Keeping History

In his novel, Twilight in Delhi, Ahmed Ali does a great job of recounting the history and culture of Islam. The book recounts the 1857 Mutiny and shows evidence of brutality on both sides. The aristocratic hobby of flying pigeons was very interesting to me. Pigeons seemed to be a recurring theme throughout the novel. The book highlights the rituals of Islamic life in the cities, which are also important to the history and culture of Islam. As a result of partition, the idea of a “new Delhi” came about for the characters in the book. It is helpful to look at how partition affected just one family in order to fully understand what it did to everyone.