Raghu Rai (born 1942) is an Indian photographer and photojournalist[1][2]. Rai became a photographer in 1965, and a year later joined the staff of The Statesman, a New Delhi publication. In 1976, he left the paper and became a freelance photographer. From 1982 up until 1992, Rai was the director of photography for India Today. He has served on the jury for World Press Photo three times.
Introduction
Raghu Rai was born in the small village of Jhhang, now part of Pakistan. He took up photography in 1965, and the following year joined "The Statesman" newspaper as its chief photographer. Impressed by an exhibit of his work in Paris in 1971, Henri Cartier-Bresson nominated Rai to join Magnum Photos in 1977.
Career
Rai became a photographer in 1965, and a year later joined the staff of The Statesman, a New Delhi publication. Rai left "The Statesman" in 1976 to work as picture editor for "Sunday," a weekly news magazine published in Calcutta. He left in 1980 and worked as Picture Editor/Visualizer/Photographer of "India Today", India’s leading news magazine, during its formative years. From 1982 to 1991, he worked on special issues and designs, contributing trailblazing picture essays on social, political and cultural themes, many of which became the talking point of the magazine.In the last 18 years, Rai has specialized in extensive coverage of India. He has produced more than 18 books, including Raghu Rai’s Delhi, The Sikhs, Calcutta, Khajuraho, Taj Mahal, Tibet in Exile, India, and Mother Teresa.His photo essays have appeared in many of the world’s leading magazines and newspapers including Time, Life, GEO, The New York Times, Sunday Times, Newsweek, The Independent, and the New Yorker.
For Greenpeace, he has completed an in-depth documentary project on the chemical disaster at Bhopal in 1984, and on its ongoing effects on the lives of gas victims. This work resulted in a book and three exhibitions that have been touring Europe, America, India and southeast Asia since 2004, the 20th anniversary of the disaster. Rai hopes that the exhibition can support the many survivors through creating greater awareness, both about the tragedy, and about the victims – many who are still uncompensated – who continue to live in the contaminated environment around Bhopal.
He has served three times on the jury of the World Press Photo and twice on the jury of UNESCO's International Photo Contest.Raghu Rai lives in Delhi with his family and continues to be an associate of Magnum Photos.
Awards
Rai was awarded the ‘Padmashree’ in 1971, one of India’s highest civilian awards ever given to a photographer. In 1992, his National Geographic cover story “Human Management of Wildlife in India” won him widespread critical acclaim for the piece. The same year he won Photographer of the Year from USA. Besides winning many national and international awards, Rai has exhibited his works in London, Paris, New York, Hamburg, Prague, Tokyo, Zurich and Sydney. His photo essays have appeared in many of the world’s leading magazines and newspapers including "Time", "Life", "GEO", "The New York Times", "Sunday Times", "Newsweek", "The Independent," and the "New Yorker".
Exhibitions
- 2005 India - Musei Capitolini Centrale Montemartini, Rome, Italy
- 2005 Bhopal 1984 – 2004 - Melkweg Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 2004 Exposure - Drik Gallery, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Leica Gallery,Prague, Czech Republic
- 2003 Exposure: Portrait of a Corporate Crime - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
- 2003 Bhopal - Sala Consiliare, Venice, Italy; Photographic Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
- 2002 Volkart Foundation, Winterthur, Switzerland
- 2002 Raghu Rai’s India - A Retrospective – Photofusion, London, UK
- 1997 Retrospective - National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India
Collection
- Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France
Books
- 2005 Mother Theresa: A Life of Dedication, Harry N. Abrams, USA
- 2005 Romance of India, Timeless Books, India
- 2004 Indira Gandhi: A Living Legacy, Timeless Books, India
- 2004 Exposure: Portrait Of A Corporate Crime, Greenpeace, Netherlands
- 2003/04 Saint Mother: A Life Dedicated, Timeless Books, India;Mère Teresa), La Martinière, France
- 2002 Bhopal Gas Tragedy (with Suroopa Mukherjee), Tulika Publishers, India
- 2001 Raghu Rai's India - A Retrospective, Asahi Shimbun, Japan
- 2000 Lakshadweep, UT of Lakshadweep, India
- 2000 Raghu Rai... in his Own Words, Roli Books, India
- 1998 Man, Metal and Steel, Steel Authority of India, Ltd., India
- 1997 My Land and Its People, Vadehra Gallery, India
- 1996 Faith and Compassion: The Life and Work or Mother Teresa, Element Books, USA
- 1996/01 Dreams of India, Times Editions, Singapore/Greenwich, UK
- 1994 Raghu Rai's Delhi, Indus/Harper Collins, India
- 1991 Khajuraho, Time Books International, India
- 1990/91 Tibet in Esilio, Mondadori, Italy; (Tibet in Exile), Chronicle Books, USA
- 1990 Delhi and Agra (with Lai Kwok Kin and Nitin Rai), Hunter Publications, Inc., USA
- 1989 Calcutta, Time Books International, India
- 1988 Dreams of India, Time Books International, Singapore; (L'Inde), Arthaud, France
- 1986/87 Taj Mahal, Times Editions, Singapore; Robert Laffont, France; Rizzoli Publications, USA
- 1985 Indira Gandhi (with Pupul Jayakar), Lustre Press, India
- 1984 The Sikhs, Lustre Press, India
- 1983 Delhi: A Portrait, Delhi Tourist Development Corporation/Oxford University Press, India/UK
- 1974 A Day in the life of Indira Gandhi, Nachiketa Publications, India
References
- ^ Raghu Rai: The Man Who Redefined Photojournalism in India
- ^ Imaging India
External links
