Lesson 2: The art of silence

A . Look at the above pictures of Partha Pratim Majumder. Work in pairs and discuss the following questions.

1. What is Partha Pratim Majumder doing in the two pictures?

2. Describe his facial expressions.

3. Describe his physical features i.e. his age, how he looks, what he is wearing, his hair style, etc.

Now write a short description of Partha Pratim Majumder.

B . Read the text and choose the correct answer.

In the primitive age communications took place between humans through signs and gestures. As humans began to use their vocal chords, these silent gestures were no longer used as the primary means of communication. But they did not completely disappear. They evolved as a form of art, used to entertain thousands, and came to be Known as 'mime'.

Mime touched a little boy's heart while he was watching a performance in his village. He was so fascinated by the show that he was determined to master this art. He is no other than Partha Pratim Majumder.

partha is undoubtedly a forerunner in the field of mime in Bangladesh. He started as a musician and his keen sense of rhythm helped him to let his limbs move and express his surroundings through gestures.

Partha Pratim Majumder is the first Bangladeshi to take up mime as a profession. He performed in a number of television shows in Bangladesh and gained popularity. In his mime, Majumder depicted the day-to-day life of the people. There were sadness, tears as well as happiness and laughter.

Miajumder's turning point of life came in 1979, when he was asked to give a solo performance in Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The then French ambassador Loic Moreau happened to be among the audience. Mr. Moreau noticed the talent in Majumder. In 1981, the French Government offered him a scholarship so that he could get professional training in mime. This was the first time that a student was granted a French scholarship in mime. Majumder started his training under the legendry maestro, Etiene Decroux. Through Decroux, he met another celebrated mime artist named Marcel Marceau. Marceau has transformed modern mime by taking it to an unimaginable height.

Marceau was very impressed by the Bangladeshi young talent and offered him a place in his school for mime, named `Ecole Internationale de Mimodrame de Paris-Marcel Marceau' This school of mime is the biggest and the best in the world.

During his three years training period, Majumder practiced 16-18 hours daily till each and every bone in his body would feel like breaking.

After his time with Marceau, there was no looking back for Majumder. He staged solo performances in England; Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy and the USA. French, Canadian and American TV channels enthusiastically aired his shows.

In 2009, for his role in the popular French drama Majumder won the " Moliere Award" which is the highest distinction in the French Theatre.

As a pioneer of the art of mime in Bangladesh and for popularizing the artistic genre, Bangladesh Government honoured the artiste with the highest award of the country called "Ekuslley Padok" in 2010.

The Government of France has also honoured him for his contribution to the art of mime throughout the world with the highest cultural award of France titled "Chevalier de I'odre des Arts et des Lettres" (Knight in the order of Arts and Literature) in the year 2011.

[Sources: the Star Magazine, a weekly publication of The Daily Star, 27 January 2012 and Partha Pratirn Majumder's Letter to Chairman NCTB, 2 February 2013 ]

Questions: Choose the best answer.

1 Before the use of speech, communication took place through [dash] language.

a) written .

b) sign

c) spoken

d) art

2. In what form have the silent gestures evolved into?

a) drama

b) cinema

c) mime

d) dance

3. In olden times the actors who performed mime used to put white paint on their

a) limbs.

b) body.

c) face.

d) hair.

4. In the sentence "It touched a little boy's heart while he was watching a performance in his village". Here `touched' means

a) appealed.

b) requested.

c) taught.

d) broke.

C. Read the text in B again. Say if the following statements are true or false? If false, give the correct information.

1. The ancient Egyptian art shows that people at that time interacted with one another through signs.

2. Humans used a few words as the primary means of interaction.

3. Partha Pratim Majumder is among the first few who performed mime in Bangladesh.

4. The turning point in Majumder's life is when he performed at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

5. Marcel Marceau's school of mime is in Barcelona.

D . Read the text in B again and write the answers to the questions.

1. What is `mime'?

2. What helped Partha to express himself clearly while performing mime?

3. What did he use to describe through his performance at the beginning?

4. Why was the French ambassador impressed when he saw Majumder's performance?

5. Describe in sequence why Majumder was given a number of the highest awards in art and culture. What were the awards?

E . Project: Do you know anyone who has skills to perform a special feat?

Write about them on the following aspects:

• how and when they came to know about the feat

• time they began to practise it

• people who supported

• their achievement/recognition

If you do not know anyone, search for such a person and write about the person based on the above guideline.

Lesson 3: Flash back

A . Read the text and match column A with column B below.

Partha Pratim Majumder was born in 1954 in Pabna to a family of artistes. He spent most of his early years in his ancestral home, one of the biggest houses, situated in a small locality known as Kalachandpara. At that time Kalachandpara was well known for its cultural activities. There were festivals and various types of cultural shows round the year. Majumder's father, a photographer by profession was an art lover. He taught and inspired his son to appreciate different forms of art.

Majumder went to live with his aunt in Chandernagar, 30 kilometres away from Kolkata in 1966. It was there that he first came across a mime artiste named Jogesh Dutta. The way Dutta narrated stories without uttering a single word, left Majumder spellbound. He took lessons on mime from Dutta in Jogesh Dutta's mime academy in Kolkata from 1966 to 1972.

B . Read the statements below and form appropriate questions for each statement.

1. The birth place of Partha Pratim Majumder is Pabna.

2. He was born in 1954.

3. He belonged to a culturally enlightened family.

4. Majumder's father inspired him to value art.

5. His forefathers' home was in Kalachandpara.

6. He spent his childhood enjoying different cultural activities.

C . Listen to the CD/teacher and complete the chart about Partha Pratim Majumder.