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Arindam Barman, 17, a deaf and dumb mime artist, performing “The Third Umpire" a self choreographed play at Jogesh Mime Academy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
A signboard of Jogesh Mime Academy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
Jogesh Dutta, 82, the renowned mime artist known as the pioneer of Indian mime at Jogesh Mime Academy, founded by him. Kolkata,West Bengal,India. Amit Maitra.
The auditorium of Jogesh Mime Academy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
A student rehearses at Jogesh Mime Academy,Kolkata,West Bengal,India. Amit Maitra.
Srikanta Bose, 35, - a mime artist teaches the students at Jogesh Mime Academy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
Anudipa Mukherjee, 34, physiotherapist and yoga therapist teaches physical exercise to the students at Jogesh Mime Academy as mime artists need to be physically strong and agile to perform the art form. Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
Old posters of Mime artists at Jogesh Mime academy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
A mime artist using white oil-based foundation for make-up, Kolkata,West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
Artists getting ready at the green room of Jogesh Mime Academy before a show. As facial expressions are not clearly visible beyond 75 feet and mime includes a lot of facial expressions, the artists accentuate their features by painting their faces with white and draw the eyebrows and lips with black colours to be visible by a big number of audience. The artists also wear black bodysuits. Kolkata, West Bengal, India Amit Maitra.
A mime artist at Jogesh Mime Academy,Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
The side wings of Jogesh Mime Academy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
A mime artist taking rest in a corner of the back stage at Jogesh Mime Academy. Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
In a play called ''Modern Lady'' Anirban Barman, 17, a deaf and dumb mime artist, plays the role of a modern lady at Jogesh Mime Academy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
Mime artists watch a performance of their fellow mime artists from the side wings of Jogesh Mime academy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
A mime artist performs on the stage of Jogesh Mime Academy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
Srikanta Bose,35, performs in a play called '' Mandela'' at Jogesh Mime Academy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
Students of Jogesh Mime Academy performs a play called "Malala" during the35th Mime Festival at Jogesh Mime Academy on 25th December, 2013, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
Anirban Barman, 17, performs in a play called "Rakhal Boy" at Jogesh Mime Academy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
Srikanta Bose, 35, a mime artist showing different facial expressions of mime, Jogesh Mime Academy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Amit Maitra.
Mime-The Mute Melody
Mime is one of the oldest performing arts in the world. There is no dialogue and speech except for music (mostly instrumental) playing in the back ground. However, the effects of a well choreographed performance can be profound! The movements are magical, and the story telling heartwarming. Since language is not a barrier anyone can enjoy a show. Yet, not many people know of mime - in absence of promotion and endorsements - let alone watch. Popularity of TV and other modern forms of entertainment has resulted in general audience turning away from such traditional art forms. It’s no wonder that very few actually practise this beautiful art form anymore. Yet, for people with hearing and speech disabilities in India mime is one of the very few mediums of expression for their inner artist.
Text By Sudhiti Naskar
Dhaneswar Paswan, 70, is from Bihar and working as a loader of goods in Burrabazzar, Kolkata, India for over five decades
Prakash Ram, 35, a labour in Burrabazzar, Calcutta, India, migrated from the eastern state of Bihar.
Barun Bhattacharya, General Secretary, of a leftist labour union in the party office in Burrabazzar, Calcutta, India. According to him, the labours are getting relatively less work at present resulting in less pay, which in turn, is causing a “labour crisis”. However, if there is at all a “crisis”, it’s not apparent as the in migration to the market shows no sign of slowing. Also, unemployed labours are hard to find
Kamlesh Jadav, 46, is a migrant labour from the eastern state of Bihar, India. Considered one of the most under developed states in the country, Bihar witnesses mass seasonal migration of its workforce to Calcutta, among other big cities. Jadav is working in Burrabazzar since more than 30 years and has plied his van all over the West Bengal state to supply goods consisting of food items, furniture, utensils, spices, oil etc.
Deepak Kumar, 25, a labourer in Burrabazzar, Calcutta India, gets ready for work. He has migrated from Bihar.
Dukharam Ram, 63, is a migrant labourer in Burrabazzar in Calcutta, India, and is from the eastern state Bihar. His retirement is overdue by a few years and he says, it’s “[financial] helplessness that forces me to work even at this age”. The intense physical labour that involves carrying and loading sacs of 50kgs earns him about Rupees 200- 400 a day
Krishna Pratap Singh, the Chairman of several transport owners’ association, sits in his office in Burrabazzar, Calcutta, India. According to him, “a peculiar traffic congestion” in and around Burrabazzar is a threat to the efficient movement of goods forcing traders to set up storage facilities off the city where traffic is fast. As a result, Burrabazzar has lost some of its businesses.
Choiton Das, 60, is a loader of oil drums in an oil storage facility in Burrabazzar, Calcutta, India. Das has migrated from the eastern state of Orissa. His work day starts at 8 a.m. and stretches over a span of 9 hours – typical work hours in the market. He gets paid for over time.
Bijay Shaw, 32, is a loader of goods in Burrabazzar, Calcutta, India, and is a seasonal migrant labour from the eastern state Bihar. Shaw is working in Burrabazzar since last 15 years to support his wife and kids, and aged parents who live in a village. He visits home thrice a year during the farming seasons to work as a contractual farm hand.
Parasnath Jadav, 52, is a migrant from Bihar and now owns a food place where the labouers come to eat in Burrabazzar, Calcutta, India. Meals are available from 6a.m. to 6 p.m. as work goes on throughout the day. Since, such food joints are not legal constructions, Jadav and the likes of him have to shell out thousands of rupees every month to bribe the police to be able to continue the business.
Balmiki Rai, 60, is a labour in Burrabazzar, Calcutta, India, migrated from Bihar. In spite of the steady work flow in the market, limited access to the toilet remains to be an issue he has difficulty dealing with. Every morning he has to stand in a queue outside the public toilet near the railway tracks and wait for his turn. In spite of being the most important storage and distribution point in eastern India, Burrabazzar has a poor infrastructure
Raju Singh, 37, is from Bihar working as a van driver in Burrabazzar, Calcutta, India
Nande Jadav, a labour stands at the premises of England Godown, a big storage facility in Burrabazzar area, Calcutta, India. According to him, when he falls sick, he has to go home to recover on unpaid leaves, as the health care for the migrant labourer is inadequate. The employees don’t pay for medical expenses for contractual labourers like him. For the “permanent” workers, the medical expenses are borne by the employee.
Naresh Jadav, 45, a migrant labour from Bihar stands in front of the goods storage he works at in Burrabazzar, Calcutta, India. The facility works as a night shelter where he cooks and sleeps along with other labourers.
Bilas Mandal, 50, is a migrant labour from the eastern state of Jharkhand working as a loader of goods in Burrabazzar in Calcutta, India, since last 50 years. According to Mandal, one of the advantages of working in Burrabazzar is, availability of meals they can afford [minimum price per meal being Rupees 20]. He has two square meals a day of rice, chapattis, lentils and vegetables, with frequent intakes of fish and eggs. He can afford meat once a week. Back home, he struggles to find enough wor
Bhim Ram, 35, is a loader of goods in Burrabazzar, Calcutta, India, migrated from Bihar. Even though, he is working for over a decade, he worries about the uncertainty of his job. To the police, “I am still an outsider”, says Ram, a man with little education, who seems to be unaware that it’s legal for the migrated labours to work. “I may lose my work for that”
MIGRATION IN PURSUIT OF FOOD AND LIFE
Over 10,000 migrant labourers work in Burrabazzar, Calcutta, India. A majority of these labourers are from the relatively poorly developed eastern state of Bihar and Orissa, Jharkhand and a small percentage comes from Uttar Pradesh, a state in India’s north. One of the largest wholesale markets in Asia, Burrabazzar, is lucrative to the labourers for easy availability of jobs. However, the fact that they can eat well at a low cost, seems to, top all other reasons. Access to food among other basic needs remain out of reach for a majority of Indians, despite the country’s remarkable economic growth for most part of the last decade. About 699 million people in the world go hungry and 1/3 of them are in India. 10 millions among these Indians sleep hungry. Inflation and price hikes have added extra pressure on the poor, struggling to make a living in the major cities where living costs are higher than in the villages where there is not enough work. Among these cities, Calcutta remains a pocket of relief being the cheapest metro city in terms of low cost of staying, food and getting around, making it possible for the migrant labourers to not only sustain themselves but also save enough to send money home. Text by Sudhiti Naskar
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