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
Calcutta Film Society European films. The society also started a bulletin designed by Ray, and several of his article were later published in the book, "Our Films, Their Films" (1972). Noted film personalities were invited to speak at the society which they did on several occasions, including Russian actor, Nikolay Cherkasov, directors Jean Renoir, John Huston. Ray later recounted his meeting with Renoir as an important turning point in shaping his cinematic vision of his first film, "Pather Panchali" which he explained to Renoir when he was visiting India to look for locations for his film "The River", in which Ray assisted Renoir.