its charm lies ravished nowAnd only ruins remains.No tears were shed When shroud less theyWere laid in common graves;No prayers were read for the noble dead,Unmarked remain their graves

Asghar’s Longing for Love

• Throughout the novel, symbolical elements are used vehemently.

• Disillusioned character of Asghar I a representative of the youth.

• His approach seemed to be un realistic• Mr.Nihals’s family represents the Muslim

community in India

Cat Episode• The death of Mr.Nihals’s pigeons

is highly symbolic’• It is a Turning point in Mr. Nihal’s

life.• A healthy tall & handsome person

turned into the weakest person in the world.

• The whole episode tells the defeat of a certain way of life, which showed the static side of Muslim life.

Cat Episode

• If the pigeons are a feature of culture, the cat is perhaps the intruder & the symbolic idea behind the picture is death of culture.

• A famous critic Coppola sees it as, a potent symbol Ali has used repeatedly in his short stories to represent cunning, stealth & destruction. He also identifies the cat with the British who have succeeded in altering or destroying these cherished ways of life by introducing new ideologies.

Pigeon Flying & Kite Flying

• Pigeon Flying & Kite Flying have been shown as a part of their culture.

• Another hobby is alchemy• The real idea behind these hobbies is to show

the general attitude or behavior of society.• Symbolically these hobbies are different

channels of escapism.

Mr. Nihal’s Paralysis

• Mr. Nihal’s Paralysis represents a parting away of old order or the end of old orthodox beliefs.

• His desperation is symbolically the desperation of old generation & its disability at the distortion of its future hopes.

• His paralyzed condition is the symbol of stagnant & paralyzed condition of Muslims.

• The death of Babban Jan & loss of pigeons add agony to his life.

Begum Nihal’s Blindness

• Begum Nihal’s Blindness shows her lack of comprehension in maintaining the values with changed social order in making proper decisions.

• Her blindness shows the blindness of women of that age who were being unable to manage the matters.

• Delhi is the representative of a particular set of values.

• Going through the novel one often feels Delhi to be the central character and all characters establish one or the other aspect of the city itself in living their own lives.