Sukumar Ray (1887-1923) was a Bengali humorous
poet, story writer and playwright. 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" ("Gibberish"),
novella "HaJaBaRaLa", short story
collection "Pagla Dashu" ("Crazy
Dashu") and play "Chalachittachanchari"
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. 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 Brahmo 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,
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".
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", 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.
Ray died in 1923 of severe infectious fever,
"Kala azar", 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.
Works
" Abol tabol (Gibberish)
" Pagla Dashu (Crazy Dashu)
" Khai-Khai (Eat-Eat)
" Heshoram Hushiyarer Diary (The diary
of Heshoram Hushiyar)
" HaJaBaRaLa (Mumbo-Jumbo)
" Jhalapala O Onanyo Natok (Cacophony
and Other Plays)
" Lakkhaner Shoktishel (The Weapon
of Lakkhan)
" Chalachittachanchari
" Shabdakalpadrum
Bibliography
English Editions of Sukumar Ray, in chronological
order. Each edition here has its distinct
merits. Nonsense Rhymes. Translated by Satyajit
Ray. Calcutta: Writer's Workshop, 1970.
" This volume by the author's son is
the slimmest and is difficult to find.
The Select Nonsense of Sukumar Ray. Translated
by Sukanta Chaudhuri. New Delhi: OUP, 1987.
" The standard edition for many years.
Abol Tabol: The Nonsense World of Sukumar
Ray. Translated by Sampurna Chattarji. New
Delhi: Puffin, 2004.
" This edition, the most complete,
also has works from Khapchhada, Bohurupee,
Other Stories, Haw-Jaw-Baw-Raw-Law, Khai-Khai,
and Pagla Dashu.
The Tenth Rasa: An Anthology of Indian Nonsense,
edited by Michael Heyman, with Sumanyu Satpathy
and Anushka Ravishankar. New Delhi: Penguin,
2007.
" This volume includes, amongst other
Indian nonsense texts, quite a few Ray translations
by Chattarji, including some that are not
in her solo edition of Abol Tabol.
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/
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