Asiatic Society bulletin features Ray's painting on its cover

The Asiatic Society in Kolkata, on the occasion of Satyajit Ray's 99th birthday, has featured a painting by the auteur on the cover of its monthly bulletin. Ray, before venturing into films, was a professional art illustrator.

He had made a sketch of Rabindranath Tagore for a publication way back in 1945, which was reproduced and printed on the monthly bulletin as a mark of tribute, Asiatic Society president Isha Mohammed said.

"We humbly remember Ray on his birth centenary. The cover also pays homage to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, whose birth anniversary is approaching," Mohammed, who has penned a note beside the bard's painting, told PTI.

Tagore's portrait, with his eyes closed as if in meditation, and a plant next to him "signifies that he is a poet of life and nature", Mohammed said.

"The bulletin cover has a black and white portrait of Tagore by Ray -- almost like a linocut print, done with an innate sense of aesthetics. The illustration was originally carried on the cover of the book 'Janaganer Rabindranath' published by Signet Press, with which Ray was associated as a graphic illustrator," he explained.

Film critics have also revisited Ray and his body of work in the bulletin, he added. Born on May 2, 1921, Ray is widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. He had received major awards throughout his career, including 32 Indian National Film Awards, and an Academy Honorary Award in 1992.