On the Shores of the Ganges

Location: INDIA

Lyrics:

River of Life,

River of faith

River of hope,

River of God

Symbol and memory,

Past present future

Fall into the present,

Flowing into the future

Credits:

Instrumentation and vocals: Tony Garone

Djembe´ & Dumbek: Christian W. Brown

Photograph: Amy Bates-Garone

Comments:

This song represents Xuanzang's entrance into India. After journeying through China and Persia, he finally arrived at the sacred river Ganges. He was excited to arrive in India and finally visit the places where the Buddha walked. I wanted this song to be a tribute to the Ganges - the most sacred river in India. I took a statement made by Nehru and modified it to fit the mantra - he said of the Ganges, "the symbol and memory of the past of India, running into the present and flowing on to the future." I thought that was beautiful! The music is based on Indian scales and instrumentation.