Twilight In Delhi Research Articles

Cultural Intermingling in Ahmad Ali’s “Twilight In Delhi”: A Post-Colonial Criticism

This study centers on post-colonial textual reading and interpretive analysis of the novel “Twilight in Delhi” by Ahmad Ali. The method used in this research is qualitative. Some quotations in the form of words and sentences are quoted from the novel to support the analysis. Having an inclusion of a mission in this book, which is non-fiction and genuine work that talks about Muslims’ life during the colonial era in the Sub-continent. Ahmad has written this book and presented every aspect of Muslims’ life in that era, their culture and daily life, their revolt and favoritism towards colonizers, and the unique and mixed-up traits of Muslim culture with other cultures. Post-Colonial theory is applied to the study and selected passages are textually analyzed in terms of Post-Colonial Criticism of Culture. The study emphasizes the presentation of Muslim culture in Ahmad Ali’s Novel Twilight in Delhi.

THROUGH THE OPTIC OF EDWARD SAID'S ORIENTALISM, UNMASKING IDENTITY; EXAMINING THE IDEAS OF "SELF" AND "OTHER" IN AHMED ALI'S TWILIGHT IN DELHI

My heart aches to see you fight for chairs; Only poor masses are crushed with open arms by bears. I saw many deaths in houses and houses in deaths, But thou made me unable to breathe. We are drowning up to the neck in our blood; No one is there to come, see and judge masses smeared with mud Never ever tell the truth to live a life, Dumb, deaf, and blind can live here. (Farman Ullah) Informed by the close reading of the novel Twilight in Delhi (1940) by Ahmed Ali during and under the impact of colonization from the perspectives of sociopolitical aspects of the extraordinary situation that has been faced by common people through ordinary words. The present study aims to examine the novel Twilight in Delhi, how the "“Self”" and the "“Other”" interact within the historical backdrop of British colonialism and the "massacre and destruction in Delhi in 1857" (Yahya: 2013) as it is portrayed in the book Twilight in Delhi. It contends that prejudice, an imbalance of power, and oppression characterize this relationship. The research looks at the negative effects of this uneven dynamic, such as violence, theft, and cultural fusion. The novel's author gives the colonized Indians a voice by denouncing British colonial power and urging resistance to it. The conclusion emphasizes the necessity to confront and end colonial dominance while highlighting the harmful impacts of the "“Self”" and "“Other”" connection.

THROUGH THE OPTIC OF EDWARD SAID'S ORIENTALISM, UNMASKING IDENTITY; EXAMINING THE IDEAS OF "SELF" AND "OTHER" IN AHMED ALI'S TWILIGHT IN DELHI

My heart aches to see you fight for chairs; Only poor masses are crushed with open arms by bears. I saw many deaths in houses and houses in deaths, But thou made me unable to breathe. We are drowning up to the neck in our blood; No one is there to come, see and judge masses smeared with mud Never ever tell the truth to live a life, Dumb, deaf, and blind can live here. (Farman Ullah) Informed by the close reading of the novel Twilight in Delhi (1940) by Ahmed Ali during and under the impact of colonization from the perspectives of sociopolitical aspects of the extraordinary situation that has been faced by common people through ordinary words. The present study aims to examine the novel Twilight in Delhi, how the "“Self”" and the "“Other”" interact within the historical backdrop of British colonialism and the "massacre and destruction in Delhi in 1857" (Yahya: 2013) as it is portrayed in the book Twilight in Delhi. It contends that prejudice, an imbalance of power, and oppression characterize this relationship. The research looks at the negative effects of this uneven dynamic, such as violence, theft, and cultural fusion. The novel's author gives the colonized Indians a voice by denouncing British colonial power and urging resistance to it. The conclusion emphasizes the necessity to confront and end colonial dominance while highlighting the harmful impacts of the "“Self”" and "“Other”" connection.

A Comparative Study of Ahmad Ali’s Twilight in Delhi and Edgar Morgan Forster’s A Passage to India: A Feminist Perspective

The study was designed to do a comparative study of Ahmad Ali's novel Twilight in Delhi and E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India. The study is a comparative textual analysis in the light of Feminism. The focus was on finding similarities and differences between Ali and Forster. In both novels, women's exploitation is the main issue. Women are shown as voiceless and inhuman creatures.They are used as an object having no feeling or emotion. They are presented as the tool of sex for the men of society. They are portrayed as having no role in the social and political affairs of the family.The investigation has shown that both Ali and Forster have presented women as inferior to men but Ali is harsher as compared to Forster. Ali pictured only Muslim women while Forster portrayed Muslims, Hindus as well as British women. Which was the main focus of the study. The Comparative Feminist analysis was taken to give a new dimension to the study and carried out women's issues in society.

The Politics of Representation of the Colony A Critical Study of A Passage to India and Twilight in Delhi

The current study aims to investigate the colony and its representation by the colonizer and the colonized. By applying the theoretical insights of postcolonialism, this paper will focus on the politics of representation. In regard to this, A Passage to India is a record of the British colony by the colonizer E. M. Forster, whereas, Twilight in Delhi by Ahmed Ali too deals with the same but from the perspective of the colonized. Arguably, the authors present the same colony in two different ways which exhibit their cultural and political positions. The representation of the same colony by the two authors one from the colonizing civilization and the other from the colonized is always reflective of their individual voices. For Edward W. Said, the West represents the East in a way that helps in presenting a dominating a position of the West and it represents the East as inferior, superstitious, uncivilized and evil. Moreover, the current study has probed the issue of cultural representation by employing textual analyses and applied Homi K. Bhabha and Edward Said’s theoretical works on representation in postcolonial theoretic paradigm. The analyses have shown that both the texts represent colonial India quite differently because of the cultural positions of the writers as the colonizer and the colonized.

Manifestation of Colonial Subjects in Twilight in Dehli and A Passage to India

The goal of this research is to examine how the colony is portrayed by both the colonizer and the colonized. This paper focuses mainly on the politics of depiction by implementing the insights of postcolonialism. In this context, Twilight in Delhi by Ahmed Ali also deals with the same subject from the view of the colonized, whereas A Passage to India is a narrative of the British colony by its colonizer E. M. Forster. It may be argued that the writers’ two depictions of a similar colony represent different political and cultural viewpoints. The two authors’ representations of the same colony, one from a colonized civilization and another from that was colonized, consistently reflect their distinctive voices. Additionally, the latest research has incorporated Homi K. Bhabha and Edward Said’s analytical works on the depiction in the postcolonial theoretical perspective and explored the problem of cultural representation while using textual analyses. The research has shown that both works’ representations of colonial India differ significantly because of the authors’ respective cultural roles as colonizer and colonized.

“Golden hour”: Nostalgia and the demise of the Muslim urban space in Twilight in Delhi and Sunlight on a Broken Column

ABSTRACT This article explores how changing cityscapes of (post)colonial urban transition contribute to the creation of nostalgic longing in Twilight in Delhi and Sunlight on a Broken Column. Drawing from recent scholarship, it focuses on the memorialization of space and compares the ways in which narrative memory frames the perception of urbanization in both texts. Further, this study also examines the cultural location of this nostalgia and articulates the categorization of a specific Muslim nostalgia, which comes from the recognition of the anticipated political and social exclusion of the community in contemporary India. The article analyses the impact of the transformation of the city with colonization and decolonization on Muslims, as narrated in both texts. Borrowing from Svetlana Boym’s twin concepts of reflective and restorative nostalgia as analytical frameworks, a close reading reveals significantly contrasting literary perspectives when it comes to narrating the flux between modernity and tradition within the Indo Muslim imagination.

Impact of Colonialism on Environment: A Socio-Ecological Study of Twilight in Delhi

Massive devastation of indigenous social ecology was envisaged during the colonial expansion in almost all parts of the world since the 16th century. This colonial craze resulted in the exploitation of the natural resources of the colonial territories, which leads to environmental degradation. The alarming consequences of economic expansion including depletion of the ozone layer, air pollution, loss of forests and biodiversity, extinction of animal and plant species, loss of marine life, water and soil pollution have occurred at an alarming rate. Substantial destruction has greatly affected the global environment in the shape of global warming, urbanization, and massive industrialization among other grave issues. Modern intelligentsia and academia give rise to environmental consciousness through multiple campaigns including the celebration of “Earth Day”, the emergence of environmental activist organizations like “Friends of the Earth”, “Earth First”, “Sea Shepherd” and the formation of “Association for the Study of Literature and Environment ASLE” in America, the vis-à-vis start of Environmental studies and Ecocriticism at universities all over the world. Soon it prospered into further interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary fields of studies, in addition to the environmental campaigns activated across the world.

Comparative Analysis of Twilight in Delhi and A Passage to India through the Lens of Stylistics and Postcolonialism

While focusing on the postcolonial discourse, a comparative analysis of A Passage to India(1924) and Twilight in Delhi (1940) has been carried out.The former writing was composed by western author E.M. Forster while the latter was written by South Asian author Ahmed Ali. In both writings, the center of focus is the effects left by colonizers on colonized land,specifically in terms of culture, norms, and values. In order to complete the study in a profound manner, a qualitative approach has been employed in which description, analysis, narrative devices and definitions are utilized as research tools to affirm the deductive approach of the study. The paper is analyzed through postcolonial perspectives with a focus on discourse and stylistics viewpoints of the texts. Political, cultural,communal, social, and religious conditions of the subcontinent are unfolded from the standpoints of informant and colonizers with the implication of dichotomous critique while looking at the miserable situation of the Asian colonized region. As one author belongs to the class of colonizers and the other has its roots in colonized land, the study has explored various similar as well as contrasting elements from the novels.

Study of Socio-Cultural Transition in Twilight in Delhi with reference to Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

Study of Socio-Cultural Transition in Twilight in Delhi with reference to Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

Bilingualism in Pakistani Fiction: The Analysis of Twilight in Delhi by Ahmed Ali

This research aims to find code-switching occurrences in Twilight in Delhi written by Pakistani English postcolonial writer Ahmed Ali. He uses many Urdu terms and expressions in his narrative to keep alive Eastern culture and traditions that would otherwise lose their essence if translated into English. In this way, he reconstitutes English language in his work. The frequency of Urdu words is recorded, and the data obtained is analyzed on semantic, phonological and syntactic grounds. The writer also tries to experiment with the form and brings creativity, and in doing so, he applies English structure on Urdu terms and introduced a new vocabulary. The deliberate use of code-switching in the novel shows that language is no one’s property neither someone’s hegemony. Keywords: Bilingualism, Code-switching, Pakistani English, Post-colonialism

Victimization of women in Twilight in Delhi

Victimization of women in Twilight in Delhi

Impact of Colonialism on Environment: A Socio-Ecological Study of Twilight in Delhi

Massive devastation of indigenous social ecology was envisaged during the colonial expansion in almost all parts of the world since the 16th century. This colonial craze resulted in the exploitation of the natural resources of the colonial territories, which leads to environmental degradation. The alarming consequences of economic expansion including depletion of the ozone layer, air pollution, loss of forests and biodiversity, extinction of animal and plant species, loss of marine life, water and soil pollution have occurred at an alarming rate. Substantial destruction has greatly affected the global environment in the shape of global warming, urbanization, and massive industrialization among other grave issues. Modern intelligentsia and academia give rise to environmental consciousness through multiple campaigns including the celebration of “Earth Day”, the emergence of environmental activist organizations like “Friends of the Earth”, “Earth First”, “Sea Shepherd” and the formation of “Association for the Study of Literature and Environment ASLE” in America, the vis-à-vis start of Environmental studies and Ecocriticism at universities all over the world. Soon it prospered into further interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary fields of studies, in addition to the environmental campaigns activated across the world.

Lexical Variations in Pakistani English: A Case Study of the Novel Twilight in Delhi

The present study investigates the English language variations due to code-switching between L1 (Urdu) and L2 (English). It shows how language varies from culture to culture, religion to religion, and how these variations make language an independent variety. This research also investigates the role of Urdu language in the formation of Pakistani English. It is a corpus-based study. Methodology in the study is both qualitative and quantitative. A mixed approach has been employed. As a sample, a famous postcolonial novel “Twilight in Delhi” by Ahmed Ali has been selected. Analysis shows that the Pakistani native language has an effect on its culture on the English language. This research also investigates various sociolinguistics factors. It shows that the phenomenon of “Borrowing” is frequently used in the novel than compounding and hybridization because of the Islamic religion, historical and societal culture. Edibles are transferred from Urdu into English because they do not have their direct equivalents in English. The results also indicate that the usual use of Urdu words into English at the lexical level is property of Pakistani English and makes it an independent variety.

Representation of Implicit Domestic Culture in Ahmed Ali's Twilight in Delhi

Representation of Implicit Domestic Culture in Ahmed Ali's Twilight in Delhi

PANDEMIC AND LITERATURE: A STUDY ON KAKKANADAN'S VASOORI

The current pandemic situation has completely altered our lives. In this context, it is imperative to look back at the history of human civilization to see how the ancient faced such situations. Works dealing with the horrors of plague have been written in various regional literature across India, the famous being Rabindranath Tagore’s Puraton Bhritto, Ahmed Ali’s Twilight in Delhi and U.R Anandamoorthy’s Samskara. The article focuses on a Malayalam novel, Vasoori, written by Kakkanadan (1968) which revolves around the lives of common village folk caught in the jaws of smallpox. The novel focuses on the lived in experience of a community forced to face the disease almost every year. It is enlightening to go through the novel in the current Covid-19 pandemic as it concentrates on the first human reaction to pandemics – fear. By using the motif of smallpox, Vasoori pushes the reader to reflect on the ancestral fear of humans to infectious diseases and how it completely shatters the body’s internal perceptions. Thus reading Vasoori in the current pandemic situation is one way of understanding how the human race dealt with a disease for which there seemed no solution in sight.

Ahmed Indigenization of English Language in Ahmed Ali’s Twilight in Delhi

The study employed the theoretical approach of indigenization by Kachru in Ahmed Ali’s Twilight in Delhi. Indigenization is one of the fundamental components of decolonization adopted by post-colonial linguists to familiarize a local language in a race against the dominant language of colonizers (Kilickaya, 2009). Through this tool of indigenization, post-colonial writers and more specifically, Ahmed Ali represented the native culture, flora, and fauna of the sub-continent in the selected work to bring about a reconciliatory approach between the languages of the colonizer (English) with the language of inhabitants of the sub-content (Urdu). Therefore, the novelist indigenized the English language by weaving and embedding indigenous figures of speech, local terminologies, idioms, proverbs, and translation of compacted concepts of English and Urdu languages into each other in an endeavor to combat with the western thought. Hence, the article delves into the novel to unfold the multicultural reconciliatory approach that is possible only at the time when the voices of the indigenous language and culture are accommodated by the dominant language and culture of the colonizers. Arguably, the portrayal of reconciliation of the two languages and cultures in the sub-continent during the rule of the British in the novel may introduce a more pluralistic approach to survive in the modern world of globalization. The findings may help reach a better understanding between an indigenous language and an international language in the same culture in which local culture and language get equal manifestation.

British Imperialism, Destruction and Memory of Old Delhi in Twilight in Delhi

British Imperialism, Destruction and Memory of Old Delhi in Twilight in Delhi

A Reconsideration of Feminine Sensuality in Twilight in Delhi: Indian Women in Fiction

Modernist discourses centralize feminine sensuality as an indicator of a female’s autonomy; generally, they denounce religious or traditional constraints related to its expression. In particular, liberal feminism rejects normative constraints on female sensuousness, which are argued to enforce gendered restrictions. Amid these popular considerations, there has been a remarkable increase in interest in postcolonial women’s approach to sensuality. Being perceived as sensually submissive by their faith, the question which continually surfaces is: is the sensual ethics of postcolonial women shaped by their religion? Or are they shaped by the societal considerations and values of the society they are born into? This paper addresses this question by considering the varied choices of sensual behaviour adopted by female characters in the postcolonial text, Twilight in Delhi, written by Ahmad Ali. By approaching the decadent culture of Delhi in this novel from a feminist perspective, this paper analyses the feminine sensuality of the Indian women and considers their assumptions about what counts as an appropriate choice for them within the cultural context of Indian society. This paper concludes that the sensual inhibition of these women is conditioned by the cultural bias towards the female gender that connects shame and guilt with their sensual desires in a traditional Indian society.

Traumas of Roots and Extinction in the 20th Century Literature of Empire: The Mirror Principle in Marguerite Duras’ India Cycle (1964-71) and Ahmed Ali’s Twilight in Delhi (1940)

This article comparatively analyses Marguerite Duras’ India Cycle and Ahmed Ali’s Twilight in Delhi. A Mirror Principle centres on ‘emptiness’, synthesising elements of Marxism and Buddhism. A new optic is created for understanding 1930s Indian nationalism, including Dalit and national leader Ambedkar, Tagorian “composite culture”, Mohammed Iqbal, and Islam and gender in northern India. The Mirror Principle juxtaposes Heideggerian ‘repetition’ and Marxian ‘dialectics’ as divergent anti-colonial paths. Duras and Ali are linked by a common Proustian problematic of memory and ephemerality. They revolutionize the Proustian tradition to create a new literary genre in oneiric socialism. The article analyses trauma, in the French Resistance and the 1857 rebellion, and literary reconstructions of traditional roots in their wake, with differing nation-making ramifications.