A Tribute to Satyajit Ray

I am a Bengali who was bought up in Punjab so my only interactions with Bengal was during my summer vacations. My earliest memories don’t go back to my parent’s watching Satyajit Ray but instead my mom with her brother and sister in-law watching Uttam-Suchita movies. I used to get really bored and could never understand why anybody should watch Bengali movies. I found the answer to that question years later. I am not Uttam-Suchita fan and may be rightly so. I don’t belong to the generation of Uttam-Suchita hysteria. I am ardent fan of Satyajit Ray and can anyday watch his movies except maybe Shatranj ke khiladi . I was introduced to Bengal through Satyajit Ray movies and I am not talking only about Pather Panchali but also Charulata, Nayak, Ghanashatru etc. Satyajit ray was a director who could capture emotions on camera as it would be in real life. He was probably the first person in Indian cinema to introduce true cinematography. You can watch his Pather Panchali where young Apu and his sister discover train or Charu falling for her brother-in-law and both emotions seemed so unadulterated. Though the emotions are so different, Satyajit Ray's touch is evident in both the scenes. Whether I watch his Devi or Shonnar Kella or Agantuk I can’t stop admiring his ability as a film maker. Bengal has been blessed with some phenomenal writers, filmmakers who have very sacredly preserved the era they belonged in their work. Satyajit Ray was amongst one of them. In my library I will have one complete section dedicated to Satyajit ray movies and books and that will be my small tribute to him. Watch this space for movie and book reviews.