Childhood Days- A Memoir (The Penguin Ray Library)

Childhood Days takes readers through legendary storyteller Satyajit Ray's early life, exploring the people who were around him during his childhood, the places he spent the early years of his life in and the man we now know as an artist, music composer, director and writer. It displays the lesser-known side of Ray -affectionate, tender and humorous, quite different from the serious, introverted man the world knew.

Through Childhood Days, Ray writes eloquently about his initial attempts to understand photography, his experience of tasting ice cream for the first time, his discomfort during his school years as a result of his father's and grandfather's fame and what he went through during the shooting of Pather Panchali, his debut and landmark film. Filled with stories that are funny and heart-warming, Childhood Days is a glimpse into the making of a genius.

Satyajit Ray (1921-92) was one of the greatest film-makers of his time, known for iconic works like Pather Panchali, Charulata, Aranyer Din Ratri and Ghare Baire. He was awarded an Oscar for lifetime achievement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science in 1992; that year he was also honoured with the Bharat Ratna.

Ray was also a writer of repute, and his short stories, novellas, poems and articles, written in Bengali, have been immensely popular since they were first published in the children's magazine Sandesh in 1961. Among his most famous creations are the master sleuth Feluda and the scientist Professor Shonku.

Bijoya Ray (1918-2015) spent the first thirteen years of her life in Patna where her father worked as a barrister.Her family moved to Calcutta in 1931, where she and Satyajit Ray happened to stay in the same house. She went on to become an accomplished singer and recorded her songs with Hindustan Records. After graduating, she joined the Bengali film industry and also went to Bombay. It was while she was in Bombay, in 1948, that she got married to Satyajit Ray. When Ray revived Sandesh in 1961, Bijoya became an occasional contributor. After her husband's death in 1992, she became one of the editors of Sandesh.