Read Of The Week (March 19 to March 25)

Satyajit Ray (1921-1991), a polymath, polyglot, novelist, short-story writer, illustrator, designer, and music composer, is today considered to be one of the most eminent film directors of world cinema. His Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road, 1955) won numerous awards, establishing his position as a pre-eminent director. Recipient of the Lifetime Academy Award in 1992 ‘In recognition of his rare mastery of the art of motion pictures and for his profound humanitarian outlook, which has had an indelible influence on filmmakers and audiences throughout the world’, Ray took Indian cinema to great heights, hitherto unachieved by any Indian film director. “Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means,’ said Akira Kurosawa, ‘existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.’

While Ray’s films are fairly well-known, his writings — fiction and non-fiction — written in Bengali and English continue to attract attention. His illustrations, design works, comic strips, science fiction, and detective stories are gems of Indian literature. From the ever-popular adventures of Ray’s enduring creation, the professional sleuth, Feluda to the chronicles of Professor Shonku, short stories, writings on filmmaking and thoughts on the world as well as Indian cinema, among others, this anthology, a two-volume boxset, The Best of Satyajit Ray is not only a treat for Ray enthusiasts but also a collector’s edition.