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Hijra
Literally translating to “sleeping quarters,” in the novel the Khwabgah is the home to a host of transgender women who are like family to one another. Anjum, an intersex person who was gendered male as a child but later transitions to a female identity, adores the Khwabgah when he first discovers it as an adolescent. She later moves in, and members of the Khwabgah encourage and support her to go for a male-to-female transition surgery. Some members of the Khwabgah, including Anjum, are sex workers. Ustad Kulsoom Bi is the head of the Khwabgah, in charge of determining who gets to stay and what the rules of the house are.
Khwabgah Quotes in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
The The Ministry of Utmost Happiness quotes below are all either spoken by Khwabgah or refer to Khwabgah. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2
Quotes
“But for us the price-rise and school-admissions and beating-husbands and cheating-wives are all inside us. The riot is inside us. The war is inside us. Indo-Pak is inside us. It will never settle down. It can’t.”
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Khwabgah Term Timeline in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
The timeline below shows where the term Khwabgah appears in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...In not answering his question, Anjum has respected the secrets of her former home, the Khwabgah—although she didn’t leave on the best of terms, she knows it’s not her place to...
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Chapter 2
Every day, Aftab stands outside the house, which he learns is called the Khwabgah, or “house of dreams.” At first, the residents of the house all shoo him away,...
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...to create something that was totally incapable of happiness. Aftab protests, saying he loves the Khwabgah and that everyone seems happy there. Nimmo disagrees, going on to say that everything that...
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When Nimmo says this, Aftab wants to say she’s wrong, because he loves the Khwabgah. But a couple years later, when his body begins to change, he understands the suffering...
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At first, Jahanara begs Aftab to leave the Khwabgah, but he refuses. She resolves to meet with him every so often at the shrine...
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Finally, at the Khwabgah, Anjum is able to dress the way she’s always dreamed of. She gets her nose...
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...have the surgery with Dr. Mukhtar, who works with many of the residents of the Khwabgah. After removing her penis, Anjum feels much better physically. Dr. Mukhtar also gives Anjum pills...
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When Anjum announces that she wants to leave the Khwabgah, no one takes her seriously at first. Even she herself isn’t sure why she does,...
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...[…] call[s] Indo-Pak.” Adoring the feeling of acceptance, Anjum brings the baby home to the Khwabgah. She makes public announcements that a baby has been found, but, to her relief, no...
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...more modern than Anjum, who uses words like “transperson” and is Zainab’s second-favorite in the Khwabgah.
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...An aging Ustad Kulsoom Bi sees the benefits of including members like this in the Khwabgah, and Saeeda is neck-to-neck with Anjum for replacing Kulsoom Bi as head of the house.
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One day, Anjum hears commotion in the Khwabgah and, fearing the worst, runs downstairs with Zainab. What she discovers is that the two...
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The two set off for Ajmer, and, for the first three days, Anjum calls the Khwabgah every day to check on Zainab. After the third day, the residents don’t hear from...
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Worried, Saeeda suggests that they keep the news on at the Khwabgah to see if they can find out what has happened to Anjum and Zakir Mian,...
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The Khwabgah goes two months without hearing anything from Anjum. By that time, “the murdering [has] grown...
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...a haircut and dresses her in boy’s clothes, explaining to the perplexed members of the Khwabgah that “it’s safer like this.”
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...with Zainab, and calls an emergency meeting. She speaks proudly of the history of the Khwabgah, reminding her fellow Hijras of their ancestors’ important role with Mughal royals in the historical...
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...proudly of the legacy of Hijras in India. She reminds the other girls that the Khwabgah is a place where “Holy Souls trapped in the wrong bodies [are] liberated.” But, she...
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...her child and she will do as she pleases with her, threatening to leave the Khwabgah with Zainab. Ustad Kulsoom Bi responds that the Anjum can go wherever she wants, but...
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Thinking Anjum is crazy for wanting to leave, the women of the Khwabgah go and visit Dr. Bhagat, a doctor who prescribes many of them with mental health...
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...few of her things—her cupboard, two suits, and a pair of men’s shoes—and leaves the Khwabgah, headed for the graveyard behind the government hospital, where many of her family members are...
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...Anjum receives no visitors at first, but D.D. Gupta, a client of hers at the Khwabgah who works in construction in Iraq, comes to visit her before moving to Baghdad. When...
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