Sukumar Ray (1887–1923) was a Bengali poet, story-writer and illustrator, and one of the finest writers of nonsense literature in any language. He was the son of Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, who founded the children's magazine Sandesh, and the father of the film-maker Satyajit Ray. Sukumar studied photography and printing technology in England, then returned to edit Sandesh. He died young, at 35. His most famous book, Abol Tabol (1923), is a collection of comic, absurd verses with his own drawings; Ganer Guntho (roughly "the shove of song" — a guntho is a push or butt, as from a goat's horns), translated as The Power of Music, comes from it. The English version is by the scholar Sukanta Chaudhuri, from his translations of Ray's nonsense verse.
Worked examples
Example 1 (MCQ with a twist). Sukumar Ray was the father of (a) Rabindranath Tagore (b) Satyajit Ray (c) Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury (d) Sukanta Chaudhuri.
Solution. (b). Satyajit Ray, the film-maker, was his son. Upendrakishore was Sukumar's father, who founded the magazine Sandesh. Sukanta Chaudhuri is the translator. Read the direction of the relationship carefully.
Example 2 (short note, 2 marks). Write two facts about Sukumar Ray.
Model answer. Sukumar Ray (1887–1923) was a Bengali writer and illustrator, famous for nonsense verse. His best-known book, Abol Tabol (1923), contains comic verses with his own drawings.
Why this scores: one mark for each accurate fact, with dates or a book title as proof.
Example 3 (3 marks). Give the original title of the poem, the book it comes from and the name of the translator.
Model answer. The original Bengali title is Ganer Guntho. It comes from the book Abol Tabol, and the English version, The Power of Music, is by Sukanta Chaudhuri.
Why this scores: one mark for each of the three facts.
Doubts cleared
Q. Is Sukumar Ray the film-maker? No. The film-maker is his son, Satyajit Ray. Sukumar died young, at 35, in 1923.
Q. What does Abol Tabol mean? Roughly "gibberish" or "topsy-turvy". The title itself tells you what kind of book it is.
Q. Who wrote the English words I read? Sukanta Chaudhuri translated the poem. Sukumar Ray wrote the Bengali original.
Mistakes to avoid
- Mixing up Sukumar Ray with Satyajit Ray or Rabindranath Tagore.
- Saying that the poem was written in English.
- Writing the translator's name wrongly. It is Sukanta Chaudhuri.
Check yourself
- Name Sukumar Ray's famous book of nonsense verse.
- Who founded the children's magazine Sandesh?
- Who translated Ganer Guntho into English?
Answers: 1. Abol Tabol. 2. Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Sukumar Ray's father. 3. Sukanta Chaudhuri.