কেমন বাঁশি বাজায় শোনো মাঠেতে রাখাল॥
তার সুরে বুঝি যাদু আছে, মন হল মাতাল॥
(Pay attention to the flute, the shepherd plays afar,
His melody has some magic, it's intoxicating)
Quite a PRELUDE – ever since the thought of writing this piece crossed my mind, this tune kept lingering......uninterrupted !! That is Satyajit Ray, for me - an emotion, a nostalgia, a master storyteller who had this caliber to enthrall you.
It was during our summer vacations during school - a time when watching TV was strictly monitored (parents being parents :P); during those two hours of real CHHUTI daily (10:00 am -12:00 pm most probably), that I was first introduced to his creations. Then the list kept increasing, as I grew up. This Man weaved masterpieces, that are never too old to be watched (for countless numbers of time), and with that same amount of excitement as watching for the first time. For me his films are timeless saga ----that hold equal amount of relevance even till date, be it in terms of upholding the innocence of childhood or portraying complex philosophy of life.
He has been a torch-bearer who carried Bengali cinema to the doorstep of the World and has allowed Bengali culture and its people to stand there with their heads held high. Whenever, you think about his
filmography three words just fit aptly – One) Classics Two) Timeless & Three)
Iconic and can be summed up in a single word - Epic
a. Starting with the classics of Apu Trilogy - a coming of age narrative of a Bengali boy APU (Apurbo Kumar Roy) from childhood, adolescence till adulthood
b. to the timeless Goopi Gyne-Bagha Byne - a fantasy-musical series especially crafted for children (of all ages :) )
c. till the iconic Sonar Kella & Joy Baba Felunath - a fictional detective story series with three iconic protagonists (Pradosh Chandra Mitter aka Feluda, Tapesh Ranjan Mitter aka Topshe & Lal Mohan Ganguly aka Jatayu)
***P.S. - Only these two because at times some characters get immortalized by the craftsmanship of the creator. Soumitra Chattopadhyay (as Feluda), Siddhartha Chattopadhyay (as Topshe) & Late Santosh Dutta (as Jatayu) can never be replaced by any.
and many more (Agantuk, Parash Pathar, Nayak, Aranyer Din-Ratri - to name a few), Satyajit Ray has never failed to mesmerize us.
With multifaceted talent in true sense of the term - an Illustrator, Calligrapher, Filmmaker, Lyricist & Music Composer, Author, an Awardee - of Honorary Academy Award (The Oscar) & The Bharat Ratna - here's the Man, 'Ladies & Gentlemen' , SATYAJIT RAY
MOHARAJA TOMARE SELAAM ..... (We Salute you)
