Sukumar Ray

Sukumar Ray (; 30 October 1887 – 10 September 1923) was a Bengali writer and poet from British India. He is remembered mainly for his writings for children. He was the son of children's story writer Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury and the father of Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

Family history According to the history of the Ray family, one of their ancestors, Ramsunder Deo (Deb), was a native of Chakdah village in Nadia district of present-day West Bengal, India. In search of fortune, he migrated to the town of Sherpur, Sherpur district, in East Bengal. There he met Raja Gunichandra, the zamindar of Jashodal, at the zamindar house of Sherpur. King Gunichandra was immediately impressed by Ramsunder's stately appearance and sharp intellect and took Ramsunder with him to his zamindari estate. He made Ramsunder his son-in-law and granted him some property in Jashodal. From then on, Ramsunder started living in Jashodal. His descendants migrated from there and settled down in the village of Masua in what is now Katiadi Upazila of Kishoreganj District.

Early years

Sukumar Ray was born into a Brahmo family in Calcutta on 30 October 1887. Sukumar's father, Upendrakishore Ray, was a famous Bengali writer, painter, violinist, and composer, technologist, amateur astronomer, and entrepreneur. Sukumar's mother, Bidhumukhi Devi, was the daughter of reformer Dwarkanath Ganguly.

Born in the era that can be called the pinnacle of the Bengal Renaissance, he grew up in an environment that fostered his literary talents. He befriended the likes of Jagdish Chandra Bose, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, and one of his biggest influencers, his father's friend, Rabindranath Tagore. His father was a writer of stories and popular science; painter and illustrator; musician and composer of songs; a technologist and hobbyist astronomer. Upendrakishore was also a close friend of Rabindranath Tagore, who directly influenced Sukumar. Among other family friends were scientists Jagadish Chandra Bose, Prafulla Chandra Ray, composer Atul Prasad Sen etc. Upendrakishore studied the technology of blockmaking, conducted experiments, and set up a business of making blocks. The firm M/s U. Ray & Sons, where Sukumar and his younger brother Subinay were involved. His sister, Shukhalata Rao, became a social worker and children's book author. Like his father, Ray also had a close acquaintance with Rabindranath Tagore.

Education and profession A group photo of the Monday Club, founded by Sukumar RoyFirst row sitting from left: Subinoy Ray, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, Atul Prasad Sen, Shishir Kumar Datta, Sukumar Ray Middle row from left: Jatindranath Mukhopadhyay, Amal Home, Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyay, Jibanmoy Roy Standing from left: Hiran Sanyal, Ajit Kumar Chakrabarty, Kalidas Nag, Pravat Chandra Gangopadhyay, Dr. Dwijendranath Maitra, Satish Chandra Chattopadhyay, Shrish Chandra Sen, Girija Shankar Roy Choudhury leftIn 1906, Ray graduated with double Honours in physics and chemistry from the Presidency College, then affiliated with the University of Calcutta. Before that, he attended City College School, Surya Sen Street along with his classmate who inspired his famous funny character "Pagla Dashu", which appeared in several of his penned stories. He was trained in photography and printing technology in England at the School of Photo-Engraving and Lithography, London, and was a pioneer of photography and lithography in India. While in England, he also delivered lectures about the songs of Rabindranath before Tagore won the Nobel Prize. Meanwhile, Sukumar had also drawn acclaim as an illustrator. As a technologist, he also developed new methods of halftone blockmaking, and technical articles about this were published in journals in England. The Penrose Annual published two articles by Ray. While in the United Kingdom, he joined the Royal Photographic Society in 1912 and remained a member until his death, gaining his Fellowship in 1922.

Upendrakishore started a publishing firm, U. Ray and Sons, which Sukumar and Subinay helped to run. While Sukumar went to England to learn printing technology, Upendrakishore purchased land, constructed a building, and set up a printing press with facilities for high-quality halftone color blockmaking and printing. He launched the children's magazine, Sandesh, in May 1913.

Khai-Khai (Eat-Eat) Heshoram Hushiyarer Diary (The diary of Heshoram Hushiyar) (early science fiction parody) HaJaBaRaLa (Mumbo-Jumbo) Jhalapala O Onanyo Natok (Cacophony and Other Plays) Lokkhoner Shoktishel (Lokkhon Shellshocked) Chalachittachanchari Shabdakalpadrum Bohurupi (Chameleon) Abak Jalpan (A Strange Drink of Water 1914) Bhasar Atyachar (Torture of Language 1915) Barnamalatatva (Theory of Alphabet) Desh-Bidesher Golpo (Tales from Many Lands) Jiboner Hisab (Bidye bojhai babumoshai)