The Roys of Behala 1928
March 29, 2008 — drsubrotoroy
This is a 1928 group photo of the male members of the Roy Family of Behala, south of Calcutta, along with the children. Adult women would have been behind an effective “purdah”. The bearded patriarch in the middle is my great grandfather, the Hon’ble Surendra Nath Roy (1860-1929) the eldest son of Rai Bahadur Umbik Churn Rai (c. 1816-1902).
The Golden Book of India published at the time of the Victoria Jubilee said Umbik was a descendant of one Raja Gajendra Narayan Rai, Rai-Raian, a finance official under the Great Mughal Jahangir.
Surendra Nath’s second son, my grandfather, is seated second from the right in the second row with spectacles and moustache. The bright lad fourth from the left in the last row would grow up to be my father.
