Rahul Ray
Calling Rahul Ray a Renaissance man – accomplished in science, art, music, and literature – only captures part of what makes him so interesting. Equally important are his warmth, interest in the growth and well-being of others, and wonderful laugh. He is a Renaissance man who takes his pursuits seriously, but not himself.
His life’s journey has taken him from Kolkata, India to Washington State and here to Wayland, where he and his wife Swapna have lived for nearly 30 years, raising two sons. Rahul taught for almost 30 years in the Boston University School of Medicine and Swapna currently teaches in Newton and also teaches music in a school she founded. As teachers, they have influenced the lives of countless students. Rahul’s most recent students in the Wayland Council on Aging are in their 70s and 80s, learning and exploring the art of watercolor painting.
“Life Has So Much to Offer”
Rahul was born in Kolkata, India, the brother between two sisters. “Cities are dense, dirty, noisy, but they provide unique opportunities like museums and concerts,” he says. “I grew up in a family where those things were highly valued. My mother was a teacher and she taught us that life has so much to offer, there is music, there is art,” he says. Rahul took up the violin and studied painting. He even thought that he might want to be a painter. He also excelled as an athlete, playing cricket. “My mother was my role model,” he says. “She inspired and pushed us to explore different avenues of life.”
Rahul went to Presidency College in Kolkata, and went on to get his Master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Calcutta, the oldest university in Asia. It was there that he met Swapna. “She is a trained vocalist, and on occasion, she was doing vocal numbers and I was accompanying her on violin,” he says. In 1975 Rahul came to the U.S. to pursue his Ph.D. in chemistry at Washington State University. Swapna stayed in India to finish her doctorate, and when they married, she joined him in the U.S.
“We are very complementary,” says Rahul. “We both are scientists. We play music and make art, she does sculpting and crafts, she is also a writer and a poet, and I write profusely, too.” Rahul writes in two languages, for several magazines – “fiction, poetry, serialized historical novels, and articles on different things. I also have four published books on fiction and poetry.” This is in addition to the many scientific and professional articles he authored.
Coming to Cambridge
From Washington State, Rahul and Swapna moved to Cambridge for Rahul’s post-doctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since then, Rahul has taught at Tufts University, Framingham State University, and Clark University, but the majority of his teaching – nearly 30 years’ worth – was at the BU School of Medicine. “I’ve taught chemistry and biochemistry, nutrition – I was a founding member of BU’s graduate nutrition program – and a huge part of my academic career consists of cancer research, particularly cancer therapeutics,” he says. He retired from teaching in 2022.
Alongside his career as a scientist, Rahul always continued making music and art. “It is a misconception that artists can’t be scientists,” he says. “There is no conflict. Science has an abstract language that has to be learned. But artistic language is a common language, and it comes more naturally. I am a very rational person, truly a scientist at heart, I have to rationalize everything. But art and music come to me naturally. It is very common that scientists are good at art.”
Gardening is also a huge source of satisfaction for Rahul; he likens it to making art with the landscape. “I maintain a very large flower garden,” he says. “My idols in the art world are Monet, Manet, Gauguin, and Van Gogh, and they all painted beautiful landscapes. In particular, Monet’s garden, which we visited in 2019, has been an inspiration for me. When we came to Wayland our yard was mostly grass, and I started planting plants and trees, experimenting, just like when you paint, you experiment with types of paint or colors. With planting, you have an open palette – the tulips and daffodils are here, the wisteria over there, the magnolias are blooming, cherries, roses, peonies….we have all kinds.”
Time as a Philosophical Question
When Rahul and Swapna first came to Cambridge from rural eastern Washington State, they were delighted by all the city had to offer – the hustle and bustle they had enjoyed in Kolkata, and access to arts, activities, and a lively Indian community. “You always feel a tug between two sides,” reflects Rahul. “You are part of the land and culture you were born in, and the values you were born into. When you live in a land with different values, you assimilate those values quickly. Becoming an American citizen, I felt a pinch of conscience, but at the same time, I’m very much an American. I feel at ease, I feel the culture, I see the follies of this society but also the good.” Rahul and Swapna travel to India periodically, where Rahul’s two sisters live. His mother lived with them in Wayland until her death, and Swapna’s aunt lives with them now.
Ask Rahul where he finds the time to do all he does, and he smiles. “The question of time, this is a philosophical question,” he says. “If you really want to do something, you will do it. I was teaching full time and doing research but still managed to make music and art and dig in the garden. People often say they are too busy for this or that. Everyone is busy. But you can find the time if you look for it.”
Rahul notes with a laugh that their two sons, Arjun and Karna, have the same sense of time utilization. “Both of them are classically-trained musicians and continue to be very active musically. They are also artists of caliber. Arjun is a scientist and Karna is a social activist and a socially conscious entrepreneur.”
Making Things Better for Others
Rahul enjoys teaching because he likes people, and he finds it rewarding to see people learn and grow, whether they are young medical students or aging art students. Recently he has been teaching watercolor classes at the Wayland Council on Aging. “I did not know what to expect, but I am delighted,” he says. “The students are doing a wonderful job. You see that something is blossoming, something they didn’t know they had,” he says. “It is a wonderful experience for me.”
At 71, Rahul remains full of energy, ideas, and plans. “I want to achieve a lot more in different areas,” he says. “I want to be a good writer, painter, vocalist, and an instrumentalist,” he says. “Science is not something you do as you age, but art is. I know my life is finite, but I am engaged and my mind is always full to the brim.” Rahul also volunteers to deliver Meals on Wheels in Wayland. “We live with others in society, our global village,” he says. “Life can be hard sometimes, and it is our responsibility as human beings to make things easier, more friendly, more creative. We all have a part to play in that work.”