An understated masterpiece in simplicity and poetical mood. The first part of Ray’s trilogy, The World of Apu, is based on the popular 1934 two-volume novel by Bibhuti Bannerji. Ray studies the life of a very poor family, trying to survive on an income of next-to-nothing in a rural village in Bengal. Pather Panchali covers the early childhood of the hero of the story, Apu. We, as observers, seem to become a part of the family and share in their dreams and hopes, wondering what can be done to make life better. Do we believe like the family, that it is best to leave everything in the hands of God, believing that God knows best?