Sukumar Ray

{{short description|Bengali poet, writer, and editor (1887–1923)}}

{{Infobox writer

| image = Sukumar Ray.jpg

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1887|10|30|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Calcutta, Bengal, British India{{Cite ODNB|id=107500|title=Ray, Sukumar}}{{Banglapedia|Roy,_Sukumar|Roy, Sukumar}}. "Roy, Sukumar (1887-1923) children's writer, was born in Kolkata on 30 October 1887.".

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1923|09|10|1887|10|30|df=yes}}

| death_place = Calcutta, Bengal, British India

| language = Bengali

| period = Bengal Renaissance

| occupation = Writer, poet, editor

| subject =

| notable_works = {{Unbulleted list|Abol Tabol|Pagla Dashu|HaJaBaRaLa}}

| alma_mater = {{ubl|Presidency University, Kolkata|London College of Communication}}

| relatives = {{ubl|Dwarkanath Ganguly|Kadambini Ganguly}}

| spouse = Suprabha Devi

| children = Satyajit Ray (son)

| awards =

| signature =

| parents = Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury (father)

}}

Sukumar Ray {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRPS}} ({{Audio|Bn-সুকুমার রায়.oga|Sukumār Rāẏ}}; 30 October 1887 – 10 September 1923){{cite book|author1=Ray|author2=Sukumar (tr. Chatterjee|author3=Sampurna)|title=Wordygurdyboom!|date=September 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ohsA1rdovbwC&pg=PA177|access-date=3 October 2012|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-333078-3|pages=177–}} was a Bengali writer and poet from British India. He is remembered mainly for his writings for children. He was the son of children's story writer Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury and the father of Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

Family history

According to the history of the Ray family, one of their ancestors, Ramsunder Deo (Deb), was a native of Chakdah village in Nadia district of present-day West Bengal, India. In search of fortune he migrated to Town Sherpur, Sherpur district in East Bengal. There he met Raja Gunichandra, the zamindar of Jashodal, at the zamindar house of Sherpur. King Gunichandra was immediately impressed by Ramsunder's stately appearance and sharp intellect and took Ramsunder with him to his zamindari estate. He made Ramsunder his son-in-law and granted him some property in Jashodal. From then on Ramsunder started living in Jashodal. His descendants migrated from there and settled down in the village of Masua in Katiadi upazila of Kishoreganj district.Sukumar Samagra Rachanabali 1, 1960, Asia Publishing Company, p 1Sukumar Ray: Jibankatha (Bengali Ed.), Hemanta Kumar Adhya, Pustak Bipani, Kolkata, 1990, p. 6

File:Sukumar Ray Bengali writer and poet.jpg

Early years

File:Upendrakishore Ray Chauduri, His wife and six childrens.jpg, mother Bidhumukhi and five siblings.]]Sukumar Ray was born in a Brahmo family in Calcutta on 30 October 1887. His family hailed from Masua village of Kishorganj division of Eastern Bengal in British India, presently in Bangladesh.{{cite book|last1=Raychowdhury|first1=Hitendra Kishore|title=Upendra Kishore O Moshua - Ray Poribaarer Golposholpo|date=1984|publisher=Firma KLM Private Limited|page=1}} Sukumar's father Upendrakishore Ray was a famous Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer, technologist, amateur astronomer and entrepreneur.{{cite book |year=1987 |editor1-first=Satyajit |editor1-last= Ray |editor2-first=Partha|editor2-last= Basu|title= Sukumar Sahitya Samagra Centenary Edition|publisher= Ananda Publishers Ltd.}} Sukumar's mother, Bidhumukhi Devi, was the daughter of reformer Dwarkanath Ganguly.{{cite book |editor-last1=Sengupta |editor-first1=Subodh Chandra |editor-last2=Basu |editor-first2=Anjali |date=1998 |orig-year=First published 1976 |edition=4th |title=Sangsad Bāṅgālī Charitābhidhāna |type=Biographical dictionary |language=bn |page=67 |isbn=81-85626-65-0}}

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. He befriended the likes of Jagdish Chandra Bose, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, and one of his biggest influencers, his father's friend, Rabindranath Tagore.[https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/sukumar-ray-life-1079327-2017-10-30] His father was a writer of stories and popular science; painter and illustrator; musician and composer of songs; a technologist and hobbyist astronomer. Upendrakishore was also a close friend of Rabindranath Tagore, who directly influenced Sukumar. Among other family friends were scientists Jagadish Chandra Bose, Prafulla Chandra Ray, composer Atul Prasad Sen etc. Upendrakishore studied the technology of blockmaking, conducted experiments, and set up a business of making blocks. The firm M/s U. Ray & Sons, where Sukumar and his younger brother Subinay were involved. His sister, Shukhalata Rao, became a social worker and children's book author. Like his father, Ray also had a close acquaintance with Rabindranath Tagore.{{cite book |last=Sarker |first=Sushanta |year=2012 |chapter=Rao, Shukhalata |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Rao,_Shukhalata |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh}}

Education and profession

File:Atul Prasad Sen a group photo.jpg
First row sitting from left: Subinoy Ray, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, Atul Prasad Sen, Shishir Kumar Datta, Sukumar Ray
Middle row from left: Jatindranath Mukhopadhyay, Amal Home, Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyay, Jibanmoy Roy
Standing from left: Hiran Sanyal, Ajit Kumar Chakrabarty, Kalidas Nag, Pravat Chandra Gangopadhyay, Dr. Dwijendranath Maitra, Satish Chandra Chattopadhyay, Shrish Chandra Sen, Girija Shankar Roy Choudhury]]

File:Sukumar Ray and his wife.jpgIn 1906, Ray graduated with double Honours in Physics and Chemistry from the Presidency College, then affiliated with the University of Calcutta. Before that, he attended City College School, Surya Sen Street along with his classmate who inspired his famous funny character "Pagla Dashu", which appeared in several of his penned stories. He was trained in photography and printing technology in England at the School of Photo-Engraving and Lithography, London,{{cite web|url=http://www8.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/sukumar-ray |title=Sukumar Ray | |publisher=.open.ac.uk |access-date=3 October 2012}} and was a pioneer of photography and lithography in India. While in England, he also delivered lectures about the songs of Rabindranath before 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. The Penrose Annual published two articles by Ray. While in the United Kingdom, he joined the Royal Photographic Society in 1912 and remained a member until his death, gaining his Fellowship in 1922.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

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 color blockmaking and printing. He launched the children's magazine, Sandesh, in May, 1913. Very soon after Sukumar's return from England his writings and sketches started appearing in Sandesh. After Upendrakishore died on 20 December 1915, Sukumar ran the printing and publishing businesses and the Sandesh for about eight years. His younger brother Subinoy helped him, and many relatives pitched in writing for "Sandesh".

File:100 A Garpar Road Kolkata Heritage Building Tag by KMC.jpg

Contribution in literature

Sukumar Ray pioneered the genre of literary nonsense in Bengali literature. His works appealed to both children and adults, because of their sense of humor, keen observational skills, sharp wit, and command of word selection. His son Satyajit Ray, in the preface of the first edition of the compilation of Sukumar Ray's complete works in his centenary year, Sukumar Sahitya Samagra, wrote: {{blockquote|"উপেন্দ্রকিশোরের সম্পাদনাকালে সন্দেশে প্রকাশিত সুকুমারের কয়েকটি রচনায় তাঁর সাহিত্যিক বৈশিষ্ট্যের স্পষ্ট ইঙ্গিত পাওয়া যায়। ১৯১৪ সালে বেরোল আবোল তাবোল শ্রেনীর প্রথম কবিতা "খিচুড়ি"। এই প্রথম সুকুমার সাহিত্যে উদ্ভট প্রানীর আবির্ভাব। এখানে প্রানীর সৃষ্টি হয়েছে ভাষার কারসাজিতে -

হাঁস ছিল সজারুও, (ব্যাকরণ মানিনা)

হয়ে গেল হাঁসজারু কেমনে তা জানিনা।

এই উদ্ভট সন্ধির নিযমেই সৃষ্টি হল বকচ্ছপ, মোরগরু,গিরগিটিয়া, সিংহরিণ, হাতিমি।"

}}

After his father's death in 1915, Sukumar had to take over responsibility of publication of "Sandesh", and his creativity reached its pinnacle. The 45 limericks in Abol Tabol and many other creations published in Sandesh still amuse the readers of all ages. He created many characters in his prose and poems. Kaath Buro, Tash Goru, Huko Mukho Hangla, Kumro Potash etc. were fictitious characters, though they were very close to our known world. He himself described his works as the product of Kheyal Ros (হঠাৎ ইচ্ছা;ঝোঁক/Wish; Whims; Freak; Fancy).

Gallery

Sketches of characters created by Roy.

File:Kumropatash.gif|Kumropatash in Abol Tabol

File:Dashurkirti.gif|Dashur Kirti

File:Hukumukho hangla.PNG|Huko Mukho Hangla

File:Buro1.PNG|Kaath Buro

File:Abujh1.jpg|Abujh

File:Nbtjk.gif|The King

File:Hajabarala4.gif| Hijibijbij in HaJaBaRaLa

File:Hajabarala6.gif| Nyara in HaJaBaRaLa

File:Hajabarala3.gif| Udo in HaJaBaRaLa

File:Hajabarala7.gif| The Court Room in HaJaBaRaLa

File:Hajabarala2.gif| Shri Kakeswar Kuchkuche in HaJaBaRaLa

File:Hajabarala1.gif| The CAT in HaJaBaRaLa

==Bibliography==

Abol Tabol (The Weird and the Absurd)
Pagla Dashu (Crazy Dashu){{cite book|author=Amaresh Datta|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ObFCT5_taSgC&pg=PA694|access-date=3 October 2012|year=1987|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-1803-1|pages=694–}}

File:পাগলা দাশু.jpg

Khai-Khai (Eat-Eat)
Heshoram Hushiyarer Diary (The diary of Heshoram Hushiyar) (early science fiction parody)[http://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/2006/05/early-bengali-science-fiction.html Early Bengali science fiction], 'Amardeep Singh,' lehigh.edu
HaJaBaRaLa (Mumbo-Jumbo)
Jhalapala O Onanyo Natok (Cacophony and Other Plays)
Lokkhoner Shoktishel (Lokkhon Shellshocked)
Chalachittachanchari
Shabdakalpadrum
Bohurupi (Chameleon)
Abak Jalpan (A Strange Drink of Water 1914)
Bhasar Atyachar (Torture of Language 1915)
Barnamalatatva (Theory of Alphabet)
Desh-Bidesher Golpo (Tales from Many Lands)
[https://www.storytimegolperashore.com/2020/10/bidye%20bojhai%20babumoshai.html Jiboner Hisab](Bidye bojhai babumoshai)

References

External links

{{Internet Archive author}}
[http://sukumarray.freehostia.com/ Complete Sukumar Ray]
[http://cafeirreal.alicewhittenburg.com/sukumar_ray.htm "Drighangchu" by Sukumar Ray] translation of short story in The Cafe Irreal