Satyajit Ray’s Professor Shonku and the UFO - Essays

 Introduction

Satyajit Ray was one of India’s greatest artists. He was not only a famous filmmaker but also a writer, illustrator, musician, and designer. Satyajit Ray’s Professor Shonku and the UFO is one of the most thrilling adventures of the eccentric Bengali scientist Trilokeshwar Shonku. Written in 1961 but set in Shonku’s diary entries of 1967, the story blends science fiction with detective intrigue, centering on the destruction of world monuments and the mystery of a supposed alien spacecraft.

Carboni’s First Encounter with Professor Shonku

In the 17^th September diary entry, Professor Shonku writes about the recent spate of news about UFOs and his first encounter with an Italian Scientist. He meets Rodolfo Carboni at an International Conference in Geneva. Shonku's research paper on his contact with extraterrestrial civilizations via radio signals using basic instruments at Giridih (his city) is highly appreciated by other scientists. Carboni privately tells Shonku that his research is very similar to Shonku’s own work. He admits that he has not presented his discoveries because he fears it may harm his reputation. He even claims that he has spoken to the inhabitants of a planet in the Alpha Centauri system. Shonku is shocked but also doubtful of this unusual claim.

Later, Shonku learns more about Carboni’s past from his friend Saunders. Carboni had once been an architect. The Italian government had approved his plan to build a new sports stadium in Turin, helped by his uncle, a cabinet minister. But during construction, a dangerous crack appeared in the structure, and his design was rejected. This failure ruined his career and reputation. In despair, he left his profession and even tried to commit suicide twice. After eight years, he returned to the scientific world as a physicist.

Knowing this sad history, Shonku felt sympathy for Carboni. He even wrote to him, offering to give up his own work and help Carboni with writing his ideas. But Carboni never replied.

This first meeting and the story of Carboni’s past reveal him as a man of great ambition but also insecurity. Shonku’s kindness stands in contrast to Carboni’s silence, preparing the stage for the later conflict in the story.

Nakur Babu’s Psychic Powers

In 25^th September diary entry, Nakurchandra Biswas, affectionately called Nakur Babu, a friend of Professor Shonku is introduced. Though young and simple in appearance, Nakur Babu has extraordinary psychic powers. He can read minds, foresee events, perform past-life regression, and even project his visions so that others can see them. Shonku, a man of science, respects Nakur deeply, as he once saved him in Brazil and has often demonstrated his rare gifts.

Nakur Babu spends most of his time reading history, geography, and travel books. Though he cannot buy books, the advocate Mr. Chintaharan Ghoshal lets him use his vast library of 7,000 books, as gratitude for his father, a homoeopath curing his gout. Nakur explains that his visions often take him to the past, showing unknown places, people, and events, which he can understand only with background knowledge. For instance, he once saw the beheading of Dara Shikoh, Aurangzeb’s elder brother and later confirmed it through books.

To demonstrate his power, Nakur Babu makes Shonku witness an ancient Chinese water clock from the 11th century, built in Kaifeng in memory of Emperor Tsen Jung. Shonku clearly sees the image projected like a vision, proving Nakur Babu’s ability to recreate past scenes for others. Nakur Babu is pleased when Shonku explains the clock’s history, saying he often visits him because Shonku’s vast knowledge helps him understand his strange visions.

Later, Shonku shows Nakur Babu a newspaper about a UFO sighting, and Nakur reveals he saw the same craft while on his verandah. He describes a hazy, sand-filled atmosphere that cleared to reveal a massive shining spaceship in a desert with snow-capped mountains behind it. It seemed deserted, though uncertainly so. Before leaving, Nakur warns of a future danger where Shonku might be imprisoned, urging him to take care of his rare powers. Shonku, touched, replies that he stays healthy by eating Brahmi leaves.