Shyamal Dutta Ray was a master watercolourist and a founding member of the Society of Contemporary Artists in Calcutta. His intense paintings were inspired by the city of Calcutta. They portrayed its many inhabitants, the decaying splendour of old homes and the contradictions he witnessed in a rapidly changing city.
Ray's sense of humour was sometimes reflected in his paintings. For example, this painting depicts an emaciated woman judging what appears to be a competition of bodybuilders.