4 min learnNew DelhiUp to date: Apr 26, 2026 09:36 AM IST
India misplaced one in all its most enduring visible voices on Sunday when legendary photographer Raghu Rai handed away in Delhi on the age of 83. Usually described because the ‘father of Indian images’ and ‘father of Indian photojournalism,’ Rai spent greater than six a long time coaching his lens on the subcontinent’s joys, tragedies, and contradictions with an intimacy few may match.
A protégé of the good Henri Cartier-Bresson, who nominated the then-young photojournalist to hitch the distinguished Magnum Images collective in 1977, Rai went on to provide over 18 books and have his work revealed in Time, Life, The New York Occasions and The New Yorker, amongst others. His iconic image capturing the haunting aftermath of the Bhopal gasoline tragedy — together with the physique of a kid with half-open eyes — introduced international consideration to that catastrophe, and his portraits of Indira Gandhi, Mom Teresa, and the Bangladesh Liberation Battle stay among the many most indelible paperwork of recent Indian historical past.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1972 for his physique of labor on the Bangladesh refugees and the struggle. His son Nitin Rai advised information company PTI that Rai had battled prostate most cancers, which was handled, however the illness later unfold, compounded by age-related problems that lastly claimed him.
The grief that adopted his passing was as large because the world he had photographed.
Mallikarjun Kharge, President of the Indian Nationwide Congress and Chief of the Opposition within the Rajya Sabha, wrote on X: “Deeply saddened by the passing of Shri Raghu Rai, one in all India’s foremost photographers and a towering photojournalist for over 5 a long time. A Padma Shri awardee, his highly effective protection of the Bangladesh Liberation Battle, together with a number of images of eminent personalities like Smt. Indira Gandhi, stays etched in our collective reminiscence. My deepest condolences to his household, buddies and college students.”
Veteran journalist and tv anchor Rajdeep Sardesai paid tribute on X: “The person who outlined Indian photo-journalism for half a century.. whose footage usually advised greater than a 1000 phrases ever may (particularly his basic Indira Gandhi pics) isn’t any extra. Raghu Rai didn’t simply {photograph} India — he taught generations tips on how to see it. RIP Om Shanti.”
Deeply saddened by the passing of Shri Raghu Rai, one in all India’s foremost photographers and a towering photojournalist for over 5 a long time.
A Padma Shri awardee, his highly effective protection of the Bangladesh Liberation Battle, together with a number of images of eminent personalities… pic.twitter.com/KPBpOQwPjZ
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) April 26, 2026
Scottish historian William Dalrymple, who counted Rai amongst his closest buddies and mentors, described him as not solely “the best Indian photographer of his technology” however “probably the most beloved, beneficiant and fantastic man,” recalling that Rai’s ebook on Delhi was the very first ebook he ever purchased in regards to the metropolis — and that it was Rai who first confirmed him tips on how to really take a look at it.
Amongst these mourning Rai’s passing is Ravi Dhingra, a photographer who thought of Rai as his mentor, having been drawn to his work since his school days. “I used to be all the time impressed by his iconic photographs — the Indira Gandhi assassination, the Bhopal Fuel Tragedy,” Dhingra recalled in a dialog with indianexpress.com. “That’s after I began taking a look at his work severely and knew I wished to work with him sometime.”
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Dhingra had constructed a profession in finance earlier than absolutely committing to images, however Rai’s photographs have been by no means removed from his thoughts. When the 2 lastly met in 2001, Dhingra advised him plainly: “I’m your Eklavya and you might be my Dronacharya” — invoking the legendary pupil from the Mahabharata who realized his craft by devotion alone, with out ever formally sitting at his guru’s toes.
His final reminiscence of Rai is one in all attribute exuberance. “I met him for the final time at India Artwork Honest, the place he simply began dancing to the music on the opening,” Dhingra mentioned. “I vividly do not forget that. He by no means moved round with out a digital camera.” It was, maybe, probably the most becoming picture of the person — joyful, current, all the time able to seize the second.
Raghu Rai’s funeral will probably be held at Lodhi Street Cremation Floor at 4 pm on April 26.
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