Zamindars no longer live there. How long had it been since it heard the laughter of a child? How long had it been since it felt the coolness of fresh paint or contained the fragrance of a grand festival? A few dilapidating columns and gates are all that remain of what once was the house of the Zamindars of Mashua. The remaining structures testify of a time when the Mashua’s Ray family was at its peak. The Ray Chowdhury house is situated 31 km from Kishoreganj district town and 8 km from Katiadi upazilla sadar, at the center of the village of Mashua.  Mashua’s Ray family was one of the most creative and influential families of the sub continent. Among the most famous Ray Chowdhurys of Mashua are Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Sukumar Ray and Satyajit Ray. They had contributed a lot to shape the Bangla language, literature and Bangalee culture. Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury is considered as the father of children’s literature in Bangla language. He is credited for his science articles for children and a variety of other works. One of his younger brothers Saradaranjan Ray introduced cricket in the sub continent through establishing the Dacca College Cricket Club and later the Town Club in Calcutta. Upendrakishore’s son Sukumar Ray is one of the most celebrated rhymesters of Bangla literature. And Sukumar’s only son was the Oscar winner film maker Satyajit Ray. As an author Satyajit Ray pioneered the trend of detective fiction in Bangla literature. The three generations of the Ray family established children’s literature, as a separate section, in Bangla literature. Ardent readers of Bangla literature and choosy viewers of Bangla cinema are well aware that the ancestral home of Upendrakishore, Sukumar and Satyajit is located in Bangladesh. But most don’t know the exact whereabouts. Keeping that in mind,

The newly married couple started their married life in a rented house in 13 Cornwallis Street. Upendrakishore passed BA examination in 1884 from the Calcutta Metropolitan Institution, though initially he was admitted at Presidency College. He didn’t try to seek employment, rather he tried to maximize his creativity through writing, literary magazine editing, acting, painting, violin playing, composing songs, astronomy, publication and blockmaking. Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury regularly visited Mymensingh and Mashua from 1881 to 1885. Upendrakishore-Bidhumukhi’s second child Sukumar Ray was born on 30 October 1887. After the death of his foster-father Harikishore, Upendrakishore chose to live in Calcutta. He first invented modern blockmaking, including half tone and colour blockmaking, in South Asia. In 1895, he successfully set up a business of making blocks. Several of Upendrakishore’s technical articles about blockmaking were printed in the Penrose Annual Volumes published from Britain. In 1913, he founded what was then probably the finest printing press in South Asia, “U Ray and Sons” at 100 Garpar Road. Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury first introduced new methods for printing colour photographs with great accuracy and detail. He started to publish a popular literary magazine Sandesh in April 1913 (Baishakh 1320) of which Upendrakishore was the writer, illustrator, proof reader, editor and publisher. Apart from his numerous rhymes, his Chotoder Ramayan (1896), Chotoder Mahabharat (1897) and Tuntunir Boi (1910) are the assets of Bangla literature. Like their father, all the six children of Upendrakishore- Sukhalata, Sukumar, Subinoy, Subimal, Punyalata and Shantilata were talented. Among them Sukumar Ray was the brightest one. While studying in Presidency College, he established “Nonsense Club” with his friends. They had a magazine titled Share Botrish Bhaja. Sukumar Ray did double honours in Physics and Chemistry in 1906. After obtaining Guru Prasanna Ghosh Scholarship for higher studies, he went to England in 1911. He received higher education in photography and printing technology at the School of Photo-Engraving and Lithography, London. During this time,

Sukumar Ray first gave the Western world an idea about Rabindranath Tagore by delivering several lecturers on “The Spirit of Rabindranath”. While staying at the United Kingdom he joined the Royal Photographic Society in 1912, from where he gained fellowship in 1922. After completing his study, he came back to Calcutta in 1913 to help his father in the printing business. At that time, Sukumar Ray married Dhaka’s famous social worker Kali Narayan Gupta’s granddaughter Shuprobha Gupta. After the death of Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury on 20 December 1915, Sukumar had to take over the responsibilities of the family printing press. He improved the quality of the publication through his newly achieved knowledge and “U Ray and Sons” turned into the most famous printing press of the sub continent. In absence of his father, Sukumar became the editor of Sandesh. A large number of Sukumar’s writings including his children literature, poems, rhymes, stories and articles were published in Sandesh. He wrote, illustrated, edited and published the magazine for eight years. During his short editing career he patronized hundreds of new writers. Later many of them became famous. Sukumar-Shuprobha’s only son Satyajit Ray was born on 2 May 1921. Sukumar Ray organised his son’s blessing ceremony two years later, where maximum scholars of Calcutta were present. At a young age of 36 Sukumar Ray died on 9 September 1923, of Leishmaniasis, a severe infectious fever for which there was no cure at the time. His first printed book Abol tabol was published nine days after his death. Sukumar completed the three-colour cover, illustration and editing of it during his lifetime. After his death Rabindranath Tagore wrote a heart touching obituary. Later Satyajit Ray made a documentary on Sukumar Ray in 1987. Pagla Dashu, Khai-Khai, Heshoram Hushiyarer Diary, HaJaBaRaLa, Jhalapala O Onanyo Natok, Lakkhaner Shoktishel, Shabdakalpadrum, Bohurupi, Bhasar Atyachar etc. are Sukumar Ray’s most praised creations. In 1926, about three years after Sukumar’s death, the ownership of the family printing business changed hands. The family had to leave their Garpar’s spacious house. Satyajit moved to his maternal uncle’s house along with his mother Shuprobha Ray. At the age of eight, he was admitted at Ballyganj Government School. Young Ray had great passion for films, chess and western classical music. In 1936 Satyajit Ray passed his matriculation examination and took admission in Presidency College for further studies. After completing graduation in economics in 1939, he decided to give up his studies. At the request of his mother Satyajit went to study at Rabindranath Tagore’s Vishva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan in 1940. He learned about the oriental and occidental art there. He read books on cinema in the university library and decided to pursue his career in films. He left Shantiniketan in 1942. In April 1943,

Satyajit Ray was the second film personality after Chaplin to have been awarded an honorary doctorate by Oxford University. He was awarded Legion of Honour, the highest honour of France by the President of France, in 1987. The Government of India awarded him the Padmashree in 1958, Padma Bhushan in 1965, Padma Bibhushon in 1976, Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1985 and the highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, shortly before his death. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Satyajit Ray an Honorary Oscar in 1992 for Lifetime Achievement. In 1992, Ray’s health deteriorated due to heart complications. He died on 23 April 1992 at the age of 71. Satyajit Ray’s only son Sandip Ray, daughter in law Lalita Ray and only grandson Souradip Ray now live in Kolkata. Among the three generations of Ray family, Upendrakishore spent most of his childhood in Mashua’s zamindar bari. Through the diary of Punyalata Ray we know that Sukumar Ray also visited Mashua several times. Today the local influential persons have grabbed most of the lands of Mashua’s Ray family. The administration should have taken steps to prevent this. Only four bighas of land is left as Ray family property. There is a field and a vast pond in the Eastern side of the house. The meeting room of the family is now used as the Union Land Office. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation made a rest house in 2012 to facilitate the visitors spending BDT 59 lakh. According to the locals no one stayed at the rest house in last three years. The Ministry of Land now maintains the Ray Chowdhury house. But the responsibility should have gone to Department of Archeology under the Ministry of Culture. An organised museum displaying the different materials used by the three generations of Ray family can be established there. Local people have been arranging a Baishakhi fair remembering Ray family, on the last Wednesday of every Baishakh, for more than hundred years. Government should preserve such heritage sites for the future generations. If made a planned tourist destination, consisting of all necessary facilities, Mashua’s Ray Chowdhury house can attract thousands of local and foreign tourists every year, who want to visit the place to show respect to the Ray family.