Where Are My Masters Gone

[Opening — cold Highland wind, low male drone]

[Bagpipes enter very far away, playing a slow lament]

[Deep male choir enters in unison, solemn and restrained]

Je ānilo prema-dhana
Karuṇā pracura
Heno prabhu kothā gelā
Ācārya ṭhākura

[Low cello and bowed bass enter]

Kāhā mora Svarūpa Rūpa
Kāhā Sanātana
Kāhā dāsa Raghunātha
Patita-pāvana

[Bagpipe lament — choir falls silent]

[Men return in low harmony]

Kāhā mora Bhaṭṭa-yuga
Kāhā Kavirāja
Eka-kāle kothā gelā
Gorā Naṭarāja

[Slow frame drum begins like a distant procession]

Pāṣāṇe kuṭibo māthā
Anale paśibo
Gaurāṅga guṇera nidhi
Kothā gele pābo

[Choir broadens into heavy open harmonies]

Se-saba saṅgīra saṅge
Je koilo bilāsa
Se-saṅga nā pāiyā kānde
Narottama dāsa

[Long instrumental lament — solo bagpipes over cello drone]

[English begins — one low male voice, choir answering softly]

Who brought the treasure of divine love,
Overflowing mercy here?
Where has my beloved master gone?
Why has he disappeared?

[Choir response]

Where is Svarūpa?
Where is Rūpa?
Where is Sanātana now?

Where is Raghunātha Dāsa,
Shelter of the fallen now?

[Bagpipes answer]

Where are the two Bhaṭṭas now?
Where is Kavirāja?
Where have all those souls departed,
Dancing close to Gaura?

[Drum grows deeper]

I would strike my head on stone,
I would enter into flame—
Where shall I find that ocean
Of Lord Gaurāṅga’s name?

[Full male choir]

All those companions gathered there,
Sharing love so deep—
Without the shelter of their company,
Narottama can only weep.

[Extended bagpipe and string interlude]

[Choir begins quietly, almost like monks]

Where are you now?
Where are you now?
Those who carried sacred love—

Where are you now?
Where are you now?
Gone beyond the hills above.

[Bagpipes rise]

[Full choir — emotional climax]

Who brought the treasure of divine love,
Overflowing mercy here?
Where have all my masters gone?
Why have they disappeared?

[Drum stops]

[Only men and distant bagpipes]

Se-saba saṅgīra saṅge
Je koilo bilāsa
Se-saṅga nā pāiyā kānde
Narottama dāsa

[Final sustained male chord]

Narottama dāsa…

[Bagpipes continue alone and fade into the distance]