In the immense Hall Of Fame of filmmakers of the last century, India has found its rightful place with the outstanding achievements of Satyajit Ray. An enthusiastic filmmaker, writer of short stories and artist rolled into one, Ray is considered by many as the country’s greatest contribution to the field of motion pictures. His influence as a storyteller and craftsman has been marked on today’s great living legends like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.

There are many, who also revere Ray as an extraordinary writer of compelling tales of suspense and adventure, tales which went on to be filmed as well. Thanks to publishing biggie Penguin and the efforts of its former head David Davidar, many of the original stories featuring Ray’s iconic detective were successfully translated into many languages and went on to be successful as books. However, fortunately, even his memoirs have persisted as they have been translated and compiled together into slim, entertaining volumes.

‘Childhood Days’ is one such volume of autobiographical pieces coming straight from the pen and pad of the filmmaker himself. Edited and translated by his very wife Bijoya Ray, it is an entertaining and highly readable collection of vignettes of both childhood and filmmaking. In real sense, this is not a single book but two books rolled into one. One shows us an insight into Ray’s innocuous and lively childhood and the other takes us to the world of making films.

Ray writes of his simple childhood experiences. These vignettes are packed mostly with Ray’s humorous and simplistic introductions to his relatives and family members. He narrates how he enjoyed time with a grand-uncle who was known for enlarging small photographs. He also admits how small inventions like a ‘Magic Lantern’ or a view of the streets through the slits in windows gave him inspiration to learn the art of photography. Rolled into are delightful recollections of studies and sports at school and enchanting holidays as well.

The second part of the book sees Ray nostalgically recalling some mishaps and adventures that had occurred in shooting some of his memorable films. He describes how he had a tough time with a dog on the set of one of his most celebrated films and how a train gave him problems in the midst of the desert in Rajasthan. He tells of his pursuits, of how he often went on long quests to find locations for scenes. These make up for some rather compelling stuff.

Through these memorable vignettes, we learn much about Ray. His unassuming and congenial attitude to life is ever-present, marking his stories with sincerity and humor. He does not shy from telling his bare beginnings. Ray had a great enthusiasm for travel and culture. Both his holidays and location-hunting trips took him on whirlwind trips to deserts, snowfields, mirages, ancient forts, monuments and other special spots. He learns a lot about these places and tells of them in his memoirs.

Most importantly, we can make out Ray, the artist and dedicated visionary in these stories. Here is the account of a filmmaker who would go to great heights to achieve perfection and continuity in his films. He would also visualize scenes with an artistic flair and would undertake a lot of risk and effort to shoot them on his own. For instance, he would board a heated up coal tender in a railway engine to shoot the smoke with the railway tracks in full view!

I just finished reading Baratunde Thurston’s new book, How To Be Black. Baratunde is a comedian, director of digital for The Onion, and as he says, has over thirty years of experience being black.

The book takes a humorous, satirical approach to the topic of race, and the many roles that black people take on, and how best to perform those roles. For example, you’ll find chapters on: How To Be The Black Friend, How To Speak For All Black People, and How To Be The Black Employee.

Baratunde also comprised a panel of seven writers, comedians, and artists, called, The Black Panel,in an effort to hear from other voices on the subject of race, and being black in this supposed post-racial era. (While six of the panelists are black, one of the panelists is actually a white Canadian guy, and the author of the book, Stuff White People Like)

Interwoven with the How-To Chapters is Baratunde’s personal story of growing up in Washington D.C. with an inspiring, single Pan-African mother who he describes as a tofu-eating hippie who introduced him to pro-black activism, camping, and swimming-things he hadn’t thought of as not being typical of what black people supposedly did.

Growing up in a neighborhood becoming increasingly unsafe due to the growing drug scene in the 80′s, Baratunde’s mother kept him busy with activities, and ended up sending him to the exclusive Sidwell Friends prep school. From there, Baratunde went on to Harvard University. It seems the grounding in African and pro-black culture, juxtaposed with being a minority in the mostly white prep school, helped Baratunde to shape his own strong personal identity as someone both comfortable with his blackness, as well as with the nuances it takes to be black in a privileged white majority.

The use of humor to broach the subject of what it means to live as a black person in today’s world works well, allowing me to laugh and not feel too guilty for recognizing all the faux pas I’ve made as a white person-you know, like looking for my black friend to be the spokesperson for all black people, or asking a black friend if making a certain comment is racist. While I laughed through much of the book, if one truly considers the revelations we are allowed to see through Baratunde’s storytelling, it’s clear that there are important messages to be heard.

Spoiler Alert: I have to say the only disappointment in the book, and I really can’t be too upset, because he tells us right on the first page, is that you will not be able to change your race and turn black simply by reading the book. Oh, well, at least I can feel cool that I have an inside look on what it takes to be black, and still retain all the perks of white privilege.