Childhood Days: A Memoir

About The Book:

Delightful anecdotes from the life of one of the world's greatest film-makers who was Satyajit Ray, writer, director music composer and artist? Where did he make his beginnings? Who were the people he grew up with? In this charming collection of stories from Ray's childhood and film-making day, we get a glimpse into the life of a man who appeared serious and aloof to the world, and find a different, more accessible Ray-humorous, tender, affectionate. He tell us about his first taste of an ice cream, his initial understandings of the principle of photography, and the teasing he had to endure in school because of his famous father and grandfather. With unassuming grace he writes about his vast, talented family, where each member had his or her special quirks and eccentricities.

In this volume, Ray also shares some of hs experiences while shooting Pather Panchali - his epic debut, and subsequent films, particularly for children. He describes how an entire field of kaash flowers was eaten up by cows before he could shoot his famous scene with the train in Pather Panchali; and how a circus tiger let lose in a bamboo grove chased away a group of curious onlookers in the blink of an eye.

Frank and funny, these stories written originally for the Bengali children's magazine Sandesh, are an essential read for all Ray enthusiasts as well as those who want to know Ray, the writer and film-maker, better.

About the Translator

Bijoya Ray was born in 1918 and spent the first thirteen years of her life in Patna where her father worked as a barrister. She moved to Calcutta in 1931 along with her family, where she and Satyajit Ray happened to stay in the same house. She went on to become an accomplished singer and recorded her songs with Hindustan Records. After graduating, she joined the Bengali film industry and also went to Bombay. It was while she was in Bombay, in 1948, that she got married to Satyajit Ray. When Ray revived Sandesh in 1961, Bijoya became an occasional contributor. After her husband's death in 1992, she has became one of the editors of Sandesh, and has also written for other eminent Bengali journals.

Bijoya ray lives in Calcutta with her son, Sandip.

Introduction It is impossible to tell which bits of one's memories of childhood would remain forever, and which would disappear without a trace. There is no hard and fast rule that governs the function of memory. That is no hard and fast rule that governs the function of memory. That is what makes it such a mysterious business. I was born, and moved to Bhowanipur.I cannot recall anything of the day when we actually left the old house, but I remember a dream I had one night while we were still living there. it featured our cook's son, Haren, but there was nothing remarkable about the dream I had one night while we were still living there. It featured our cook's son, Haren, but there was nothing remarkable about the dream. Yet, I remember every little detail.

In these childhood memoirs I have described some ordinary events and ordinary people, as well as extraordinary ones. Children do not make a distinction between the ordinary and the extraordinary, anyway. Adults do. it is for this reason that children do not pick and choose their friends like adults; nor do they understand or always obey the criteria laid down by grown -ups.

These memoirs were first published in the monthly magazine Sandesh in two installments. Later, I was able to recall a few more events and some more people from my childhood, so I added them here.

CONTENTS

Translator's Note	vii
CHILDHOOD DAYS	1
Gorpar	5
Bhowanipur	21
Holiday	44
School	60
MAKING MOVIE	81
Introduction	83
Two and Half Year with Apu	85
Project Tiger	94
Hundi-Jhundi-Shundi	103
Camels versus Train	113
The Army of the Raja of Halla	121
With Feluda in Varanasi	134
Please, Please, Bagh Mama	164

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