Ray-esque | Satyajit Ray: The Illustrator and his love affair with drawing and sketching

Satyajit Ray began drawing and sketching from a very early age. According to Sandip, his son, this started when Ray was very young. “It’s sad that none these early works have survived. But, I have learnt about this from our family members. Obviously, father inherited this knack or flair from his father Sukumar Ray and grandfather Upendrakishore Raychowdhury. Both were illustrators. Observing father indulging in this passion from a nascent stage, Thakurma (grandmother) felt inclined to decide that father should pursue the fine arts at Kala Bhavan in Shantiniketan,” says Sandip, lending a peep into the master’s beginnings as an illustrator. Thus, ensued the couple of productive years that Satyajit Ray spent at Kala Bhavan under the tutelage of Nanadalal Bose and Benode Behari Mukhopadhyay. Sandip goes on to add that his father was not at all drawn to travel to Kala Bhavan. He had already developed a keen interest in films. “That was a time when Hollywood films were released at theatres systematically. Besides, being the war era, GIs were all over the town. Calcutta was a bubbling city in those years. Father hated the idea of travelling to a remote place like Shantiniketan and leaving all the action behind. He was totally city-bred from the point of view of his bent of personality. Of course, and father has expressed this himself in interviews later, that Kala Bhavan had opened his eyes to a new world. Besides, the library at Visva Bharati was very well stocked. Thus, father could read up a great deal including material on films. And, together with everything was the extremely inspiring phase that he spent with Nandalal Bose and Benode Behari Mukhopadhyay,” Sandip says with emphasis. “Nandalal Bose had sent a group, which included father, to Ajanta and Ellora and the Sun Temple. This again honed his sensibilities.” [caption id=“attachment_11452881” align=“alignnone” width=“750”] Nandalal Bose[/caption] But, Satyajit Ray spent only two years in Shantiniketan and had not completed the course in fine arts and painting. He returned to Calcutta and joined D.J. Keymer as copy writer and illustrator. “The works or paintings he executed at Kala Bhavan were only viewed by his compatriots in Shantiniketan. But, what came to be noticed by the audience at large back in Calcutta were his book covers at Signet Press. One wonders how much of father’s Kala Bhavan works survive till today. We may still be having two or three in our archives. We had last viewed some of father’s Kala Bhavan creations when he shot the Inner Eye, the documentary on his art teacher, Benode Behari Mukhopadhyay. The D.J. Keymer advertisements that father churned out were not signed by him. So, it was very difficult to zero in on ones having been illustrated by my father. Except a beautiful illustration which he created for a tea brand which luckily bore his signature in the bottom right-hand corner which read, ‘Ray’. Actually, the Signet Press book covers definitively brought him to the fore as a graphic artist,” Sandip drives home. [caption id=“attachment_11452911” align=“alignnone” width=“750”] Keymer signed ad[/caption] Sandip homes in on Signet Press as having unravelled the maestro’s range of creativity. Satyajit Ray singlehandedly and unflaggingly turned out countless covers which spanned across calligraphy, designs, layouts, techniques and the gamut of graphic art. “Father’s covers at Signet ranged across books for adults and children and those which dwelt on poetry and essays. Through his brand of graphic art, he poured out the entire sweep of artistry which he had soaked in like a sponge at Kala Bhavan. Father would freelance for Signet Press in tandem with his advertising illustrations for D.G. Keymer. Subsequently, began his artwork for his movies. For instance, the first version of Pather Panchali’s screenplay was done in half-tone wash art,” explains Sandip. Again, the title card for Kanchenjungha manifests paintings, with the titles done in Tibetan style in photo-tint which is the use of transparent colours, Sandip elucidates. Satyajit Ray was experimenting with varying approaches at different moments. And, because it was the first colour film, the ever-inventive and towering Ray chose pastels to design the costumes. In tune, he was creating his movie posters. And, the posters had to brought off on true-to-life paper size measuring thirty by forty inches. That wasn’t the age of computers where one could resort to technology to manipulate size of the paper. _Nayak_ ’s poster, for example, was where Satyajit Ray made use of art as well as craft. The paper was cut in the shape of a star through which the dark glasses of Uttam Kumar stares out at the world, according to Sandip. [caption id=“attachment_11452871” align=“alignnone” width=“750”] Pather Panchali storyboard[/caption] At this point, Sandip fishes out a photo-tint sheet from his drawer for this writer. Dipped into a little water, the liquid would get coloured and one can use it in an illustration. The advantage with photo-tint, Sandip explains, is that the outlines of an illustration would be preserved. At the same time, a colour is added. But, poster oil colours overlap on to the outlines. [caption id=“attachment_11452851” align=“alignnone” width=“750”] Sandesh - 1st issue[/caption] ”What’s to be stressed is that father had mastered a spectrum of techniques which he reached into for book covers, movie posters or straightforward illustrations. Then, in 1961, Sandesh (the Ray family magazine) was revived by father and his poet-friend Subhash Mukhopadhyay. Father turned an author with Sandesh,” reminisces Sandip. Satyajit Ray wrote Bomjatrir Diary (Diary of a Space Traveller) and discovered his literary scientist Professor Shanku. “Illustrations by father in Sandesh for his own stories and that of contributors used to be in pen and ink. Crow-quill pen tips were available in the early days of Sandesh, together with Pelican ink, what we loosely term as Chinese ink,” Sandip describes. “Sometimes, some issues of Sandesh would carry a frontispiece where father had illustrated in bi-colour using the half-tone technique. He would, of course, put to use two or three colours for Sandesh’s covers.” [caption id=“attachment_11452921” align=“alignnone” width=“750”] Ramkrishna signet[/caption] Incidentally, if one exerted pressure on crow-quill nibs, they would produce thick lines. On the contrary, if used lightly, a thin line would emerge. Stationers G.C. Laha in Esplanade would stock up on imported products. And, they invariably kept foreign crow-quill nibs and paper for Satyajit Ray. “When father travelled to the UK, he would, unfailingly drop by at the stationery store Winsor and Newton in London, a favourite outlet of his, for material which facilitated his illustrations. Especially, different brands of ink and poster colours. Eventually, of course, Camel and Camlin took off and came up with quality products. Thus, father switched over to Indian brands together with making use of overseas stationery. This was around the late sixties and early seventies. [caption id=“attachment_11452891” align=“alignnone” width=“525”] Nayak poster[/caption] “Then, a novel development crystallised with the emergence of American company Letraset’s texture sheets. This development witnessed the coming of variegated textures pasted on tissue or transparent paper. These were packed in large flaps. Any particular texture would get transferred to an illustration if one rubbed on it with a blunt instrument. Father was thrilled to lay his hands on it. He felt it was a fantastic invention. Father used these textures for black and white illustrations in Feluda. Father made use of this technique in headpieces and letters. Letraset texture sheets were, of course, available only in America and London. So, father acquired them on his travels to the US and the UK. “Once an artist had passed away in Calcutta and the family wanted to offload a lot of nibs. Father went across and purchased the entire bunch. Amusingly, G.C. Laha informed father once that large-sized foreign cartridge paper was available at a particular place or residence. Without batting an eyelid, father went over there and bought over the full tranche of cartridge paper. Some of them may be still lying with us,” narrates Sandip. Informedly, the master would complete movie posters entirely before sending them for printing, through the producer’s contact, to Madras (now Chennai). “Madras, at that time held total sway as far as printing of movie posters went. I have personally flown down with 30 by 40 inches sized movie posters of Fatikchand (Sandip’s maiden feature film), to Madras to have them printed,” recalls Sandip. “All the early film posters executed by father were printed in Madras. I am talking about the lithograph posters. The silk-screen posters were printed in Calcutta.” [caption id=“attachment_11452861” align=“alignnone” width=“478”] Ruposi Bangla signet[/caption] Virtually all original artworks of Satyajit Ray’s movie posters are lost. Sandip talks of just two classic posters which were created by his great father. The first was the charcoal drawing of Abhijan’s poster and the other was the linocut-type artwork for Charulata’s poster. “Both are gone,” rues Sandip. The Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne poster artwork has also vanished. “In fact, time has taken its toll on all silk-screen posters, because silk-screen colours were very brittle. They didn’t last for long. The litho posters are still there. But, father’s original artworks are not there to be seen,” Sandip regrets deeply. Satyajit Ray’s son agrees that illustrations and graphic art hog the lion’s share of the master’s extraordinary career. This phase in the maestro’s life is the longest lasting. Even lengthier than his movie-making life-span. It began from the forties. “He could churn out illustrations in any situation. Even while the customary Sunday adda (chat) session was in progress in his study. This happened mostly when the Durga Puja special issues were breathing down his neck. He was not only illustrating for his own writing in Sandesh, but for the other contributors, for his new Feluda story for the Desh magazine and lending his drawings and sketches, in colour, for a fresh episode of Professor Shanku in Anandamela,” Sandip underlines. “But, even if was not under pressure, father would often execute the pencil work for illustrations even when a Sunday adda session was on. In the same breath, he would participate in an adda. Pencils didn’t call for an enormous deal of concentration, especially for an illustrator of father’s stature,” says Sandip with controlled pride. The great man indulged in illustrating stories even till 1991 before having to be admitted to the Belle Vue Nursing Home close to his home on Bishop Lefroy Road.   Extremely interestingly, the Jamini Roy painting in Feluda’s drawing room in Sonar Kella was Satyajit Ray at work again. “Father had done some research and based it on an original Jamini Roy creation. One must remember that was not the age of computers where one can dig out a Jamini Roy image at the drop of a hat. Father based the Jamini Roy painting in Sonar Kella’s sets on reference work. We later came across the original Jamini Roy painting in a family residence and were very intrigued. But, that was much smaller in size. So, father enlarged and coloured the work. I remember he made use of poster colours for the colouring exercise. Actually, even if we had sourced the original painting just for using it in the film, it wouldn’t have filled the wall space that was required to be covered. As far as his films go, this was the first and last instance of father going back to his Shantiniketan days and turning a painter once again. But, I still recall father observing that that the painting is not as easy to pull off as it looks. The configuration is very critical in the work, he had commented. He didn’t sign on the painting, of course. In any case, that was not important, because the signature was not in the camera frame. “Of course, father had painted Kanchenjungha’s titles, as I have said earlier, done a portrait of a tea-garden staffer for the sets of Kapurush (in Kapurush O Mahapurush) and created Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’s titles in pen and ink wash with a touch of half tone. Of course, father had done sketches of sets for all his films. The processes differed hugely. What constantly figured in his life as an illustrator was crow-quill and pen and ink. He was fascinated by the crow-quill method and derived artistic pleasure and satisfaction from it because of the exclusivity of the nib. The pressure element from which emerged thick and thinner lines. But, he has resorted to a whole gamut of methods during his lifetime and tremendously succesfully. Just as he created Abhijan’s movie poster in charcoal. He would gravitate in his creativity and took to different processes when they flashed through his mind,” says Sandip reflectively. He goes on to remark that his father had an uncanny sense of measurement. Comments Sandip with fascination, “He executed a calligraphic work and said he wanted the letters to be twenty-four points in font-size. The person measuring it found that he had actually drawn them in a similar font-size. Anyone would be taken aback. It happened that father was very impressed by Ananda Bazar Patrika’s (ABP) Bengali typeface. During Ghare Baire’s (Home and the World) making, he told Badalbabu (Basu) the erstwhile head of Ananda Publishers, that he wanted to use ABP’s typeface for Ghare Baire’s titles. Badalbabu naturally agreed. Father executed the film’s entire title cut in that typeface in pencil and handed it over to Badalbabu and requested him to get it composed. A few days later, Babalbabu returned, entered my room and slumped on the sofa. He had a puzzled expression on his face. “The typeface that Manikda had drawn in the title cuts exactly matches our composition, he said, his face becoming more quizzical. I am left without words,” he concluded. Sandip adds that on numerous occasions he had watched his father composing the title of a book or a character’s name and looked on with amazement the manner in which it fit the prescribed space. “His free-hand work was fantastic. But, he rarely used pencils for calligraphic work. He had purchased a special Sheaffer set which contained nibs with varied thickness and could be inserted in the pens specifically for calligraphic writing,” Sandip informs. Probably only a few in the Ray family (who are still alive) are aware that Satyajit Ray had to entertain requests to design wedding cards from members of the family or friends. Satyajit Ray, the illustrator par excellence, may have gone. But, his illustrations, drawings, sketches and paintings (if we talk of Kachenjungha’s titles) will live on as long as books and films survive. Ashoke Nag is a veteran writer on art and culture with a special interest in legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray. (All images from Satyajit Ray Society) Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.