Sukumar Ray
Encyclopedia
Sukumar Ray , (1887–1923) was a Bengal
i humorous poet, story writer and playwright who mainly wrote for children. As perhaps the most famous Indian practitioner of literary nonsense
, he is often compared to Lewis Carroll
. His works such as the collection of poems "Aboltabol" (Bangla: "আবোলতাবোল")("Gibberish"), novella "HaJaBaRaLa
" (Bangla:হযবরল), short story collection "Pagla Dashu" (Bangla:"পাগলা দাশু") ("Crazy Dashu") and play "Chalachittachanchari" (Bangla: "চলচিত্তচঞ্চরী") are considered nonsense masterpieces equal in stature to Alice in Wonderland, and are regarded as some of the greatest treasures of Bangla literature. More than 80 years after his death, Ray remains one of the most popular of children's writers in both West Bengal
and Bangladesh
.
Sukumar Ray was the son of famous children's story writer Upendrakishore Ray
(Ray Chowdhury) and the father of legendary Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray
and grandfather of famous Bengali filmmaker Sandip Ray
. Sukumar Ray was also known as the convenor of "Monday Club" , a weekly gathering of likeminded people at the Ray residence, where the members were free to express their irreverent opinions about the world at large. A number of delightful poems were penned by Sukumar Ray in relation to the matters concerning "Monday Club", primarily soliciting attendance, announcing important meetings etc.
family in Calcutta, India
on 30 October 1887. Born in the era which can be called the pinnacle of the Bengal Renaissance
, he grew up in an environment that fostered his literary talents. His father was a talented writer of stories and popular science; painter and illustrator extraordinaire; musician and composer of songs; a pioneering technologist and hobbyist astronomer. Upendrakishore was also a close friend of Rabindranath Tagore
, who directly influenced Sukumar. Among other family friends were Jagadish Chandra Bose and Prafulla Chandra Roy
. Upendrakishore studied the technology of blockmaking, conducted experiments, and set up a business of making quality blocks. The firm M/s U. Ray & Sons, where Sukumar and his younger brother Subinay were involved.
In 1906, Ray graduated with Hons. in Physics
and Chemistry
from the Presidency College, Kolkata
. He was trained in photography
and printing technology in England
and was a pioneer of photography
and lithography
in India
. While in England, he also delivered lectures about the songs of Rabindranath before he (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.
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 colour blockmaking and printing. He also launched the children's magazine, "Sandesh" (Bangla: সন্দেশ). Very soon after Sukumar's return from England, Upendrakishore died, and Sukumar ran the printing and publishing businesses and the Sandesh (magazine)
for about eight years. His younger brother Subinoy helped him, and many relatives pitched in writing for "Sandesh".
Apart from the cultural and creative activities, Sukumar Ray was also a young man who was a leader of the reformist wing in the Brahmo Samaj
. The Barahmo Samaj is the monotheistic unitarian branch of Hinduism launched by Raja Rammohan Roy following the philosophy of the monotheistic Hindu scripture Isha-Upanishad of 7th Century AD. Sukumar Ray wrote a long poem "Atiter Katha" (Bangla: অতীতের কথা), which was a popular presentation of the history of the Brahmo Samaj—it was published as a small booklet to introduce the rationale of the Brahmo Samaj to children. Sukumar also campaigned to bring in Rabindranath Tagore
, the most famous Brahmo of his time, as a leader of the Samaj.
, for which there was no cure at the time. He left behind his widow and their only child, Satyajit. Satyajit Ray
would later become the most well known of Indian filmmakers and shoot a documentary on Sukumar Ray in 1987, 5 years before his own death.
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
i humorous poet, story writer and playwright who mainly wrote for children. As perhaps the most famous Indian practitioner of literary nonsense
Literary nonsense
Literary nonsense is a broad categorization of literature that uses sensical and nonsensical elements to defy language conventions or logical reasoning...
, he is often compared to Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
. His works such as the collection of poems "Aboltabol" (Bangla: "আবোলতাবোল")("Gibberish"), novella "HaJaBaRaLa
HaJaBaRaLa
HaJaBaRaLa or HJBRL: A Nonsense Story is a novella or novelette by Sukumar Ray.This story belongs to the nonsense genre, as does most of Sukumar Ray's fiction...
" (Bangla:হযবরল), short story collection "Pagla Dashu" (Bangla:"পাগলা দাশু") ("Crazy Dashu") and play "Chalachittachanchari" (Bangla: "চলচিত্তচঞ্চরী") are considered nonsense masterpieces equal in stature to Alice in Wonderland, and are regarded as some of the greatest treasures of Bangla literature. More than 80 years after his death, Ray remains one of the most popular of children's writers in both West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
and Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
.
Sukumar Ray was the son of famous children's story writer Upendrakishore Ray
Upendrakishore Ray
Upendrokishore Ray , also known as Upendrakishore Raychowdhury was a famous Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer. He was born on 10 May 1863 in a little village called Moshua in Mymensingh District in Bengal, now in Bangladesh...
(Ray Chowdhury) and the father of legendary Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
and grandfather of famous Bengali filmmaker Sandip Ray
Sandip Ray
Sandip Ray is a film director living in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He is the only son of the noted Bengali director Satyajit Ray, and Bijoya Ray.-Career:...
. Sukumar Ray was also known as the convenor of "Monday Club" , a weekly gathering of likeminded people at the Ray residence, where the members were free to express their irreverent opinions about the world at large. A number of delightful poems were penned by Sukumar Ray in relation to the matters concerning "Monday Club", primarily soliciting attendance, announcing important meetings etc.
Life
Ray was born in a BrahmoBrahmo
A Brahmo is either an adherent of Brahmoism to the exclusion of all other religions, or a person with at least one Brahmo parent or guardian and who has never denied his faith...
family in Calcutta, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
on 30 October 1887. Born in the era which can be called the pinnacle of the Bengal Renaissance
Bengal Renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the region of Bengal in Undivided India during the period of British rule...
, he grew up in an environment that fostered his literary talents. His father was a talented writer of stories and popular science; painter and illustrator extraordinaire; musician and composer of songs; a pioneering technologist and hobbyist astronomer. Upendrakishore was also a close friend of Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, who directly influenced Sukumar. Among other family friends were Jagadish Chandra Bose and Prafulla Chandra Roy
Prafulla Chandra Roy
Prafulla Chandra Ray was a Indian academician, a chemist and entrepreneur. He was the founder of Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, India's first pharmaceutical company...
. Upendrakishore studied the technology of blockmaking, conducted experiments, and set up a business of making quality blocks. The firm M/s U. Ray & Sons, where Sukumar and his younger brother Subinay were involved.
In 1906, Ray graduated with Hons. in Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
from the Presidency College, Kolkata
Presidency College, Kolkata
Presidency University, Kolkata, formerly Hindu College and Presidency College, is a unitary, state aided university, located in Kolkata, West Bengal. and one of the premier institutes of learning of liberal arts and sciences in India. In 2002 it was ranked number one by the weekly news magazine...
. He was trained in photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and printing technology in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and was a pioneer of photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and lithography
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. While in England, he also delivered lectures about the songs of Rabindranath before he (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.
Upendrakishore started a publishing firm, U. Ray and Sons
U. Ray and Sons
U. Ray and Sons was a privately held printing and publishing firm in Calcutta founded by Upendrakishore Ray in 1895. At its inception the firm was christened U. Ray after its owner. The epithet Sons was added in 1900 when his son Sukumar Ray joined the firm. The family ownership of the firm...
, 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 colour blockmaking and printing. He also launched the children's magazine, "Sandesh" (Bangla: সন্দেশ). Very soon after Sukumar's return from England, Upendrakishore died, and Sukumar ran the printing and publishing businesses and the Sandesh (magazine)
Sandesh (magazine)
Sandesh is a Bengali children's magazine. The periodical was first published by Upendrakishore Raychowdhury in 1913 through his publishing company, M/s U. Ray and Sons. After the death of Upendrakishore Roychowdhury in 1915, his eldest son Sukumar Ray succeeded as the editor of the magazine in...
for about eight years. His younger brother Subinoy helped him, and many relatives pitched in writing for "Sandesh".
Apart from the cultural and creative activities, Sukumar Ray was also a young man who was a leader of the reformist wing in the Brahmo Samaj
Brahmo Samaj
Brahmo Samaj is the societal component of the Brahmo religion which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm after its eclipse in Bengal consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements responsible for the making of...
. The Barahmo Samaj is the monotheistic unitarian branch of Hinduism launched by Raja Rammohan Roy following the philosophy of the monotheistic Hindu scripture Isha-Upanishad of 7th Century AD. Sukumar Ray wrote a long poem "Atiter Katha" (Bangla: অতীতের কথা), which was a popular presentation of the history of the Brahmo Samaj—it was published as a small booklet to introduce the rationale of the Brahmo Samaj to children. Sukumar also campaigned to bring in Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, the most famous Brahmo of his time, as a leader of the Samaj.
Death
Sukumar Ray died on September 10, 1923 of severe infectious fever, leishmaniasisLeishmaniasis
Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by protozoan parasites that belong to the genus Leishmania and is transmitted by the bite of certain species of sand fly...
, for which there was no cure at the time. He left behind his widow and their only child, Satyajit. Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
would later become the most well known of Indian filmmakers and shoot a documentary on Sukumar Ray in 1987, 5 years before his own death.
Works
- Abol tabolAbol TabolAbol tabol ; ; is a collection of Bengali children's poems and rhymes composed by Sukumar Ray, first published on 19 September 1923 by U. Ray and Sons...
(Gibberish) - Pagla DashuPagla DashuPagla Dashu is a fictional character created by Sukumar Ray.-Characteristics:Pagla Dashu is a character appearing in several prominent works of Bangla literature from the early 20th century, most notably Pagla Dashu . He is a school boy, famous for his crazy ideas and often inexplicable acts that...
(Crazy Dashu) - Khai-Khai (Eat-Eat)
- Heshoram Hushiyarer Diary (The diary of Heshoram Hushiyar)
- HaJaBaRaLaHaJaBaRaLaHaJaBaRaLa or HJBRL: A Nonsense Story is a novella or novelette by Sukumar Ray.This story belongs to the nonsense genre, as does most of Sukumar Ray's fiction...
(Mumbo-Jumbo) - Jhalapala O Onanyo Natok (Cacophony and Other Plays)
- Lakkhaner Shoktishel (The Weapon of Lakkhan)
- Chalachittachanchari
- Shabdakalpadrum
- Bohurupee
External links
- Sukumar Ray Kobita
- Complete Sukumar Ray
- "Drighangchu" by Sukumar Ray translation of short story in The Cafe IrrealThe Cafe IrrealThe Cafe Irreal is an Internet journal dedicated to the publication and propagation of irrealist literature. Online since 1998, it has published a number of notable authors whose work sometimes fits into this non-realist genre, such as Charles Simic, Ignacio Padilla, and Pavel Řezníček...