Raghu Rai... and the art of telling stories in a single frame

Raghu Rai was the colossus of Indian photography from the mid 1960s till his passing. Tall, good looking and very flamboyant, his presence commanded any space he entered. As a teenager in Delhi in the later 1960s, when the Statesman was still the English newspaper of choice, I would see his photographs regularly.

I have never forgotten one image in particular. Indira Gandhi had just lost the election after she had lifted the Emergency. There was Raghu’s photo - a street sweeper sweeping in front of a wall which had a family planning slogan and image. To anyone who remembers the Emergency and Sanjay Gandhi’s family planning push, this image was a sharp and witty encapsulation. Raghu’s best journalism photographs were like this – they told a story within one frame, almost like a good political cartoonist. His documentation of the JP movement against Indira Gandhi was another major historic work.

His remarkable documentation of Indira Gandhi over decades is a visual history of the political change over the 1960s and 70s. The personal access to a political leader is unique in photo history. Two images of her surrounded by white-clad congressmen are stunning in showing her power and the fear she commanded.

Raghu was initiated into photography by his older brother S Paul, who along with Kishor Parekh were the major photojournalists shaping the profession in the mid 60s. Paul was another huge talent, but had a slightly less public persona. There was a shared camaraderie then including artists like Jyoti Bhatt whose photography was greatly influenced by them. Sadly Raghu became estranged from his brother Paul who had a much quieter personality. Raghu had become a rising star, specially later with India Today.

Raghu became the chronicler of artists, musicians, politicians and the lived life of citizens across India. He published a large number of books – vastly more than any other photographer and these helped in sharing his work with a large public.

He was named as the laureate of the first edition of the Académie des beaux-arts Photography Award, in Paris in 2019. This was a big honour coming in the city which basically invented photography.

There were also intense rivalries between the stars of photography in the 1980s – Raghu, Raghubir Singh and S Paul. These happen in all creative professions, and I fell victim to Raghu’s wrath at one point as I was closer to Raghubir Singh! But over time, these were forgotten and Raghu very graciously spoke at a memorial for Raghubir in Delhi after Raghubir’s death at a very early age.

Many photographers do not actually understand the true range and power of their own body of work, perhaps being too close to it. I personally believe that Raghu has not yet received the truly serious and in-depth assessment his work deserves. Sometimes it takes the eye and mind of an outsider to truly understand the depth of the documentation. Perhaps that will happen in the future, but for those of us privy to his vast archive, we know the importance of the work he has left behind.
(Ram Rahman is a renowned photographer and art curator from Berkeley, California.)