Twilight in Delhi as an Elegy Essay Example

understanding or adherence to its teachings.The decline of Muslim culture can be attributed to their lack of attention to religious practices, which are crucial for maintaining a peaceful society. Muslims have adopted many Hindu customs and traditions as they lived alongside Hindus, greatly influenced by them. Aimed All effectively captures the Muslim society in Delhi through his novel, with the family of Mir Animal symbolizing the entire Muslim community. The novel emphasizes the stark contrast between the old and young generations in terms of lifestyle and mindset, contributing to the decline of the society. Mir Animal disapproves of Western attire and culture, particularly for his son Share, who prefers to dress in Western shirts and shoes. The younger generation avoids facing life's realities and instead dwells in a realm of dreams. A significant part of Twilight in Delhi revolves around Share and Bellies' marriage. Although their union follows Islamic traditions, it also reflects Indian culture. While Islam promotes simplicity in all aspects of life, Share and Bellies' marriage festivities include various lavish events and ceremonies.The text highlights the decline of Islamic culture among Muslims and emphasizes the Indian culture and rule in India through the imagery of flying white pigeons and kites. "Twilight in Delhi" provides a detailed portrayal of cultural practices, rituals, customs, and religious beliefs while illustrating the downfall of this culture. It is important to note that the author, Aimed All, focuses mainly on Muslim characters and excludes non-Muslims from his narrative. Aimed All, a renowned novelist, teacher, and civil servant from Pakistan, was born on July 1st, 1910. His father, Seed Shuddering, was a civil servant as well. All initially began

his education with the recitation of the Holy Quran and later lived with his uncle, Seed Budding, who held the position of deputy commissioner in UP. Unfortunately, All faced mistreatment from his cousins and developed feelings of inferiority among them. He attended Wesley Mission High School in 1992 to study English, where he formed a close friendship with Mission Abdullah. For his matriculation, All enrolled in Aligarh University under the guidance of Eric Dickinson. At university, All also became good friends with Raja Oar. Eventually, All completed his M.A. degree in English Literature from Locknut University and went on to teach at various Indian universities.The text can beand unified as follows, while retaining the and their contents:

In 1947, Aimed All began teaching at the University of China. He quickly gained fame and in 1950 was appointed as a senior Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Aimed All was a renowned writer who wrote in both Urdu and English. Initially a poet, he later turned his attention to novels, poems, and short stories. Although primarily an Urdu writer, Aimed All also produced significant works in English.

One of his first short stories, titled "Locknut University Journey," was published in a magazine. Aimed All went on to write several English plays, including notable titles such as "Break the China," "The Land of Twilight," and "Kafka." The poem "Kafka" originally written by Prep Chain was also translated into English by Aimed All under the title "The Shroud." His Urdu poems, such as "Said Khan," "Shoals," and "Hammer Gall," garnered significant popularity.

In addition to his Urdu writings, Aimed All's work in English is noteworthy. The lengthy piece

titled "Purple Gold Mountain" consisted of eight poems published together. He also translated numerous Urdu poems into English, including "The falcon and the Hunted Bird" and "The bulb and the Rose." As an Urdu writer, Aimed All possessed excellent command over the English language. Moreover, he translated the Quran from Arabic to English.

Furthermore, Aimed All dedicated a significant portion of his work to essay writing. His novel "Twilight in Delhi" explored Muslim culture and lifestyle, earning him great acclaim. He had a deep admiration for Kigali and held a strong fondness for his works.All worked as a visiting professor at multiple universities, including Western Kentucky University, Michigan State University, and Southern Illinois University. He also worked at Karachi University. In 1933, he received an honorary Doctorate in Literature from Karachi University.
His wife, Bellies, was a talented writer and had a passion for painting and classical music. They got married when All was 40 years old. Bellies translated his novel "Twilight in Delhi" into Urdu as "Dill ki Sham". All was recognized by the Government of Pakistan and received the Sitars-e-imitate award. He became the voice of society due to his exceptional storytelling skills and mastery of the English language, which he showcased in "Twilight in Delhi".
Among the prominent writers of that time, All was highly regarded alongside Sat Hosannas Manta, Krishna Chanced, and Simms Caught. Writing in English was not very common in India during that time, and All held a unique position among Indian writers who wrote in English. He gained fame as a writer in both Urdu and English.
"Twilight in Delhi" revolves around Mir Animal and his family. Mir Animal is the main

character of the novel, with his wife Begum Animal, son Share, and daughter Nehru.

Majors, who is Begum Animal's nephew, also resides with them. Begum Kamala, Mir Animal's sister-in-law and a widow, lives in Mir Animal's house as well. The house has two parts, Amerada and Canaan. Delaine, a maid servant, works in the Canaan portion, while Gaffer, a male servant, serves in the Amerada section. Another daughter of Mir Animal, named Begum Wadded, lives in Opal after her husband's death. She now resides with her husband's family and has a son and daughter. Sadly, Mir Animal's other daughter passed away during childbirth.

She was married to a gentleman named Eased Hosannas. Two of Mir Animal's sons, Habituated and Sardinian, live with their respective families according to their assignments. The novel commences when Mir Animal returns home late at night for dinner. His son Share is in love with Bellies, the sister of one of his best friends. Additionally, Share also has feelings for a prostitute named Mustard ABA and frequently thinks about her. Mustard ABA runs her business in churl bazaar. In the afternoon, Share goes to visit his friend's place but finds that his friend Bond is not there. Throughout his time at Bellies' residence, he continuously ponders over his feelings for her.

Following that, Share meets his other friend Barb and confides in him about his affection for Bellies. He expresses his desire to marry her at any cost.

The protagonist feels both sad and upset since he knows that his father will never approve of his marriage with Bellies due to caste differences. Share belongs to the Seed family while Bellies is

from the McHugh family, and the caste system poses a significant obstacle to their union. Upon returning from Barb's house, he writes a letter to his sister in Opal seeking a solution to his marriage predicament. His sister treats him like her own son and is very fond of him, so he believes she will be able to help. When she receives his letter, she decides to travel to Delhi. The news of her arrival brings joy and anticipation to Mir Animal's family. Share confides in his sister about his firm decision to marry Bellies, even stating that he would contemplate suicide if they cannot marry. Begum Wadded, his sister, promises to assist him. She first speaks with their mother about the marriage and emphasizes Share's seriousness regarding Bellies. Upon returning home one night, Mir Animal's wife gathers her courage to talk to him about this matter. However, when she mentions Grass's interest in Bellies, Mir Animal adamantly refuses. He is completely opposed to their marriage. Begum Wadded comforts Share, assuring him that she will find a solution and convince their father to be supportive. She suggests they go together to Opal, and Share agrees.She mentions that he can return once the situation calms down. Mir Animal had a romantic involvement with his maid Delaine during his youth, as well as with a dancing girl called Ban Jan. When Ban Jan passed away, Mir Animal became deeply saddened by the memories and thus permitted Share to marry Bellies. Initially, he was ecstatic and took great care of Bellies. However, over time, his enthusiasm waned and he began to show interest in other prostitutes. Meanwhile, Share

was unemployed and awaited better circumstances. During this period, his wife gave birth to a baby girl named Johan Era. Shabby Bag whispered in Suzan's ear. At that time, tuberculosis was incurable and due to Share's negligence, Bellies fell ill and was diagnosed with TB. Share once again started caring for Bellies, but her health had deteriorated significantly and she eventually died. Following Bellies' death, Share developed feelings for her younger sister Koura, who was only 16 years old. Koura also reciprocated these feelings and both desired to marry each other. She also had a strong attachment to Johan-Era. Share discusses this matter with his family and hopes for a positive response from his mother-in-law, but she firmly declines. Merman's marriage to Mohr highlights the oppressive aspect of society whereby women have no agency to express their own opinions about their lives.

They are simply seen as puppets in the hands of man. Mohr always fantasizes about Emmer being her potential husband but has never met him. He is a foolish and lazy individual. Mir Animal initially refuses but eventually agrees due to societal pressure. In the end, Mir Animal suffers from paralysis and leads a very miserable life, much to the worry of his wife. Mir Animal serves as a representation of the entire society, and his paralysis symbolizes the decline of society as a whole. In the end, almost all the characters in the novel suffer from some form of disease.

In the final part of the novel, Mir Animal only dwells on his past memories, appearing more lifeless than alive. "Twilight of Delhi" was published with support from notable figures like E.

M. Forester and Virginia Woolf. It can be read as a reflection of the social and political events of that time period. As a story, it is quite slow-moving and really offers nothing more than a general sense of pessimism, which can be understood. The novel includes numerous poems, but none of them appeal to English readers. These poems are more comprehensible to those who know Urdu and Hindi.

Aime All was born in Delhi and received education at Aligarh's and Locknut's institutions. After teaching as an English lecturer at Locknut and Calcutta Universities, he later migrated to Pakistan after the Partition.

He was a member of the All India Progressive Writers' Association and had contributed an article, "A Progressive View of Art" to its first official publication, Towards Progressive Literature. According to him, art has its roots in and derives its material from life. Art leads to "mental and emotional activity, stimulation of a progressive type, which leads us along the lines of the highest consciousness.

For him, the word "progressive" means trying to enrich our social life and implies the banishment of mysticism.

Aimad Ali's first publication is Anger or Sparks, a collection of experimental stories in Urdu created in collaboration with other young Urdu writers. However, this book was publicly burnt in many places because of its bold treatment of the sordid, dark side of Indian life.

Many of the preoccupations of Aimad Ali's novel Twilight in Delhi find place in a limited scope in his short story "Our Lane," which was first written in Urdu and then translated to English by the author himself.

Though his first novel Twilight in Delhi is written in the realistic

technique, Aimad Ali turns to an exploration of the human psyche in his second novel Ocean of Night (1964), while his third novel Rats and Diplomats (1985) tries to ridicule life in diplomatic circles abroad.

In addition to novels and short stories, he has also released translations, poetry, and criticism.The novel's initial rejection by an American publisher was due to its lack of connection to American life. However, thanks to E.M. Forester's intervention, the Hogwash Press later published it. Although critics praised it upon its release, the book remained out of print until 1967 due to political disruptions in India and abroad. In Pakistan, the author mentions in the introduction to the 1991 Oxford University Press publication that references to Twilight in Delhi were frequently edited out whenever he was interviewed on television, as the story was set in Delhi, the forbidden city across the border. In Chapter 2, titled "Literature Review," it is explained that an elegy is a mournful song or dirge for the deceased, as opposed to a eulogy, which is a song of praise and commendation. Some notable examples of elegies from the past include "Lucidly" by John Million, "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman, "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" by Thomas Gravy, "Fugue of Death" by Paul Clan, and "In Memory off.B. Yeats" by W.H Addend. All of these works were funeral or mourning songs.In their time, well-known authors composed various elegies, including "Funeral Blues" by W.H. Aden, "Because I Could Not Stop For Death" by Emily Dickinson, "Dirge Without Music" by Edna St. Vincent Millay, "November" by Edmund Spencer, "In Memoriam" by Lord Alfred Tennyson, and "A Refusal to

Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London" by Dylan Thomas. To distinguish between an elegy and a eulogy, it is interesting to note the differences in form and meaning. Eulogies are commonly used in certain religious or ethnic groups as a spoken piece after someone's passing. On the other hand, an elegy serves as a lament or requiem for a recently deceased person and can take the form of a poem. Initially, elegies were not always simple or short pieces solely discussing the death of a loved one. In the early 1900s, Indian novels in English emerged on the literary scene with writers like Mull Raja And, Raja Oar, R.K. Nary, and Aimed All pioneering Indian fiction in English. This period marked the start and growth of Indo-English writing, with Aimed Ali's "Twilight in Delhi" being published in 1940.Twilight in Delhi is considered one of the first and most notable novels in English from the Sub-continent. Mull Raja And, the author of Untouchable, is credited as the pioneer of the English novel in India, and Aimed All follows in his footsteps. Aimed All has introduced a new genre in English literature with this novel, which is a noteworthy achievement. The critical response to Twilight in Delhi from various critics and reviewers over the past few decades is worth considering.

Twilight in Delhi can be seen as a long mournful poem that expresses sorrow for the loss of a culture and city. It can also be viewed as a requiem or a melancholy grumble. Aimed All laments the loss of his birth city, incorporating elements of a classical elegy but expanding on the genre's

traditional scope. The novel becomes a social-chronicle UCM elegy, where Aimed All mourns tragic events while also praising and celebrating the grand dying culture of Delhi's Muslims.

Many critics have analyzed Twilight in Delhi as a social and political history.The novel has been studied as a fictional piece on Imperialism, but few reviewers have analyzed it as an elegiac writing. It would be interesting to evaluate the novel from a new perspective as an elegy, as its focus is on the decline of Muslim culture in Delhi. A survey of critical responses to the novel would be valuable in this regard. Marauder Sings suggests that Twilight in Delhi can be seen as a work of modernist pessimism, written in a serious and melancholic tone. He further adds that the novel serves as an elegy for Delhi life in the early 20th century, mourning the death of the historical city and its cherished values. Arizona Harris, in his book "Aimed All", also discusses the novel.The book "Indian English Novelists: An Anthology of Critical Essays" argues that "Twilight in Delhi" depicts a decaying city and dying customs due to the passage of time. It carries a melancholic tone wrapped in nostalgia. This viewpoint supports the notion that the novel is essentially elegiac in both form and content. In "City of Adjoins," William Dillydally considers "Twilight in Delhi" a classic. The book documents the historical period when the last Mughal king, Buddha Shah Safari, lost power, and his family became beggars and servants as Great Britain took control of India. The decline of Mughal rule is mourned by Amed All, who sees it as the demise of a dynasty

with benevolent monarchs beloved by the people. Along these lines, William Dillydally also views "Twilight in Delhi" as a lamentation and a social chronicle. Interestingly, "Twilight in Delhi" can be compared to M.S. Asthma's Urdu novel "Gram Haw," which follows the life story of Bulbar Shania's family, much like the life story of Mir Animal and his clan. Both books have a funeral-like tone.In his book titled "Post-national Aesthetics and the Work of Mourning in Aimed Alias Twilight in Delhi," Alex Padres suggests that critical interpretations have limited Twilight in Delhi to a nostalgic depiction of a declining Indo-Muslim culture. Padres argues that the author's placement of the book within a Western humanist aesthetic reinforces this perspective. Moreover, Padres contends that Alias's position as an innovative Urdu writer and the narrative's commitment to Urdu poetry not only authenticate the elegiac portrayal but also challenge the dominance of realism and the theme of Muslim cultural extermination. By contextualizing this story within the evolving tradition of Urdu literary innovation since the late nineteenth century, Padres advocates for a continually reinvented poetics of loss that reflects the politics of mourning and the absence of cherished values.

In her essay "The Anxiety of Unkindness," Namesakes Musketeer discusses the themes explored in Aimed All's work. Musketeer argues that Indo-English novelists of the older generation, including Aimed All, had a pan-Indian perspective, addressing Indian concerns rather than solely indigenous or regional issues. Musketeer specifically mentions Aimed Alias novel Twilight in Delhi, noting its multi-dimensional approach which encompasses the city of Delhi, the Muslim-Indian way of life, and Mir Animal's paralysis.

According to Musketeer, the exploration of Delhi Muslim society, which was on

the verge of extinction, is seen as an attempt to develop both a national and individual character. This is achieved through addressing issues such as east-west hostility, conflict between conventionalism and modernism, and the breakdown of traditional Indian institutions. In Standardization in Indian Literature: Positions and Propositions, it is argued that Indian writers, regardless of the language they choose to write in, primarily identify as Indian and pan-Indian. Their works are deeply rooted in collective, societal, historic, and cultural contexts. Despite the heterogeneity and diversity in Indian literature, it has not disrupted the unity and communal harmony among the Indian people. The novel, Twilight in Delhi, treats Delhi as a living character and symbolizes the heart and essence of India. It depicts the evolutionary changes taking place in and around Delhi, which has been ravaged multiple times. The hall-mark of this novel and Indian literature in general is its firm connection with an ever-changing backdrop.

During a time when the upper and middle class Indian society had absorbed numerous Western traits and ways of life, Twilight in Delhi depicts a gloomy period where the situation was quite dismal. Aimed All has expressed the helplessness and vulnerability of the people, as imperialism harmfully impacted their values, culture, and beloved Delhi. The novel mourns the loss of cherished values in a somber and mournful tone. Trip Lair states that Aimed All has detailed the turbulent times of Indian history and the chaos, gains, and losses experienced over time in his elegiac novel. Many renowned writers have written about "Delhi," including fiction that portrays the grandeur and magnificence of this once glorious city. In the past, bull-carts and donkey-carts

were a common sight in Delhi, but now the city is filled with newly wealthy individuals and elites driving luxurious Mercedes and Honda cars. As it underwent a lengthy process of liberalization and colonization, Delhi is now known as New Delhi. The city has undergone numerous changes, as Aimed All accurately documents this transition based on his own personal experiences during his youth.

In his book titled "Besieged," Manhood Farrago discusses the Mutiny of 1857, also known as the War of Independence in India. Similarly, Aimed All provides a detailed account of this tragic event, blaming the English for the violence against Indian soldiers. Both authors focus on the rebellion against British rule, with Farrago mentioning Buddha Shah Safari as a central figure around whom Indian soldiers gathered before being overthrown. Farrago also emphasizes that these five months were particularly traumatic for the Indian population.

Aimed Alias's novel "Twilight in Delhi" and Farrago's "Besieged" share similarities in their portrayal of Delhi city and the Mutiny of 1857. Farrago notes that the determination and resilience of the Indians to resist grew weaker over time. Both authors mention that the people of Delhi became passive, lazy, and more susceptible to idleness and indifference. The events depicted in "Twilight in Delhi" take place between 1911 and 1919, during a period when Old Delhi was still considered modern.