 Sukumar Ray died when Satyajit was barely three , and the family survived on Suprabha Ray 's meager income . Ray studied at Ballygunge Government High School , Calcutta , and completed his BA in economics at Presidency College , Calcutta then affiliated with the University of Calcutta , though his interest was always in fine arts . In 1940 , his mother insisted that he study at the Visva @-@ Bharati University at Santiniketan , founded by Rabindranath Tagore . Ray was reluctant due to his love of Calcutta , and the low opinion of the intellectual life at Santiniketan His mother 's persuasion and his respect for Tagore finally convinced him to try . In Santiniketan , Ray came to appreciate Oriental art . He later admitted that he learned much from the famous painters Nandalal Bose and Benode Behari Mukherjee . Later he produced a documentary film , The Inner Eye , about Mukherjee . His visits to Ajanta , Ellora and Elephanta stimulated his admiration for Indian art . 
