Short stories- Indigo stories by Satyajit Ray

A short story is another one of the greats arts. Much Entertainment can be derived from reading a short story. A short story is a pleasant read; a short story like a short film has to end quickly. The artist(author) must be skilled enough to incorporate all the details, and make the scenario interesting within a few pages.

"Indigo stories" is a collection of short stories written by Satyajit Ray, the legendary Indian film maker. He is one of the greatest film maker of this century. He is the only Indian Director till date to win an Oscar. Satyajit Ray was also a writer of repute. Till date, he is considered as one of the most popular writers of Bengal.

Indigo is an apt name, since indigo is the colour of richness and fertility. These 2 factors are incorporated in the short stories.These short stories are highly engaging. The beauty of these short stories are that they do not go into lengthy descriptions. Ray only touches upon the essentials yet, you could feel every part of the characters. Also, the plot of these short stories can rival the best in the business. The plots are highly interesting.

Another thing, that I like about these short stories are the simplicity of characters. The characters are all average men and women, falling into the category of typical Indian middle class. Yet, some supernatural/ unexpected element is included in the scenario which makes the proceedings highly exciting. Ray proves that to understand class, complexity, and variety you should visit the common and not the snob(not all are snobs) higher class.

In these short stories , we are exposed to the fertile mind of Satyajit Ray. Reading these short stories is a highly rewarding experience. I highly recommend this book.

Rating of this book- 4/5

Satyajit Ray, my all time favourite director

Satyajit Ray is my all time favourite director, and according to me, one of the greatest artist that humanity has produced. He has won 32 national awards, an award at Cannes film festival for the best human documentary, an Oscar( only Indian director to get an Oscar), and numerous awards at national and international level. His massive award collection suggest that he is perhaps one of the greatest director in the history of mankind. Great film personalities such as George Lucas(creator of the star war series), Akira Kurosawa, Lindsay Anderson and many more have highly appreciated his work.

He was also a writer of repute, he wrote novels and short stories. Many of his short stories, were published in "Sandesh"(means sweet in Bengali) a fortnightly magazine, which was started by Ray's father, Sukumar Ray and later revived by him. His Feluda stories, and Gupi Bagha stories have created a legacy.

Along with possessing mastery in all aspects of film making, he could also paint very well. This shows that he was a complete artist.

The best thing that I like about him is that the simplicity with which he portrayed his characters. It takes a real genius to make a complex thing simple, and he mastered in doing that. Even in his short stories, he did not go into lengthy descriptions, he just touched upon the essentials, and yet you could feel every part of his characters.

Let us all "Salute this Genius".