Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons¹¹

Upendra Kishore Ray Choudhury

Bengali writer and illustrator

Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury (Bengali: [upend̪ɾokiʃoɾ rae̯ t͡ʃou̯d̪ʱuɾi]; 12 May 1863 – 20 December 1915) was a Bengali writer, painter and entrepreneur. He was the son-in-law of reformer Dwarkanath Ganguly.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Upendra Kishore Ray Choudhury (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born May 10, 1863, died Dec 20, 1915.¹

Companies

U. Ray and SonsFounder¹⁰

Early life and education

Date not recordedUniversity of Calcutta³
Date not recordedMymensingh Zilla School³
Date not recordedVidyasagar College³

Career

Occupation: painter, playwright, writer, short story writer, children's writer, composer, illustrator, violinist.⁶

Date not recordedFounded 100A, Garpar Road⁴
Date not recordedFounded U. Ray and Sons⁵

Personal life

BornMay 10, 1863, Mymensingh District⁷
DiedDec 20, 1915, Giridih⁸
CitizenshipBritish Raj⁹

Family history

According to the history of the Ray family, one of their ancestors, Shri Ramsunder Deb, was a native of Chakdah village in Nadia district of present-day West Bengal, India. In search of fortune, he migrated to Sherpur in East Bengal. There he met Raja Gunichandra, the zamindar of Jashodal, at the zamindar house of Sherpur. King Gunichandra was immediately impressed by Ramsunder's beautiful appearance and sharp intellect and took Ramsunder with him to his zamindari estate. He made Ramsunder his son-in-law and granted him some property in Jashodal, Kishorganj. From then on, Ramsunder started living in Jashodal. His descendants migrated from there and settled down in the village of Masua in the Katiadi upazila of the Kishoreganj district.

Children

Upendrakishore's eldest daughter, Shukhalata Rao, became a social worker, children's book author and editor of a newspaper, Alok. She founded the Shishu-o-Matri Mangal Kendro (Centre for the Welfare of Children and Mothers) and the Orissa Nari Seva Sangha.

He had six children. His eldest son was the famous Sukumar Ray. His first daughter was the children's author Shukhalata Rao. His second daughter was Punyalata Chakraborty and his youngest daughter was Shantilata. His second son was Subinoy Ray and his youngest son was Subimal Ray.