Today is the 91st birthday of mime legend Marcel Marceau, who referred to mime as the “art of silence,” and performed professionally worldwide for over 60 years. Partha Pratim Majumder, the forerunner of mime art in Bangladesh, recalls his time with the greatest mime maestro who was his friend, philosopher, and guide all the way from the time they first met in 1982 until Marceau’s death in 2007.
Marceau is considered as the father of French mime, with whom Majumder worked for over 18 hours a day from 1982 to 1985. After spending three years with his idol Marceau, he staged solo performances all over Europe and the USA.
In close conversation with Dhaka Tribune, Partha, one of the few acclaimed artistes who make the Bangladeshis proud in the international arena, reveals an interesting story about how he met Marceau: “I went to France with a scholarship on mime, and with the dream to work with the greatest artiste of mime. It took me eight months to get glance of him. I first saw him live in a solo performance. The two and half hours performance left me mesmerised as I felt I saw a 3D film. After the performance he was giving autographs to his fans at his caravan. I ran to him with a brochure of one my earlier performances at Shilpakala Academy. I don’t know why, but he expressed curiosity about me, and asked whether I was from India. I told him I was hailing from Bangladesh, but he had no idea about the existence of our country. But he admired me as a mime artist and asked me to meet him at his office. On the brochure he wrote something in French and gave his autograph. I felt like all my dreams have already become true. But, a lot more was waiting for me.
“One fine day, all dressed up with exhilaration like never before, I managed to reach his place. First day he asked me to show some basic movements of mime, and with extreme nervousness I could manage to show those. He appreciated it, and gradually he started to give me special attention as I had shown my ultimate respect and dedication to him,” he added.
A nostalgic Partha said: “He trusted me so much that several times, he asked me to take care of his money bag. I was always welcome at his home. I cannot count how many nights I stayed there. Even when he was seriously ill and was admitted in a hospital, I was the only person Marceau wanted to have as company.
“Marcel Marceau is my idol, my mentor and my guru who made me what I am today. I got many awards and recognition in my life but the best thing I got in life is that I could mingle with such a great artist who called me his ‘son.’”
These days, the Bangladeshi born “Master of Mime” is reigning in Europe, however, his heart seems to have never left his beloved country. The mime artist hopes to develop an institute in Dhaka to train up professional mime artistes.
