Saradaranjan Ray (26 May 1858
– 30 October 1925) was an Indian teacher of mathematics and Sanskrit who worked at
Aligarh University
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a public central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875. Muhammadan Anglo-Orienta ...
and at
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. He was also a cricket enthusiast and promoter who has been called the "
W.G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played first-class cricket for a record-equal ...
of India" and as the father of cricket in
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
. He founded "''The Town Club''", a cricket club in Calcutta that played against European teams in the
Eden Gardens
The Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata, India. Established in 1864, it is the oldest and second-largest cricket stadium in India and third-largest in the world. The stadium currently has a capacity of 66,000.
Eden Gardens is often re ...
from 1895. He was a paternal grand-uncle of
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...
.
Life
![Saradaranjan Roy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Saradaranjan_Roy.jpg)
Saradaranjan was one of five siblings born to Kalinath and Joytara who came from a wealthy
Kishoreganj
Kishoreganj is a city and the headquarters of Kishoreganj District
Kishoreganj ( bn, কিশোরগঞ্জ) is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Earlier it was a Mohkuma (মহকুমা) under the Mymensingh district. It ...
family. Kalinath (d. 1879), also called Shyamsundar Munshi, knew Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit, and served as an assistant to the deputy magistrate of Mymensingh. Saradaranjan was educated in Dhaka, where he took an interest in cricket and along with his brothers, Kamadaranjan (Upendrakishore), Muktidaranjan, Kuladaranjan and Pramodaranjan, founded the Dhaka College Cricket Club. He obtained a BA in 1878. He then obtained an MA from Calcutta in 1879 and joined the Aligarh
Anglo-Oriental College as a mathematics teacher. He also taught Sanskrit.
He was known to be physically violent and temperamental. On one occasion his son brought home a goat that disturbed him with its bleating causing him to beat the goat to death. On another occasion, an English soldier in a train annoyed him by putting his leg up on the seat next to him. After the man refused to heed his requests, he reportedly grabbed the man and pulled him onto the floor.
Saradaranjan moved from Aligarh to Berhampore with a teaching job and then went to Dhaka College for a brief stint before moving to Cuttack. He was then invited by
Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar to join the
Metropolitan Institution which he joined in 1888, becoming its vice principal in 1892 and principal from 1909 until his death. Legendary footballer
Gostha Pal
Gostha Behari Pal (20 August 1896 – 8 April 1976) was an Indian footballer who played as a defender. He was the first captain of the India national team, played during the 1920s and 1930s. Spending most of his career in Mohun Bagan, Pal is r ...
was encouraged by Ray in cricket.
Publishing and sports goods
After the death of Vidyasagar in 1891, the Metropolitan Institution ran into financial difficulties and Saradaranjan did not have a salary. He sought incomes from writing books, mainly commentaries in English on various Sanskrit works. He also conducted tutorials from 1895 charging 100 to 200 rupees per week. He established a printing and sports goods company, S. Ray and Company in 1898 along with his brother in law Hemendramohan Bose through which he published the first cricket manual in Bengali in 1899. The company was quite well known in the period and
He designed a cricket bat that won a medal in the Indian Industrial and Agricultural Exhibition at Calcutta in 1906. He took a keen interest in fishing, designing baitless hooks and other gear which he sold through his company. Apart from cricket, he also took an interest in football, serving as the first president for the
East Bengal Football Club
East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fl ...
.
References
External links
* Ray, Saradaranjan (1918
Kalidasa's Kumarasambhavam.Calcutta:S. Ray and Co.
Kalidasa's Abhijnana Sakuntalam(1908)
Siddhanta Kaumudi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Saradaranjan
1858 births
1925 deaths
Bengali Hindus
19th-century Bengalis
20th-century Bengalis
Indian Sanskrit scholars
Bengali mathematicians
Bengali cricketers
Indian mathematicians
Indian cricketers
Indian academics