Ray and Sen

Satyajit Ray's eyes searched for grace and the eloquence of silence in the ordinary. He framed truth with compassion, letting light fall gently on human frailty.

Mrinal Sen’s gaze was fire.

His eyes saw the tremor beneath the pavement. He showed raw and restless truth. His mind, always questioning.

Ray described his workplace: “The studios show their hallowed past in every crevice on the wall, in every tatter of the canvas that covers the ceiling… The floor is pitted, the camera groans as it turns, and the voltage begins to drop…The general air of shabbiness is unnerving… And yet I do not mind these at all. I don’t think of these as hindrances…It is the bareness of means that forces us to be economical and inventive and prevents us from turning craftsmanship into an end in itself. And there is something about creating beauty in circumstances of shoddiness and privation that is truly exciting.”

Kolkata shaped Sen, inspired him, frustrated him, made him cry, made him laugh, made him think. Yet, he loved the city. There was a time when there was tremendous unrest and the city presented one of its ugliest forms. And Sen did not hesitate to show it in his films.

Ray revealed beauty in humanity’s sigh, Sen exposed the storm behind that sigh. Together, their eyes became our conscience. Through them, we learned to see — tenderly with Ray, truthfully with Sen.