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From today's featured article Satyajit Ray Pather Panchali is a 1955 Bengali drama film adapted from Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay's 1929 Bengali novel of the same name. The debut film of the Indian director Satyajit Ray, it depicts the lives of a family from a poor Indian village with two children, Apu (Subir Banerjee) and his elder sister Durga (Uma Dasgupta). The film, shot mainly on location in rural India, took nearly three years to complete. Sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar composed the score. After a screening in May at New York's Museum of Modern Art, it was officially released in Kolkata on August 26, 1955, and was enthusiastically received after a slow start. Many critics have praised the film's realism and humanity, though a few have found fault with its slow pace; other critics have condemned it, claiming it romanticizes poverty. The tale of Apu's life is continued in Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1956) and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959). The three films constitute the Apu Trilogy. Pather Panchali was a pioneer film of the Parallel Cinema movement and was the first film from independent India to attract major international attention, winning a number of awards and establishing Ray as a major director. It has been featured in lists of the greatest films ever made. (Full article...) Recently featured: Caloboletus calopus Jethro Sumner Queen Elizabeth Way Did you know... Britomart Redeems Faire Amoret ... that Britomart Redeems Faire Amoret (pictured) illustrates the virtues of honour and chastity through the depiction of occultism, partial nudity, violent death and implied sexual torture? ... that Romania's Ioan Alexandru Brătescu-Voinești, after largely steering clear of controversy during his career, became a public and vociferous anti-Semite when he was nearly seventy? ... that 20 different macroinvertebrate taxa have been observed in Cider Run? ... that British nobleman Lord Charles Beresford proposed marriage to the part-Hawaiian chiefess Nancy Sumner but she refused, likely due to their social and racial differences? ... that Chester H. Pond invented the first electrical self-winding clock? ... that Louis H. Fead, Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, was recognized for common sense opinions devoid of erudition? ... that the longest recycled plastic bench in Italy is said to be at Increa Park in Brugherio?

In the news Okanogan Complex Fire Wildfires across the U.S. state of Washington, including the largest in the state's history (pictured), destroy more than 200 homes and burn 920 square miles (2,400 km2). The ancient Temple of Baalshamin in Palmyra is destroyed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. At least 11 people are killed when a Hawker Hunter crashes onto a busy road during an airshow in Shoreham-by-Sea, UK. A bomb explosion in Bangkok, Thailand, kills 20 people and injures more than 120 others. In golf, Jason Day wins the PGA Championship. Ongoing events Recent deaths: Mariem Hassan Arthur Morris Khaled al-Asaad On this day... August 26: Heroes' Day/Herero Day in Namibia; Women's Equality Day in the United States Eruption of Krakatoa 1071 – Byzantine–Seljuq wars: Seljuk Turks led by Alp Arslan captured Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV at the Battle of Manzikert. 1789 – French Revolution: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, defining a set of individual and collective rights of the people, was approved by the National Constituent Assembly. 1883 – A massive eruption destroyed the volcanic island of Krakatoa, ejecting so much ash that average global temperatures fell by as much as 1.2 °C (2.2 °F) over the next year. 1968 – The US Democratic Party's National Convention began at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, sparking four days of clashes between anti-Vietnam War protesters and police. 1977 – The National Assembly of Quebec declared French to be the only official language of Quebec. More anniversaries: August 25 August 26 August 27

Today's featured picture All Saints Church is an Anglican church in the village of Odiham, Hampshire. The oldest visible parts of the current church, the chancel and the base of the tower, date back to the 13th century; several additions, including the tower and the nave, were built over subsequent centuries. English Heritage has designated the All Saints Church as a grade I listed building. Photograph: Lewis Hulbert; edits: Jacek Halicki and Christian Ferrer Recently featured: Djurgårdsbrunnskanalen Downtown Tampa Freestyle Motocross

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