The man never ends to fascinate. Filmmaker, composer, writer, artist - you name one creative-artistic aspect of life, and he would revel in it. If there has been any man in India who has been a one-man institution after Rabindranath Tagore, it has been Satyajit Ray.
What went into the making of this genius?
Most of what used to be known about India's greatest filmmaker's days prior to the making of his 1955 classic debut venture (Pather Panchali) particularly about his days as a youngster is what can be culled from his countless interviews given over the years. But when all these come from the horse's mouth seven years after his death, it comes as another classic. Ray's greatness lay in his knack for detail and his ability to portray all these in plain and simple terms.
Originally penned in Bengali, Ray's widow has brought out his memoirs in a form that is as lucid and seamless as his films were. Presented are glimpses into the life of a man who was perceived to be serious and aloof to many of his viewers, but comes across a more accessible Ray - humorous, tender and affectionate. He tells about his first taste of an icecream, his initial understanding of the principle of photography, and the teasing he had to endure at school because of his famous father Sukumar Ray and grandfather Upendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury.
With unassuming elan, he writes about his vast, exceptionally talented family, where each member had his or her unique quirks and eccentricities. Ray also shares his experiences while shooting Pather Panchali and subsequent films, particularly his sensitive and deft handling of children. He describes how an entire field of kaash flowers was eaten up by crows before he could shoot his famous train scene in Pather Panchali, and how a circus tiger let loose in a bamboo grove for Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne chased away a group of curious onlookers in the blink of an eye. These anecdotes were originally written for the Bengali magazine, Sandesh, which was launched by his grandfather and resurrected by himself when he could afford it.
This compilation is a must for Ray fans, and also those who would want to know what is it about our grooming and growing up that makes Ray, Ray, and us, us.
