The Theme of Monotony and Change in Ahmad Ali’s Twilight in Delhi

The title of the novel itself becomes integral in the way that highlights the theme of change and

lingering aspect of in the novel. The word Twilight refers to the faint light that lingers on the sky,

just after the sun has gone down. On another level, it can also be understood as a situation in

which things are not clearly known or understood. Twilight figuratively represents the last stages

of something when it becomes weaker or less important. The word twilight demarcates a phase

of time that is temporary and does not come to stay for a very long period. Twilight becomes

emblematic of the mental and social state of the Muslims of Delhi who are victims of this

transition when the old order is giving way to the new order, new civilization takes over an old

one is transient.

The theme of Twilight in Delhi revolves around the devastation and destruction of a

grand civilization and a pure culture. Ahmed Ali portrays the demolished values in the form of a

type of satire or mockery of the transformation that the people of that time went through. We

find him presenting his characters in ethical discrepancy and malformation. The male characters

are unruly and lost. Either they are indulged in frivolous activities like kite flying or pigeon

flying or they spend their time in gainless pursuits like Alchemy. The females are quite

uninformed of the reality and seem indifferent as a whole to what’s happening in the world

outside their own. Taken in another sense the women were living in a kind of death. According

to the tradition, they. Should be confined within the four walls of their houses protecting them

from the evils of the outside world. It is also keeping away from the developments taking place

in the world. It is depriving them from the right of knowledge, keeping them ignorant forever.
 The writer has employed the theme of connection and continuation of things as a theme

in the novel. He weaves his story on the universal fact that time and tide waits for none. Life

goes on and the stability follows chaos. His theme surrounds the idea of the coherent whole and

permanence.

Dhum! Qalandar, God will give, Dhum! Qalandar, God alone;

Milk and sugar, God will give, Dhum! Qalandar, God alone. .

They were ever so many, the rhythmic and consistent beat of dhum dhum dhum becomes

synonymous with the theme of continuity itself. We find the same philosophy of continuity in the

description of the pigeons. The flapping of the pigeon’s wings appears as q repetitive strain

throughout the novel. It keeps reminding us of the lapse of time and the continuity of life. While

fighting the obstacles and difficulties of life man becomes weaker with the passage of time but

cannot render up life’s tiresome load.

While analyzing the novel at a deeper level, the theme of grudge against some entity is

felt running parallel to the feelings of pointlessness, dissipation and repugnance. Various

doctrines and logical patterns of the novel actually occur as consequence of these themes. It

should be understood that the writer’s resentment does not encircle his own character or

disposition. The world of the animate creatures, is the worst affected by the carnage of time. The

writer feels the brutality and covetousness of time for even the inanimate and absurd creatures

like cities, crossroads and monuments. For example: “As he took a turn in the by-lane, the

singer’s voice died down and mixed with the other noises of the city and the eternal cries of the

pigeon-fliers.” (20)

The writer has articulated his rancour against Time at several instances. The heartlessness

of time has been lamented a several instances. The insensitivity of Fate and the cruelty of the
wheel of Time becomes an extensive undercurrent of the novel As the time completes its

revolution, the tables are turned and the life changes its course without considering the

consequence. Time changes its shape and demeanor according to the circumstances. In the hours

of happiness, ut’ flies by like a swift bird. On. The contrary, in the times of pai” and hardships, it

becomes heavy and unbearable evil moment. Habibuddin’s illness becomes a dreary load for

him.

Twilight in Delhi is a novel with many parallel themes. One instance, we encounter the

theme of continuity and on the other level, we find the writer justifying the theme of change. The

writer has handled the subject of change in a different way. He presents change as an invariable

law of nature that is both irrepressible and unbeatable. He treats change as something logical and

comprehensible to all the practicality of life. Change itself becomes an emblem of the pre-

eminence of time.

The theme of change is dealt with at different levels. The modification of traditions,

alteration in practices and the change in the vicinity are a few important examples of the

treatment of change. The change in the rulers, the change times and the change in the weather

has been treated at the backdrop level. The geographical alterations that the city of Delhi went

through are described as under:

In Delhi itself many changes were being proposed. The gutters which were deep and
underground from the times of the Mughals to this day were being dug and made
shallow, and the dirty water flowed very near the level of the streets, and the stink was
everywhere. The city walls were also going to be demolished. The residents of Delhi
resented all this, for their city, in which they had been born and grew up, the city of their
dreams and reality, which had seen them die and live, was going to be changed beyond
recognition. (143)

Worse than all the changes which were felt so deeply by the people was the disfiguring of
the Chandni Chowk whose central causeway was demolished and the expansive peepal
trees which had given shelter to the residents and the poor from the scorching rays of the
 sun, were cut down. The road did look wide and broad, a real boulevard, but its
uniqueness and oriental atmosphere were destroyed. This affected the people more deeply
than anything else. For this was the bazar through which they had walked day in and day
out throughout their lives. With these changes it looked something quite new, not the real
Chandni Chowk with which so many memories were associated. (143)

The theme of change becomes apt and more appropriate while discussing the socio-

cultural changes that the city of Delhi faced. The downfall of the great Mughal Empire had its

effect even in the atmosphere “and the dust blew more often than before.” The splendour of life

was spoiled and sabotaged by the foreigners and “vulgarity and cheapness had taken its Pace The

importance that the poets had in a society and the role they played was changed forever. “Society

had moved forward and the people had been left behind in the race of Life”. New modes and

practices were in practice. “Perhaps that is why that unity of experience and form, which existed

in Mir Nihal’s youth, had vanished.” (176)

The ravages of change have not spared the concepts of creativity. It seems as if India is

devoid of poets, who are equivalent in their creativity and inventiveness to Mir, Ghalib, Insha,

Dard, Sauda and Zauq. The changes of Time have taken them away and then prevails the

“poverty of thought that had come to stay.” (176) “Time had reversed the order of things, and

life had been replaced by a death-in-life. No beauty seemed to remain anywhere and ugliness had

blackened the face of Hindustan.” (176)

The writer then moves on to discuss the contradiction change. He presents various

instances of the monotony of situation in order to accentuate the theme of change that dominates

the novel. The theme of monotony is best discussed while illustrating the backdrop of the novel.

The writer explains how “the sparrows chattered on the henna tree and on the date palm perched

a crow and croaked in a hoarse and heart-rending way his monotonous cries.” (15)
 The kites shrilly cried, and the grating noise of tram cars far away sounded more dreary.
A heartrending monotony and a blinding glare crept over the earth……. Only now and
then the wild pigeons flew in and out of the veranda, cooed awhile, and added to the
feeling of monotony. (17)

The vendors shouted their dreary cries and added to the monotony of life. There were
fewer pigeons on the sky, and fewer men were shouting at the birds. (158)

The writer then introduces the most static and monotonous aspect of the social life

depicted in Twilight in Delhi. The life confined within the walls of zenana is an embodiment of

stagnation. The world that exists within these confines has no connection with the outside world

and the winds of change somehow find no passage to penetrate these incarcerations. In the

zenana, things go on with the monotonous sameness of Indian life. The world moves on around

them without disturbing their monotony.

No one went out anywhere. Only now and then some cousin or aunt or some other
relation came to see them. But that was once a month or so or during the festivals. Mostly
life stayed like water in a pond with nothing to break the monotony of its static life. (29)

The life of women is monotonous in itself. They are born to be given away to strangers.

When they grow up and can be of any help or service to their family, they are adorned and

dressed up to be sent to a strange place, now called their home, They are brought up just to be

banished from home, separated from their parents and their kith and kin. There is no other

acceptable role for women. This is the accepted plan of action for them. No other role exists for

them.

An unmarried girl is not allowed to chew paan or wear flowers in her earrings of her hair.
She is not even allowed to wear fine and expensive clothes or to use attar. She lives under
the threat of going away to strangers when she grows up, who may turn out to be rich,
poor, nice, or bad……… Even if the girl falls in love with a cousin, she cannot speak of
it for fear of being punished and looked down upon as an evil thing. By education and
hearsay she is made to believe that passion is the worst kind of sin. (133)
 Bilqeece is the best-portrayed example of the depiction of the monotonous life of women

in the subcontinent, in the context of Twilight in Delhi. Bilgeece has been brought up by an aunt,

her fathe’s sister, an old and religious person. She is taised in a typical Indian household where

there is no place for desires, emotions and passions. Similarly, Mehroo, also a product of the

typical Indian mindset, cannot show her feelings for her betrothed Meraj when teased by

Masroor. Although she feels pleased at the mention of Meraj’s name but due to her inhibitions

inculcated in her by her culture, she can only fly into a temper. Similarly, when she sees Meraj

for the first time, She feels like “a cow under the butcher’s knife.” She can do nothing to change

her fate, as she has to accept what is chosen for her by her parents.

Aside the theme of change and monotony, the writer has used the portrayal of contrasts in

a diverse sense. He has not only compared the characters and their intrinsic worth, but he has

also contrasted the themes behind these characters. The characters of Mir Nihal and Asghar,

Bilgeece and the Prostitutes are contrasts to each other. The augmenting qualities of Begam

Nihal and Begam Waheed are the contrasts to the destructive qualities of Begum Shahbaz and

Begum Jamal. The theme of orthodoxy in the same way is a contrast to the modernity and the

fall of civilization.