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When Mere Movements Conjure The Magic

byFayzaHaq
****Mime is a theatrical art. The first thing that all theatrical people have to learn — whether they are in the film, drama or dance — is mime, says noted Bangladeshi mime artiste Partha Pratim Majumder who is in town on a short visit from Paris, his temporary home since 1981.****
***Going by his performances we see that he has combined Ravi Shankar, Jean-Michael Jarre and Bengali folk music with brilliance. When Partha is at his weakest he is deliberately funny. At his best he brings in the tragic streak with a tremendous awareness of the human mind and soul.***
Partha Pratim Majumdcr, a mime of international repute from Bangladesh, is here in Dhaka on a short visit to see his ailing father. Based in Paris since '81, he has conic to the country a number of times since then, to get married, and to keep in touch with his family.
Even though he has redoubtable international acclaim. every time he is here, he is unable to give perfor-. manccs because of political upheavals and strikes. Syed Ahmed, presenter of Bishwa Natok had requested him to perform for the TV. The recording was scheduled on the 13th of this month, when TV decided to have a strike, and consequently Partha's much longed for programme was cancelled.
Partha, who has become the toast of Paris, and has won the friendship of his maestro, - Marcel Marceau, gets New Year cards from prominent citizens like Jack Lang, the Minister for Culture, and Jean Jacques Qucyranne, the spokesman of the French Socialist Party. He has been awarded the title of "Master of Mime" by the Jogcsh Mime Academy of India, while the Malaysian media proclaimed him as the "Master of the World" for combining elements from numerous cultures in his show.
"Mime exists all over Asia but it has .been incorporated Into other art forms such as the shadow theatre. Practitioners of the art arc rare. As chance would have it I studied with Jogcsh Dutta in Calcutta. Dutta happens to be "the master of the silent art' in India," Partha narrated. He also attended music college and gained some popularity as a singer.
His art today remains a combination of the eastern mime and the modern western , technique. He is extremely aware of this privileged position as an Individual who has best of both worMs. 1 want to keep my own culture." Partha insisted, 1 love the French culture but I don't want to be French."
His performance in Europe at the festivals arc Imbued with Asian sensibility, which the audience can identify and relate to. Even his make-up — his white face has the resemblance to an Indian classical danc er than that of a conventional clown.
Chaplinesquc as is the hu mour of some of his creations like "A Bus Passenger." com pk-U- with the banana peel, the situation is definitely Asian, where the passenger, late for his appointment, has difficulty
in catching a bus. After a long sojourn, late for his appointment, he has his pocket picked in the overcrowded
Humorous as arc his come-
dies. they are not as arresting as his serious" works. Partha has a definite tragic element in some of his performances. In "Birth to Death" we find a poignant narrative of a
woman's life — from her birth, to the birth of her daughter, to her own death. He has incorporated many of the Indian "mudras" and so brings In a symbolic treatment, in addition to the universal reflection of man's relationship with Nature.
The Boy and the Bird", based on a story by Tagore, is about a boy who shoots and kills a bird. Partha s virtuoso performance alternately shows the boy's anguish and the bird s death throes, making us believe that the crime was a matter of mistake and innocence. "Mime," Partha insisted, "comes from the soul to express things that cannot be spoken."
This Ipnky young man from Pabna, with a receding forehead. has done hie stint for the good of his country. He, with the help of the painter Kalidas Karmakar. collected twenty lakh takas with their combined performances, and sent it home through French volunteers such as the Sccours Catholic and Medicine Sans Frontiers. He himself had to. shell out Tk 50,000 to cover
the cost of the technicians for the occasion.
Apart from Kalidas, he also obtained the help of the well known photographer. Anwar Hussain, to get the photos of the cyclone in Bangladesh well focused before the eyes of the French. ”1 always think of combining various arts together. The photos of the cyclone helped scour sympathy and understanding." Partha informed me.
In "The Soul of Padma" Partha depicted the life of a fisherman, and he had rubbed himself all over with mud. Kalidas synchronised with the act. and did a sketch of a fisherman In a cyclone within a matter of twelve minutes.
The people of Paris really appreciated their consolidated efforts in Bordeaux and the cx-Prime Minister and now Mayor of Bordcaus, Jacques Chavon Delmas, took an initiative In the programme and awarded Partha and Kalidas a medal each. The Bordeaux and Nantes performances were highlighted both on the local TV and radio.
Dwelling on the state of mime in Dhaka. .Partha rc-mainded me, "It is the oldest art form. When no language was born mime expressed feelings and emotions. Then dance was born, where every 'mudra' or symbol stands for something tangible and iiqpor-tant."
"During the modern times," the sod-spoken and sensitive mime expert added, "people don’t always want to hear conversation. Mime Is a theatrical art The first thing that all theatrical people have to learn — whether they are In the film, drama or dance — Is mime. If the Individual does not know how to gesticulate and carry himself he cannot do his role effectively."
"1 did not initially know the grammar of the corporal mime 1 did rudimentary pan tomlmc style. I learnt corporal mime from Etienne Decroux. who is the founder of this art.
at the moment, in Paris. He taught me how to change the body movements — varying from the toe to the head — I learnt how the body is controlled from within.
Sometimes a white mask is used so that there is no facial expression. People comprehend from the gestures of the body alone and facial expressions arc superfluous" Partha elaborated, about his work and training.
Talking about his apprenticeship under Marcci Marceau, Partha was ecstatic about his master., "He is a universal artiste. He doesn't depend on corporal mime alone. He takes from all cultures. He took the mudra' frbm the Bharat Naltyam, he borrowed from the Japanese Kabuki Noh Theatre, from the Peking Theatre, and from the Com med la de 1' Art in Italy. Marceau is famed for projecting a universal culture and not just a French or European civilization." he said.
"1 learnt how to put dance — such as ballet — in mime. Classical geometrical acrobatics. theoretical acrobatics, stick fighting, sword fighting were all woven Into the mime and the tradition of the Theatre Blanche," Partha elaborated.
Before going to Paris and studying there. he did not have any idea of the combination of lime, space, musicality of silence or the wealth of gestures. "I was certainly not aware of the subtleties of mime before going to Europe." he commented.
Has he done anything to promote mime In Bangladesh? "I have trained a few boys for a couple ofyears In Natya Chakra Drama School for a couple of years, but nothing professional developed from this " he con fessed.
Who are the people who sponsor mime artistes, like himself, in Parts? There arc thousands ol thcatttes in France to sponsor us. But you have to be able to attract the attention of these authorities The Municipality of Hotel d< Ville takes a main role in promoting culture and sports al) over France, and they have different types of organisations paid by the Cultural Ministry." the mime artiste said.
Why docs he not return to Dhaka and practise his art here? "Il isn't just that life is easy in Paris. Life is hard ev erywhere. In fact living Is more relaxed in Dhaka. But who will come to see me perform every night? Even if I make four performances a month, in a place
like Mahila Samity. it Is not enough for my family I still wouldn l be able to survive," Partha explained.
When I asked him to compare the theatre production here in Dhaka with that in Paris, he replied. "A play can extend for nine hours tn Paris and people will stay to watch It. Peter Brook, for instance, had his 'Mahabharata' with two intervals, stretching on for hours. You cannot imagine something like that here in Bangladesh.'
'I don't think I am a great artiste yet." Partha insisted in a self-effacing manner, "but I feel I can contribute something tangible to the theatre and art lovers of Bangladesh. What I have learnt from the experts of the world I want the audience in Dhaka to share. This will add a big dimension to our theatre."
The whitened face, and the
over-done arching eyebrows that Partha flaunts, could be mistaken for that of a clown s. But going by his performances we see that he has combined Ravi Shankar, Jean-Michael Jarre and Bengali folk music with brilliance. When Partha is at his weakest he is deliberately funny. At his best he brings in the tragic streak with a tremendous awareness of the- human mind and soul.
Partha retains his heavy eastern accent when speaking French or English. He sticks to the gestures like side-way shake of the- head, and prefers to cat with his hand, despite the fact that he has been in Europe for ten years.
For Partha to be a success in Bangladesh, he will need the backing of not only the government authorities, but also the affluent commercial houses, who have the means to patronise genius at will.