Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury

Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhuryâ€™s Followers (76)

Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury

Born

in Mymensingh, Bangladesh

May 10, 1863

Died

December 20, 1915

Genre

Children's, Indian Mythology, Classics

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Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury (Bangla: à¦‰à¦ªà§‡à¦¨à§à¦¦à§à¦°à¦•à¦¿à¦¶à§‹à¦� à¦°à¦¾à¦¯à¦¼à¦šà§Œà¦§à§à¦°à§€), also known as Upendrokishore Ray (à¦‰à¦ªà§‡à¦¨à§à¦¦à§à¦°à¦•à¦¿à¦¶à§‹à¦� à¦°à¦¾à¦¯à¦¼) was a famous writer, painter, violin player and composer, technologist and entrepreneur.

He was the father of the famous writer Sukumar Ray and grandfather of the renowned film-maker Satyajit Ray. Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury was a product and leading member of the Brahmo Movement that spearheaded the cultural rejuvenation of Bengal. As a writer he is best known for his collection of folklore; as a printer he pioneered in India in the art of engraving and was the first to attempt color printing at the time when engraving and color printing were also being pioneered in the West.

Upendrakishore was born on 12 May 1863 in a litt Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury (Bangla: à¦‰à¦ªà§‡à¦¨à§à¦¦à§à¦°à¦•à¦¿à¦¶à§‹à¦� à¦°à¦¾à¦¯à¦¼à¦šà§Œà¦§à§à¦°à§€), also known as Upendrokishore Ray (à¦‰à¦ªà§‡à¦¨à§à¦¦à§à¦°à¦•à¦¿à¦¶à§‹à¦� à¦°à¦¾à¦¯à¦¼) was a famous writer, painter, violin player and composer, technologist and entrepreneur.

He was the father of the famous writer Sukumar Ray and grandfather of the renowned film-maker Satyajit Ray. Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury was a product and leading member of the Brahmo Movement that spearheaded the cultural rejuvenation of Bengal. As a writer he is best known for his collection of folklore; as a printer he pioneered in India in the art of engraving and was the first to attempt color printing at the time when engraving and color printing were also being pioneered in the West.

Upendrakishore was born on 12 May 1863 in a little village called Moshua in Mymensingh District in Bengal, now in Bangladesh. He spent most of his adult life in Kolkata, where he died on 20 December 1915, aged only fifty-two. He was born Kamadaranjan Ray, to Kalinath Ray, a scholar in Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian. At the age of five, Kamadaranjan was adopted by Harikishore, a relative who was a zamindar in Mymensingh (now in Bangladesh). Harikishore renamed his adopted son Upendrakishore, and added the honorific â€˜Raychaudhuriâ€� as a surname. Upendra passed the Entrance examination in 1880 with scholarship from Mymensingh Zilla School. He studied for a while at Presidency College, then affiliated with the University of Calcutta but passed BA examination in 1884 from the Calcutta Metropolitan Institution (now Vidyasagar College). Upendra took to drawing while in school. He published his first literary work in the magazine Sakha in 1883.

Upendrakishore first introduced modern blockmaking, including half-tone and colour block making, in South Asia. In 1913 he founded what was then probably the finest printing press in South Asia, U. Ray and Sons at 100 Garpar Road. Even the building plans were designed by him. He quickly earned recognition in India and abroad for the new methods he developed for printing both black & white and color photographs with great accuracy of detail.

Upendrakishore's greatest contribution was in the field of children's literature in Bengali. He did most of the illustrations of his books himself. In April 1913, Upendrakishore started the magazine Sandesh, a popular children's magazine in Bengali that is still published today. It was the first magazine for children in India that had coloured pictures, and it became an institution in Bengal.

Upendrakishore embraced the liberal religious movement of Brahmo Samaj in 1883, after the death of his foster-father and he was a deeply religious man. But his scientific bent of mind is reflected in the numerous science articles he wrote for children. He published two remarkable books on popular science. His scientific interests were further nurtured by his close friendship to the scientists Jagadishchandra Bose and Prafullachandra Ray, all of whom lived and worked very close to each other. Also a musician, Upendrakishore wrote two books about music. ...more

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Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhuryâ€™s books

Average rating: 4.34 · 2,227 ratings · 141 reviews · 39 distinct works â€� Similar authors

	à¦‰à¦ªà§‡à¦¨à§à¦¦à§à¦°à¦•à¦¿à¦¶à§‹à¦� à¦¸à¦®à¦—à§à¦� 4.62 avg rating — 581 ratings — published 2001 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	à¦›à§‡à¦²à§‡à¦¦à§‡à¦� à¦®à¦¹à¦¾à¦à¦¾à¦°à¦� by Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Syed Enayet Hossain (Illustrator) 4.13 avg rating — 352 ratings — published 1895 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	à¦Ÿà§à¦¨à¦Ÿà§à¦¨à¦¿à¦° à¦¬à¦‡ 4.44 avg rating — 324 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	à¦›à§‡à¦²à§‡à¦¦à§‡à¦� à¦°à¦¾à¦®à¦¾à¦¯à¦¼à¦� by Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Syed Enayet Hossain (Illustrator), Ahmad Majhar (Prefaced by) 3.93 avg rating — 295 ratings — published 1897 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne by Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Swagata Deb (Translator) 4.39 avg rating — 220 ratings — published 2004 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	à¦—à§à¦ªà¦¿ à¦—à¦¾à¦‡à¦¨ à¦¬à¦¾à¦˜à¦¾ à¦¬à¦¾à¦‡à¦¨ 4.38 avg rating — 72 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	à¦‰à¦ªà§‡à¦¨à§à¦¦à§à¦°à¦•à¦¿à¦¶à§‹à¦°à§‡à¦� à¦›à§‹à¦Ÿà¦¦à§‡à¦° à¦¸à§‡à¦°à¦¾ à¦—à¦²à§à¦ª 4.32 avg rating — 63 ratings — published 1990	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	à¦ªà§à¦°à¦¾à¦£à§‡à¦� à¦—à¦²à§à¦ª 4.21 avg rating — 53 ratings — published 1919	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	à¦®à¦¹à¦¾à¦à¦¾à¦°à¦¤à§‡à¦� à¦•à¦¥à¦� 4.05 avg rating — 42 ratings — published 1909	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	à¦¬à¦¾à¦˜à¦®à¦¾à¦®à¦� à¦†à¦° à¦¶à¦¿à§Ÿà¦¾à¦� à¦à¦¾à¦—à§à¦¨à§‡ 4.26 avg rating — 27 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars