Kishoreganj’s Katiadi lights up celebrating Satyajit Ray

A seven-day fair, marking the birth anniversary of film maestro Satyajit Ray, has begun at the premises of the filmmaker's ancestral house. Katiadi upazila administration has initiated the fair at his village in the Masua region.

The fair will conclude on Tuesday. Each day, the fair ends at 10:00pm, after running since morning, said sources.

Amir Uddin, a farmer of Masua, said they enjoy the fair with their family members and it brings a joyous atmosphere to the locality every year.

Guests from far and wide also visit our locality to mark the occasion, said Shamsul Alam, another local.

More than 200 years ago, Horikishore Ray, a prominent figure of the Ray dynasty initiated Kalbhairab Puja on the last Wednesday of Baishakh. The celebration is still known to the local people as Baishakhi Mela.

Crowds of people, irrespective of caste, creed, and religion gather at the fair.

A good number of visitors from different parts of the country come to see Ray's place but they leave dissatisfied over the broken condition of this renowned palace, said advocate Md Farid Uddin from Masua.

Satyajit Ray's father Sukumar Ray and grandfather Upendrakishore Ray were born at this palace.

But the legacy of these world-famous personalities has not been preserved properly yet, Lamented local people.

Khanzada Shahriar Bin Mannan, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) in Katiadi said the fair is being held at Ray's ancestral house as part of its glorious historical past.

"The house is under the charge of the Department of Archeology. A team had visited the location recently and they started the renovation work of the house last week," she said.

The UNO added a rest house built by Parjatan Corporation in 2015 that has been lying unused due to necessary equipment. Through the "Annual Development Programme", the rest house has been painted and necessary furniture like cots, sofa sets and dining tables have been arranged to accommodate the visitors from faraway places.

The UNO also informed that CCTV cameras have been set in the fair area to avert any untoward incident.