From the crematorium, my brother and I walked to the river (Ganges) where their ashes were consecrated.

As the waters of the river – as the final witness of my parents returning to nature – gently flowed by, an old Bengali song kept playing in a never ending loop in my head…

মুছে যাওয়া দিনগুলি আমায় যে পিছু ডাকে
স্মৃতি যেন আমার এ হৃদয়ে বেদনার
রঙে রঙে ছবি আঁকে

Roughly translated… (improvements welcome)

Those faded days of the past,
They longingly beckon me back
As the memories paint in deep hues
The intense aches of the heart.