Rani Ray Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhaya (1894?1950), one of the prominent fiction writers in Bengali literature, is best known for his novel Pather Panchali and its sequel, Aparajito. After completing his undergraduate degree from Ripon College, Kolkata, the author worked as a publicist, a secretary and a teacher, before penning Pather Panchali in 1928, for which he gained critical acclaim. The novel was adapted into an award-winning film in 1955 by the famous director, Satyajit Ray. Although Bibhutibhushan was writing during a time of socio-political upheaval, his writings tend to be influenced by personal experience, such his family?s poverty, his life in rural Bengal, his close relationship with nature and the loss of his first wife. He was posthumously awarded the Rabindra Puraskar, West Bengal?s most prestigious literary award, in 1951.Rani Ray studied English at Bedford College, London and University of California. She has taught English at the University of Delhi, University of California at Santa Barbara and Institute of English Studies in Poland. She has rendered into English a Substantial volume of Bengali Fiction including short stories of eminent writers like Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhaya, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Joy Goswami, Suchitra Bhattacharya, Anita Agnihotri and above all Rabindranath Tagore.