India, July 22 -- By Suvir Saran

New Delhi [India], July 22 (ANI): "Ab meri matki phoot gayi, bhala hua main paani bharan se chhoot gayi." (Now my pot has broken -- good, for I am freed of carrying water.)

Kabir said it centuries ago, and still his words fall softly into the silence we feel when someone leaves us. They remind us that in the end, the work of this world is done, the load is laid down, the chores are over -- and we are free.

And yet, those of us left behind still thirst.

When the news came that Pankaj Sahni -- barely in his fifties, yet already a giant in spirit -- had passed away in his sleep, it arrived as all grief does: suddenly and silently, a stillness that swallows sound. In that moment, the world felt emptier. He...