Lila Majumdar

Born to Surama Devi and Pramada Ranjan Ray (who was the younger brother of Upendra Kishor Ray Choudhuri), Leela spent her childhood days at Shillong, where she studied at the Loreto Convent. Surama Devi had been adopted by Upendra Kishor Ray Choudhuri . Lila's grandfather had left his younger two daughters in care of his friends after his wife died. The eldest daughter was sent to a boarding house. Her maternal grandfather was Ramkumar Bhattacharya, who later became a sannyasi and was christened Ramananda Bharati. He was the first among Indians to visit Kailash and Mansarovar and wrote a travelogue Himaranya. In 1919, her father was transferred to Calcutta, and she joined St. John's Diocesan School from where she completed her matriculation examination.She ranked second among the girls in the matriculation examinations in 1924. She stood first in English (literature) both in her honours (graduation) and Master of Arts examination at the University of Calcutta. The family she belonged to made a notable contribution towards children's literature.Sunil Gangopadhyay says that while the Tagore family enthused everybody with drama, songs and literature for adults, the Ray Chaudhuri family took charge of laying the foundations of children's literature in Bengali.