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- Padmashree Raghu Rai Death | Bangladesh War Photographers Profile
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India’s famous photojournalist Raghu Rai passed away on 26 April. He was 83 years old. Raghu Rai, considered the father of Indian photography, was famous for telling stories through his photographs. Big events of the country and the world are still alive in his photographs.
Born in India in 1942, Raghu Rai was fond of photography since childhood. Often used to take photos with father’s camera.
In 1964, Raghu did civil engineering on the advice of his father. He started photography in 1965 and soon his fame in the world of photography made him a cult figure in this world.
The first picture appeared in ‘London Times’
The first picture that Raghu Rai took with his camera was published on half the page in ‘London Times’. He once told in one of his interviews that he had painstakingly taken a picture of a donkey, which his elder brother S. Paul had sent to some foreign newspapers and that picture was also selected and was printed on half the page in ‘London Times’. He also received a huge amount for this.
Remained close to Mother Teresa, Indira Gandhi and Dalai Lama
Raghu Rai remained close to big personalities like Mother Teresa, Indira Gandhi and Dalai Lama in connection with his work. He took most of the close-up photographs of all the celebrities, which are the most popular even today. He used to capture the emotions of these celebrities very well in his photographs.
Raghu Rai considered Mother Teresa as his mother. His relationship with him lasted for almost fifty years.
Raghu Rai covered the personal and professional life of former PM Indira Gandhi from 1967 to her assassination in 1984.
He wrote a book on Dalai Lama – ‘A God in Exile’, in which he included his photographs spanning nearly 4 decades.
Picture taken on the 80th birthday of the Dalai Lama.
Captured the most poignant picture of the gas tragedy
‘Burial of an Unknown Child’ is the most poignant picture of the gas tragedy that occurred in Bhopal on 2 December 1984. It was through this picture that the world recognized the pain of this tragedy. This picture was also taken by Raghu Rai, which is still a document of the gas tragedy.
Photo taken while burying a child killed in the gas tragedy in 1984.
Aborted fetuses in the 1984 gas tragedy.
In 1984, the poisonous gas methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaked from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, killing about 3,500 people instantly. In subsequent years, about 15 thousand people suffering from this died.
Pictures of this tragedy appeared in Magnum and many world magazines. From whom the world came to know about this tragic incident.
Picture of people blinded by gas leak in the tragedy.
Bangladesh war recorded in photographs, received Padma Shri
Took photographs of refugees who came to India during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. In those photographs he captured their worries, restlessness and helplessness, which even today remind them of the horror of that war. Raghu has also recorded this war and the surrender of Pakistani Army in 1971.
A child among the refugees who arrived during the 1971 Bangladesh war.
People who came to India seeking refuge during the war in 1971 made discarded hume pipes their homes.
In 1972, he was awarded Padma Shri by the Government of India for the excellent photographs taken during this period.
Interest in street photography since the 1960s
Raghu Rai captured the lives of great personalities like Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Mother Teresa in photographs, but he loved to capture the common life of his time in real form.
He was not interested in taking artificial or decorative photographs. This is why the world of cinema never impressed him.
He took thousands of photographs of Indian public life. He has beautifully captured Indian culture and everyday life in his photographs.
Called the ‘visual record’ of independent India
India after independence is visible in Raghu’s pictures. His photographs tell the vibrant story of India’s rise and fall and recovery after independence. That is why Raghu Rai is also called the ‘visual record’ of independent India i.e. photo storyteller.
Chawri Market of Old Delhi in 1964.
Photograph taken in Old Delhi in 1970. It shows the completely different situations of two people of almost equal age.
A woman in Haryana in 1966.
Photograph taken at Church Gate station in Mumbai in 1995.
Nominated for ‘Magnum Photos’
Famous French photographer Henri Cartier Bresson was Raghu’s mentor. Henry was greatly impressed by Raghu’s Galerie Delpare exhibition in Paris. After this Henry nominated for Magnum Photos in 1977.
Magnum is the world’s prestigious international photographers’ co-operative organization. Only top photographers from all over the world can participate in it.
A powerful photograph of Indira Gandhi at a Congress meeting in Delhi in 1967. He took many such photographs challenging the social structure.
In 2017, daughter Avni Rai made the documentary Raghu Rai: An Unframed. It was produced by Bollywood director Anurag Basu.
Had Raghu not been a photographer, he would have been a gardener.
Raghu Rai loved flowers and plants. He had said in one of his interviews, ‘I love gardening as much as I love photography. If I wasn’t a photographer, I would definitely be a gardener.
He often spent his days off taking care of the flowers and plants at his farm house. His holidays were often spent like this. He loved nature so much that he used to collect flowers and plants from all over the world.
Wrote 57 books, judged world contests
Raghu Rai has written about 57 books. The books ‘Raghu Rai’s Delhi’, ‘Sikh’, ‘Kolkata’, ‘Khajuraho’, ‘Taj Mahal’, ‘A God in Exile’, ‘Bharat’ and ‘Mother Teresa’ are quite popular.
Raghu Rai had judged the World Press Photo Contest and UNESCO International Photo Contest several times.
Story- Sonali Rai
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