Satyajit Ray's global achievement as a filmmaker often masks his brilliance as a graphic designer and illustrator. He started his career as a junior visualiser at D.J. Keymer, an advertising firm. During this stint, he also moonlighted as a book cover designer for Signet Press. Moreover, few beyond Bengal know about the exquisite illustrations that he did for ‘Sandesh’, the Ray family magazine that he revived in 1961 with his poet-friend Subhash Mukhopadhyay.

Over the years, the Starmark Calendar has celebrated various aspects of Ray's graphic works. This time, in 2025, it pays tribute to the master again by creating a unique calendar curated by Ray's son, Sandip Ray. Starmark Calendar 2025 contains 12 relatively lesser-known illustrations by Ray for stories written by different authors, each illustrated in a distinct style. Using only brush and ink, Ray could simulate complex techniques that fuse complex Oriental and Occidental illustration styles. These works, done between 1944 and 1973, form the trajectory of an artist whose signature radiates through every piece of art. This is a collector's object of desire that will far outlive the utility for which it is initially conceived.