Very vocal in mute mode

MIME

The mime show in progress The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, in association with Indian Mime Theatre, Calcutta, and Nishabda, a Guwahati-based mime troupe, recently offered the city a rare treat by organising a mime show at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra Auditorium. The show was the outcome of a monthlong mime workshop in which children, mostly hearing-impaired, were trained by mime artistes of national repute. The show began with singer Dikshu presenting the troupe anthem of Nishabda. This was followed by the main item of the evening, Life of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. A group of children were playing in a park that had a statue of Nehru. Suddenly an elderly person came in and asked the children how much they knew about Nehru. When the children expressed their wish to learn about the leader, the person became the statue and started narrating in first person the various moments and events in the life of Pt Nehru. The item had an excellent intermingling of acting and mime. The performance of all the children, especially that of Jonak Borkotoky in the role of Pt Nehru, was commendable. The next item, Journey of Life, was a fascinating piece by talented mime artiste Dion Puma. With his brilliant performance, the artiste depicted various stages of life — birth, growth, beginning of active life, struggles and death. He portrayed the journey of life by creating images of the growth a tree from a seed, dancing deer, flying butterfly, the roaring of a restless tiger, a man lying down on a bed and gradually freezing into death-like stillness. The entire item bore the stamp of Puma’s innovative approach and did full justice to his reputation. Another interesting item presented by the children was The Doll Shop. It was delightful to see the children present the item flawlessly. A pleasant surprise was an item presented by Kalpataru Guha and Saswata Biswas in which both the artists created various images of one individual.