Remembering Sukumar Ray, the pioneering poet, illustrator and printer

Ray's 131st birth anniv today
Satyajit Ray's father, Sukumar Ray, was a master illustrator and a powerful satirist in Bengali literature whose works including 'Abol Tabol' and 'Ha Ja Ba Ra La' showcased India's pioneering works in illustration, printmaking and satirical poetry.
Sukumar Ray, the father of Oscar winning writer and filmmaker Satyajit Ray and son of acclaimed children's writer, artist, musician and printing pioneer Upendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury, was a genius born way ahead of his time. His seemingly nonsensical and subtly satiric rhymes in the extremely popular collection Abol Tabol (Nonsensical Mnemonics, 1923) are so pristine that had he composed nothing apart from these 45 rhymes, he might still be considered one of best authors in Bengali literature. His work using nonsense and gibberish is nothing less than that of Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland, especially his play Chalachitta Chanchari and Ha Ja Ba Ra La.
Bengali poet, fiction writer and playwright Sukumar Ray was perhaps the most famous practitioner of "literary nonsense" in the subcontinent. He is often compared to Lewis Carroll. His works such as the collection of poems "Abol Tabol", novella "Ha Ja Ba Ra La", short story collection "Pagla Dashu" and play "Chalachittrachanchari" are considered nonsense masterpieces equal in stature to "Alice in Wonderland", and are regarded as some of the greatest treasures of Bangla literature. Close to a century after his death, Ray remains one of the most popular authors among children's writers in both West Bengal and Bangladesh.
About Ray, noted poet and rhymester Asad Chowdhury said, "Sukumar was an unparalleled genius. He lived a short life but created many valuable literary pieces. It is very significant that Rabindranath Tagore was a great admirer of Ray. He introduced an innovative style and his approach was ground-breaking. His use of language, structure and technique gave a distinct aspect to Bengali literature. His writings are not only popular among the young, but also among adults."
In 1906, Ray graduated with Honours in Physics and Chemistry from the Presidency College, Kolkata (then Calcutta). He was trained in photography and printing technology in England and was a pioneer of photography and lithography in British India.
While in England, he also delivered lectures on the songs of Rabindranath before Tagore won the Nobel Prize. Ray also drew acclaim as an illustrator. As a technologist, he developed new methods of half tone block-making, and technical articles about this were published in journals in England. While Ray went to England to learn printing technology, Upendrakishore purchased land, constructed a building, and set up a printing press with facilities for high-quality half tone colour block-making and printing. Ray also launched the children's magazine, "Sandesh".
According to well-known poet Shihab Sarkar - "Ray's brilliant rhymes still remain unparalleled. He is still unique. He produced several nonsense verses and plays. It is very disheartening that he did not live long. But if he had, he could have given a new dimension to our Bengali literature."
Apart from the cultural and creative activities, Ray was also a leader of the reformist wing in the Brahmo Samaj.
Ray died in 1923 of severe infectious fever, Leishmaniasis, for which there was no cure at the time. Satyajit Ray later shot a documentary on Sukumar Ray (in 1987), five years before his own death.
The writer is a freelance contributor.