 Satyajit Ray 's ancestry can be traced back for at least ten generations . Ray 's grandfather , <unk> Ray Chowdhury was a writer , illustrator , philosopher , publisher , amateur astronomer and a leader of the Brahmo Samaj , a religious and social movement in nineteenth century Bengal . He also set up a printing press by the name of U. Ray and Sons , which formed a crucial backdrop to Satyajit 's life . Sukumar Ray , <unk> 's son and father of Satyajit , was a pioneering Bengali writer of nonsense rhyme ( <unk> <unk> ) and children 's literature , an illustrator and a critic . Ray was born to Sukumar and Suprabha Ray in Calcutta . 
