In the early 1980s, Satyajit Ray was speaking at a memorial event for a renowned novelist at Kolkata’s Academy of Fine Arts. During his speech, he said that contemporary novels were not fit enough to be converted into films as they
lacked proper narration. “Many writers seem more inclined to use their minds rather than their eyes and ears,” he commented. “There is a marked tendency to avoid concrete observation. The writers are either incapable of or disinclined to visualise beyond certain points. This itself need not be held against a novel, but in a film writer, this tendency can only lead to a film that shows a lot but says very little.”
Ray added that there was a lack of adventure; everyone played safe. This led to “stagnation” in the literary world, he said.Reading his comments in the newspaper the next day, Buddhadeb Guha, one of the popular novelists of the time, reacted sharply: “It is not the responsibility of writers to fulfill the needs of film directors.”
In his response, Ray brought up the way Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, in his novel Pather Panchali, described the style of how an old woman wears a sari. “He did not think of the film while doing that.... Today, such descriptions are missing from the literary world of Bengal,” he wrote in a letter to Guha.
Ray was echoing the thoughts of his friend, the writer Nirad C. Chaudhuri. His books, especially Atmaghati Bangali (Suicidal Bengali), spoke of the decay in Bengal, which had arguably formed the cultural and spiritual backbone of India in the 19th and 20th centuries.
This story is from the May 22, 2022 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 22, 2022 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI