I sent an offering off along the holy Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh for my great friend and musical collaborator Steve Franks, the day before he died after a long battle with cancer. Did it help ease his passage? I doubt it, but it somehow felt right.

Puja C4 C C7 CBb I sent a prayer floating out upon the water C4 C C7 C Bb C Not the kind of game I'd usually play Cmaj/min C BbC Just something I felt that I ought to do Bb F C If only to help you on your way It was a beautiful and serene location With the river flowing slowly towards the sun And though I skipped on the usual libation I felt that something meaningful was done Bb C Some might say the end is the beginning Bb C Maybe it helps if you believe Bb C If you hold the loss as a winning F G Is it so wrong to comfort yet deceive There was a family there whose puja was much harder Mourning for the loss of their young son And as his ashes drifted down on the Narmada I hoped their healing process had begun To be present for the aarti here feels just right Sending blessings to the river as it flows As the Brahmins twirl their lamps to pierce the dark night What's our fate or fortune, no one knows No one knows... ?