Satyajit Ray's documentary on Rabindranath

In 1961, on the insistence of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Ray was commissioned to make a documentary on Rabindranath Tagore, on the occasion of the poet's birth centennial, a tribute to the person who probably influenced Ray most. Due to limited real footage of Tagore available, Ray faced the challenge of making a film out of mainly static material, and he remarked that it took as much work as three feature films. [Link]

The script, commentary and direction is by Satyajit Ray. In a word, a brilliant documentary. Ray himself has mentioned, “Ten or twelve minutes of it are among the most moving and powerful things that I have produced”. [Link]

On the 7th of August, 1941, in the city of Calcutta a man died. His mortal remains perished. But he left behind him a heritage, which no fire could consume. It is a heritage of words, and music, and poetry, of ideas, and of ideals. And it has the power to move us, to inspire us today, and in the days to come.

Epilogue: Developing a historical consciousness is important. It frees us from the bondage to the present, and from a fanatical devotion to the practical. It restores in us the dignity of thought, and instills in us a sense of what-could-have-been.