REVISITING THE PAST THROUGH SMELLS: A DISCOURSE CULTURAL STUDY OF TWILIGHT IN DELHI BY AHMED ALI

Abstract

The Twilight in Delhi represents a panoramic picturesque of Muslim culture in Delhi. The study revisits the past through a singular yet dynamic aspect of the smells representing the past of the city. This study employs a Discourse Cultural Approach amalgamated with Saldana’s coding to decipher the novel in consideration. It is found that the city life depicted in the 1940’s is a mixture of many different types of smells, aromas, and odors that reflect the urban culture of Delhi of that time. The imagery of smells is craftly used to associate flowers with religious events for instance; meelad, depicting characters, setting moods, and representing prostitution. On the other hand, obnoxious smells are also found depicting the contrary world of animals, gutter, and for ridiculing others. Hence, the opposing worlds of smells constitute a city’s culture reflecting from the verbal depiction in the novel.