Chapter 5 Solutions — The Adventure

Gangadharpant and Khan Sahib most likely conversed in Hindustani (a common lingua franca bridging Hindi and Urdu), which would have been the natural shared language between a Marathi-speaking Maharashtrian professor and a Pathan businessman travelling to Peshawar in this alternate India. It is also possible they used a common trade language such as Urdu, which historically served as the language of commerce and administration across much of the subcontinent.

With the English receptionist at Forbes building, Gangadharpant would have used English, the language of the British-controlled commercial establishment in this alternate Bombay — as is evident from the fact that she understood his request and responded to him clearly.

Bhausahebanchi Bakhar would have been written in Marathi, since the Bakhars are a genre of Marathi prose chronicles documenting events from the Maratha period. 'Bhausahebanchi Bakhar' refers to a chronicle about Bhausaheb (Sadashivrao Bhau), the Maratha commander at Panipat, and such texts were composed in Marathi by scribes close to the Peshwa court.

Within their own communities: the Marathas would have used Marathi among themselves; the Mughals would have used Urdu/Persian, the court language of the Mughal administration; the Anglo-Indians, being of mixed British and Indian heritage, would have used English within their community.

Between communities: Urdu or Hindustani, as the shared administrative and trade language of the subcontinent, would have served as the most likely inter-community medium. English would have been used in formal or commercial contexts involving the British or Anglo-Indians, particularly in the alternate Bombay where British commercial presence remained significant.