West Bengal
Charulata: His Allegorical Women
Kaveree Bamzai
When the woman made a radical choice, Ray was uncomfortable. He was more comfortable showing women taking a stand against institutional orthodoxy
The Mind of Bengal
It is easy to see why Ray’s films were classed as arthouse in the West. In Calcutta, they were screened in cinemas which showed regular Bengali films, whose audiences in the 1950s and 1960s didn’t watch much Hindi cinema
The Inner Eye
Ray obsessed about the tiniest detail. A sceptic of the time had grudgingly admitted: ‘How did a city boy know that when a frog dies, it floats on its back?’
From Genius to Divinity
Satyajit Ray never touched alcohol, and listened to a sonata by Beethoven on his turntable gramophone at breakfast. What else could possibly be required for the biodata of a Calcutta god?
He Kept You at Arm’s Length
But you could always trust Satyajit Ray to say what he meant. His opinions were sharp, to the point
Divided Rebels
Getting increasingly restless over the likely outcome of state Assembly elections on May 2nd
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