The Boy who played with Light
"It is the half shades, the hardly audible notes that I want to capture and explore"
The fictionalized account captures Satyajit Ray’s early years as a young boy fascinated by the light emanating from his father’s printing press. He used to carefully observe his father, Sukumar Ray, working his way through his drawings. Until one unfateful day, he was forced to move houses when his father passed away.Manik as he was affectionately called spent his childhood alone, with his imagination for company.
The narration is poignant and touching. The pictures beautifully depict important factual events of Ray’s life such as the discovery of a pinhole camera in a closed room.
The Boy who loved Birds
Salim Ali has been conferred the title – ‘The Birdman of India’ for his study conducted on birds. Saloo as he was called in childhood would keenly study birds with an airgun in one hand. Each bird was a mystery that was waiting to be solved.
The story is set in the era when India was still under British rule. Saloo’s curiosity took the better of him and he got his answers from W.S. Millard that the bird he was relentlessly chasing was called ‘Yellow Throated Sparrow’.
A shade of green is used to sketch the surroundings where Salim Ali was born and to depict imperial India. Strokes of black are used to denote different species of birds. Green and black distinguish the birds and the environment from each other. The illustrations are inspired by Mughal art that Dr Salim Ali adored.
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Lavanya does a great job of incorporating different styles of art to pay a fitting tribute to the great visionaries who paved the way for a bright future in various fields of study.
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