Chuppi hi zubaan hai. (Silence is sonorous. It has a tongue of its own.) The character of Kishorilal, a shrewd and greedy Hindu businessman, utters these words after an unusually long stretch of silence, as Husyn Naqqash—a blind Muslim miniaturist, who was once the jewel at the Nawab’s court—implores him for a reaction to his painting. The silence is both deafening and piercing. The silence is also a shroud, which can conceal and heal at the same time—hide the scars and bruises, while giving warmth.