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BOOK REVIEW ......"MANIK & I"
"MANIK & I"
( My Life with Satyajit Ray)
Bijoya Ray …Translated by Indrani Majumdar
Penguin Books
ISBN 13 9780 1434 16258
Pages 624
Price..Rs 699
This book is an exquisite and interesting story on the inner life of a master by his actress cum singer wife Bijoya Dass Ray. .A story that everyone wants to know. What was he like to live with?Was he a family man as well?Who were his friends? What could be the unknown or the inner side of this towering genius?
And the book surely is the story of a filmmaker known the world over . The story of a master who won the topmost awards everywhere, from the Bharat Ratna to the Oscar to the prestigious Legion of Honour in addition to top awards at the major film festivals of the world.Despite being closely related, Satyajit-‘Manik’ to his friends and family-and Bijoya fell in love and embarked on a life together years before Ray’s groundbreaking film Pather Panchali was made, and their long, happy married life lasted right until Ray’s death in 1992.
Bijoya Ray was born as Bijoya Das in Patna to Charu Chandra Das, a barrister and Madhuri Devi, younger sister of nationalist leader Deshbandhu CR Das 's wife Basanti Devi. She was the youngest of four daughters
Bijoya , who pawned her expensive jewellery to finance Ray's Pather Pancheli , was always the first person to read his scripts and make suggestions . Her comments were ruthless but pertinent and quite often duly incorporated by the master.The book talks about Satyajit Ray the man, the husband, the father and, for one short year before his death, the grandfather.She worked in a few films without success or satisfaction. In 1949 she married Satyajit Ray. Their only son Sandip was born in 1953.Despite both of them being in the same profession, Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray hardly made public appearances together in front of the media, as they were a classic couple, who preferred to be in each other's company away from the flashes of shutterbugs.
Clearly Bijoya was the intellectual companion that Ray needed, one who shared his love for Western classical music and Hollywood films. Once he started making films she joined him and helped with all the little details which needed a woman’s attention. She not only ran his home but went with him to shop for costumes and accessories. She was a colleague who was always in the background.
Even before becoming a writer, Ray would make Bijoya read all his scripts. He would give her a pencil to make changes if there were any and she would give suggestions. He would either take them or discuss them at great length. In fact, 90% of her suggestions were taken by her husband.
Manik ( Manik Da ) as he was known in intimate and family circles, comes up as a total family man. Reading , drawing sketches ,writing and listening music . No liking for liquor . And never did he serve liquor to any guest or friend in his house . He loved good food and Bengali sweets especially Sandesh .Bijoya also informs us that her Manik also loved gambling at Kathmandu’s casinos .
Only two women appear to have influenced Ray – his mother and his wife. His mother, a remarkable woman who was widowed early in life, played a key role in Ray’s growth. Bijoya, his wife, took over the role so far as Ray’s artistic development was concerned.
Bijoya was his childhood friend .She had a musical bent of mind and a flair for acting . She also happened to be his cousin and accordingly their families were initially reluctant to accept this marriage proposal. Faced with family frowns, Manik wrote to Bijoya: “You know, I’ll marry no one but you. If that means never getting married, so be it.”
Ray had to go to Mumbai and get clandestinely married .Prithvi Raj Kapoor joined by his wife came to bless the couple. After their secret wedding and intimate reception, Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray were married in the eyes of the law. Still, they weren't living together because their family and relatives were unaware of their marriage.
About Manik, Bijoya informs this :-
“What I admire about Manik is his simplicity, his honesty, his generosity, his kindness, and above all, his ability to mix with people from all walks of life. He could be at home with everybody. He did not like being called an intellectual. He was comfortable once you called him a creative man. He was deeply knowledgeable about Western Classical Music which he loved, particularly Mozart, and once even thought of making a film on him. Manik spent long hours listening to opera and classical music on records. “
We also come to know that Ray could whistle any tune after hearing it once. The master liked to wear embroidered Kurtas and had a special liking for Kashmiri shawls more particularly Jaamwaar variety. He hated big parties and was scared to change light bulbs or turn on the air-conditioner.He never did any shopping other than buying books and music discs..
Even in his leading ladies, Ray never looked for dolled-up glamour, but for intelligent beauty. Madhabi Mukherjee, Sharmila Tagore, and in his last three films, Mamata Shankar, best fitted this description.
Bijoya’s accounts of Ray’s long struggles with his health and the situations surrounding his triple by-pass heart surgery in the US are particularly moving .
Bijoya is silent about Ray’s infatuation and finally an intense affair with actress Madhabi Mukherjee. Bijoya's silence about this episode in the book is intriguing as once ,she herself had gone to press to speak about it. Confronted by wife,Ray had admitted this affair and finally decided to forget all. . Revealing would have made the master more human, and the story is, after all, known.Inspite of this omission , the book makes a great reading .The English translation from original Bangla appears to be racy at times but leaves you spellbound in its overall impact in presenting the story of two sensitive souls .I strongly recommend the book to every one who wants to know about the great master’s art and personal life.
The book is a treasure trove for ardent Ray fans . They are sure to get inside stories, trivias and confirmation of their doubts they have about Ray and his life. Like why did Rabindranath get Satyajit to attend art classes at Shantiniketan, and many other untold yet very interesting anecdotes.I end this brief review with a quote from Satyajit Ray:-
“ The only solutions that are ever worth anything are the solutions that people find themselves ”
( Avtar Mota )
CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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