Pather Panchali (novel) Pather Panchali (novel) Pather Panchali (, Pôther Pãchali, translated as Song of the Road) is a novel written by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay and was later adapted into a film of the same name by Satyajit Ray. "Pather Panchali" deals with the life of the Roy family, both in their ancestral village in rural Bengal and later when they move to Varanasi in search of a better life, as well as the anguish and loss they face during their travels. It first appeared as a serial in a Calcutta periodical in 1928 and was published as a book the next year; it
Pather Panchali number of critics attended. Although some were initially unenthusiastic at the prospect of yet another Indian melodrama, the film critic Arturo Lanocita found "the magic horse of poetry ... invading the screen". "Pather Panchali" was subsequently named Best Human Document at the festival. Lindsay Anderson commented after the Cannes screening that "Pather Panchali" had "the quality of ultimate unforgettable experience". In subsequent years, critics have given positive reviews. A 1958 review in "Time" described "Pather Panchali" as "perhaps the finest piece of filmed folklore since Robert Flaherty's "Nanook of the North"". In her 1982 book "5001 Nights at the Movies",