It is unusual to come across a life so rich in varied experiences as the one that Bijoya Ray, wife and constant companion to the renowned film-maker Satyajit Ray, has lived. Despite being closely related, Satyajit Manik to his friends and family and Bijoya fell in love and embarked on a life together years before Rays groundbreaking film Pather Panchali was made, and their long, happy married life lasted right until Rays death in 1992. 

 

Bijoya Ray never felt the urge to write her memoirs, but was finally persuaded to pick up the pen when she was well into her eighties. Manik and I brims over with hitherto unknown stories of her life with Satyajit Ray, told in candid, vivid detail. 

 

About the Author

Bijoya Ray born in October 1917 in Patna, was the daughter of the noted barrister Charuchandra Das and Madhuri Devi. After her fathers death in 1931, Bijoya was brought up in her uncles joint family in Calcutta. She took lessons in music from her aunt, and mastered Rabindra Sangeet, and Indian classical and semi-classical music. After graduating in English, she appeared in a film based on Tagores Seshraksha, and later Rajani and Mashal in Bombay. She married Satyajit Ray in 1948. A committed social worker at Mother Teresas Nirmal Hriday, she was also an occasional contributor to the journal Sandesh, after Ray revived it in 1961. After Rays death in 1992, she became one of its editors for a brief spell. Bijoya lives in Calcutta with her son, noted film-maker Sandip, daughter-in-law and grandson. 

 

Indrani Majumdar lives in Delhi but has her roots firmly based in Bengali culture. Her bilingualism has helped her career as she has translated Bengali texts into English and vice versa. A keen researcher, her vocation in life has been to explore the various facets of Satyajit Rays work. At present she works with the Programme Office, India International Centre, Delhi.