The Making of Pather Panchali
I heard the name of Satyajit Ray for the first time in 1945.
At that time my eldest sister (Smt. Maya Mukhopadhyay) brought Abol Tabol along with several other volumes. The books were printed by Signet Press. Each of the books bore the marks of a clean and refined taste. The covers were gorgeous, intended to win the hearts of the young. The outside cover and the inside illustrations of the books were splendid indeed. Such a union between the stories and illustrations transports the mind into a world of dreams.
It was the time of war. Everywhere there was fear of bombing. People were fleeing from the towns and the cities to the villages. All the members of our family came to the village of Amta in the district of Howrah. My mother was very ill and bedridden while my father had been in his place of work at Barrackpore. The duty of taking care of us fell on my maternal grandfather. He was our guardian then. Although Amta was not far from Calcutta, communications were quite troublesome in those days. That was the reason why we were unwilling to go to Calcutta unless there was a special need. Now, after such a long time, I don't know if communication with Amta has improved. I have heard that the Martin Rail of those days is no longer there. My first acquaintance with Satyajit Ray, the artist happened through Abol Tabol that my eldest sister brought. In that book there was a brief introduction to the artist.
Some days later, Bibhutibhusan came to Amta to visit his mother. He brought with him a hardbound first edition of Am Antir Bhenpu. He also brought a few of his recently published books. On seeing the cover and the illustrations of the book I felt such a sense of wonder. It felt as if, in our imagination, we were united with the characters the writer had created. Perhaps the readers were transported into a pure world of bliss because of the alchemy of two geniuses -- the story-teller Bibhutibhusan and the artist Satyajit Ray.
Almost at the same time with Am Antir Bhenpu was published the children's edition of Pather Panchali. But we, who were young, then felt more enamoured by the first book. Even today a picture of that book -- where Apu and Durga are running outside in a violent storm -- those descriptive pictures float in my mind's eye. Bibhutibhusan had by then left this world of ours.
In Ghatshila, on the banks of the river Subarnarekha, the writer lay in his death-bed in his own home named "Gouri Kunja". The place befitted the man who loved nature. …… A while after his death for financial reasons it was required to get in touch with his publishers. Many letters were received after the writer's death from many a place and one of the most memorable among them was a letter that embodied humble respect and yet its distinctive character shone brightly. That letter came from the Signet Press. Later in 1952 we came in close contact with them regarding the publication of books. In the beginning my father and an elder sister did the visits. After some time the responsibility fell on my shoulders. Signet was then very popular after the publication of Param Purush Sri Ramakrishna………………………….The prominent figure at the press, Dilip Gupta, used to tell me frequently about a person in many of our discussions. Dilip Gupta seemed to admire the person's genius and qualities. This man was Satyajit Ray whom Dilip-babu addressed as 'Manik'. Later on I came to know that Manik was his call name.
One day probably in 1952, during our discussions, Dilip-babu said, "Manik is very eager to make a film of Bibhutibhusan's Pather Panchali. He is preparing for it too. He has even visited Boral-Nischindipur and Bibhutibhusan's native village of Barrackpore with a camera and has taken many shots.
Still later Dilip-babu, while introducing Satyajit Ray , said, "You do know that Manik is an artist. But he has studied a lot about films too. He is a regular reader of almost all the first-class film journals of the world. He, along with a few of his friends, have also brought out a book entitled Chalochchitro (Films) from our publishing house with an aim to raise the quality of films as well as to improve the taste of the readers and the viewers. If you read it you'll see that there is a discussion on how good quality films are made all over the world. This is something about which the financers and the directors of our country do not think at all." Later Dilip-babu gifted me with a copy of the book.
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From Dilip-babu we came to know that along with Pather Panchali, Manik-babu would make a single reel biographical film on Bibhutibhusan. For that he needed many photographs of Bibhutibhusan. We eagerly gathered Bibhutibhusan's photographs from our own collection as well as from others and gave them to Dilip-babu. But I don't know where that film has disappeared.
In the meantime, after Bibhutibhusan's death, some film directors and producers began to get in touch with us. In May-June, 1952 Birendra Krishna Bhadra came with Ajit-babu of Arora Film Corporation to our house in Calcutta. They wanted to make a film version of the story Abhisapta included in Bibhutibhusan's Meghmallar. The story was sold for a very paltry sum. But in the end the film was not made. They in their turn sold the rights to someone else. Later a film named Kirtigarh was made from it and the viewers liked it. Kirtigarh was the first film that was made from a story of Bibhutibhusan and released for public viewing. Then came renowned film actor Bikash Roy with a letter of introduction from the journalist Bibekananda Mukhopadhyay. He wanted to make a film out of Bibhutibhusan's novel Adarsha Hindu Hotel and play the role of Hajari Thakur himself. The stage production of Adarsha Hindu Hotel was yet to begin and actor Dhiraj Bhattacharya was yet to act in the role of Hajari Thakur. Theatre production of Adarsha Hindu Hotel began one year later in 1953.
One winter morning Satyajit Ray came to our old house at Barrackpore with the purpose of meeting my elder sister Rama Bandopadhyay. His tall physique and personality earned everyone's respect. He was clad in a shirt and trousers and a nice pullover. From his shoulder hung an expensive camera in a leather pouch. On entering the room he put it on the table. I don't remember if Satyajit-babu brought any letters from Dilip Kumar Gupta. We have heard so much about him from Dilip-babu that no introduction was necessary. It seemed as if from very long he had been a kin of ours. We could perceive some noble qualities of that towering figure that day. He spoke little but had a soft, calm and yet full baritone voice. As soon as my sister entered the room, he stood up from his chair. His demeanour was very humble and yet his personality shone through. He had a conversation with my elder sister and my father about the making of Pather Panchali and its copyright. Satyajit Ray would make the film on behalf of 'Darpan Films'. He also told us that he had made some progress in making the film and preparing the film script. He had visited the shooting locations. He also went to Bibhutibhusan's village of Barrackpore and had taken photographs there. He explained to my sister that he had a desire to make a film version of Pather Panchali for long. He first planned to make a film on Tagore's Ghare Baire but some hindrances put him off. He thought of shooting Pather Panchali while doing illustration of its children's edition name Am Antir Bhenpu.
Apart from Pather Panchali, the conversation touched many other issues including the district of Mymensingh and his native village of Moshua. My father stayed in different sub-divisions of Mymensingh district when he was working and our childhood was spent there. Besides, the book Padi Pishir Bormi Baksho was just released. In that book there were many humorous anecdotes related to Satyajit Ray's native village of Moshua. ……Satyajit-babu told us in his slow and sweet baritone that he didn't remember much about his village. He lost his father at a very young age and had to proceed in the path of life negotiating many obstacles and dangers. After the division of the country there was no question of going back to Mymensingh. We came to know that he had been a student of Viswa Bharati's Kala Bhavan at a time when Nanda Lal Bose was its principal andTagore was still alive .
Some time later the newspapers began to carry stories that Satyajit Ray is filming Pather Panchali under the aegis of Darpan Films. People close to us began to enquire if the news was true. Some well-wishers were even apprehensive that we have given the responsibility of making a film of the novel to a novice like Satyajit Ray. The Omniscient Judge perhaps smiled in the background when he heard those comments.
[Translated from Pather Panchalir Nepottho Kahini by Chandidas Chattopadhyay. The author is a close relative of Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay. ]
Translation copyright © Subhamay Ray
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