'The grand old man of India' departs

Cocking a snook at death – he was possibly the only author in the world to have written his own epitaph during his early 20's.Yes, Khushwant Singh -- the 'grand old man of India', and perhaps the sub-continent -- has finally breathed his last. He was just a run short of a century.
Best known for his cutting secularism, acid wit, love of poetry, in-depth research of Sikh religion and lustful but admissive narratives for nearly half a century Khushwant Singh has entertained a large audience of readers across the globe.  
But what makes Singh so tremendously unusual from other Indian authors of the latter half of the 20th century?
Few writers possessed the capability of catering the readers of nearly three generations, through transforming their subjects, style and methods of storytelling and Singh had all of them. “Train to Pakistan” brought him fame; “History of the Sikhs” earned him the position of an authority for the Sikhs; “Not a Nice Man to Know” displayed his skills of a bold columnist; “There is no God” labelled him as an agnostic; and the “Company of Women” sealed him as an old lecher of sorts.
We usually mourn while paying a tribute to someone who has died. But take this as an exception as we were just happy to see a writer living a life the way he wanted to. As death is a reality, Singh had barely finished his mocking at it.
In the end, he once even attempted to demystify death by ferrying a couplet of Allama Iqbal which translated in English says -- “Why did you order me out of the garden of paradise?  I have a lot of work that remains unfulfilled; now you better wait for me.”
That wait has finally come to an end.