Sukumar Ray (; 30 October 1887 – 10 September 1923) was a Bengali writer and poet from

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. 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 Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

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 Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influe ...

of present-day

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, India. In search of fortune he migrated to Town 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 Katiadi upazila of

Kishoreganj district Kishoreganj District () is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Earlier it was a ''mahakuma'' (sub-division) under Mymensingh District, Mymensingh district. 2495.07 km2 of land was taken from Mymensingh District, Mymensingh district to fo ...

.''Sukumar Samagra Rachanabali 1'', 1960, Asia Publishing Company, p 1 Sukumar Ray Bengali writer and poet

Early years

Sukumar Ray was born in a Brahmo family in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

on 30 October 1887. His family hailed from Masua village of Kishorganj division of Eastern Bengal in British India, presently in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. Sukumar's father Upendrakishore Ray was a famous Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer, technologist, amateur astronomer and entrepreneur. Sukumar's mother, Bidhumukhi Devi, was the daughter of reformer Dwarkanath Ganguly. Born in the era which can be called the pinnacle of the

Bengal Renaissance The Bengal Renaissance (), also known as the Bengali Renaissance, was a cultural, social, intellectual, and artistic movement that took place in the Bengal region of the British Raj, from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Histo ...

, 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 Tagor

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 Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

, who directly influenced Sukumar. Among other family friends were scientists

Jagadish Chandra Bose Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (; ; 30 November 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a polymath with interests in biology, physics and writing science fiction. He was a pioneer in the investigation of radio microwave optics, made significant contributions ...

, 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

In 1906, Ray graduated with double Honours in Physics and Chemistry from the Presidency College, then affiliated with the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

. 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 Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

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 The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...

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. Very soon after Sukumar's return from England his writings and sketches started appearing in Sandesh. After Upendrakishore died on 20 December 1915, Sukumar ran the printing and publishing businesses and the ''Sandesh'' for about eight years. His younger brother Subinoy helped him, and many relatives pitched in writing for "Sandesh". 100 A Garpar Road Kolkata Heritage Building Tag by KMC

100 A Garpar Road Kolkata Heritage Building Tag by KMC

Contribution in literature

Sukumar Ray pioneered the genre of

literary nonsense Literary nonsense (or nonsense literature) is a broad categorization of literature that balances elements that make sense with some that do not, with the effect of subverting language conventions or logical reasoning. Even though the most well-k ...

Bengali literature Bengali literature () denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time and dynastic patronization or non-patronization. Bengali h ...

. His works appealed to both children and adults, because of their sense of humor, keen observational skills, sharp wit, and command of word selection. His son Satyajit Ray, in the preface of the first edition of the compilation of Sukumar Ray's complete works in his centenary year, ''Sukumar Sahitya Samagra'', wrote: After his father's death in 1915, Sukumar had to take over responsibility of publication of "''Sandesh''", and his creativity reached its pinnacle. The 45 limericks in ''Abol Tabol'' and many other creations published in ''Sandesh'' still amuse the readers of all ages. He created many characters in his prose and poems. Kaath Buro, Tash Goru, Huko Mukho Hangla, Kumro Potash etc. were fictitious characters, though they were very close to our known world. He himself described his works as the product of ''Kheyal Ros'' (হঠাৎ ইচ্ছা;ঝোঁক/Wish; Whims; Freak; Fancy).

Gallery

Sketches of characters created by Roy. File:Kumropatash.gif, Kumropatash in ''Abol Tabol'' File:Dashurkirti.gif, ''Dashur Kirti'' File:Hukumukho hangla.PNG, ''Huko Mukho Hangla'' File:Buro1.PNG, Kaath Buro File:Abujh1.jpg, Abujh File:Nbtjk.gif, The King File:Hajabarala4.gif, Hijibijbij in ''HaJaBaRaLa'' File:Hajabarala6.gif, Nyara in ''HaJaBaRaLa'' File:Hajabarala3.gif, Udo in ''HaJaBaRaLa'' File:Hajabarala7.gif, The Court Room in ''HaJaBaRaLa'' File:Hajabarala2.gif, Shri Kakeswar Kuchkuche in ''HaJaBaRaLa'' File:Hajabarala1.gif, The CAT in ''HaJaBaRaLa''

Bibliography

* '' Abol Tabol'' (The Weird and the Absurd) * '' Pagla Dashu'' (Crazy Dashu) * ''Khai-Khai'' (Eat-Eat) * ''Heshoram Hushiyarer Diary'' (The diary of Heshoram Hushiyar) (early science fiction parody)Early Bengali science fiction
'Amardeep Singh,' lehigh.edu * '' 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)

References

External links

*
Complete Sukumar Ray

translation of short story in ''

The Cafe Irreal ''The Cafe Irreal'' is an Internet journal dedicated to the publication and propagation of irrealist literature. History and profile Online since 1998, it has published a number of notable authors whose work sometimes fits into this non-realist ...