Where the city moved and he watched: Remembering Raghu Rai

The passing of Raghu Rai marks the end of an era in Indian photography, but in Kolkata, his memory lingers in deeply personal ways—through fleeting encounters, quiet conversations, and the countless frames he found in the city’s chaos and calm. A protégé of Henri Cartier-Bresson and the celebrated lens behind some of the most intimate images of Mother Teresa, Rai shared a particularly profound connection with Kolkata—a city he returned to not just as a photographer, but as an observer of life in its rawest, most poetic form. “I first met Raghu Rai in 2008, when he was in the city for an exhibition,” he recalls. “I happened to see him on Middleton Row, and he simply walked up to me and asked if I knew where Harrington Gallery was—and if I could take him there. You’d expect someone of his stature to arrive in a car, surrounded by people, but he was just finding his way on foot, completely unassuming. On the way, he casually asked me if I was a photographer, and when I said yes, that was that—no airs, no distance. I met him again in 2010, and he looked at me and asked if we had met before. For a moment I wasn’t sure if he’d remember, but then he said he did—I was the one who used to click pictures of clouds. That stayed with me. For someone like him to remember something so small—it showed how observant he was, not just through his lens, but in life as well. -Debarshi Duttagupta, photographer I had the chance to interact with Raghu Rai both in person and virtually. “He often spoke about how deeply he loved the Hooghly and the ghats—there was something about that rhythm of life that drew him in. He would say that Kolkata was his favourite city because here, all he had to do was stay calm and the frames would come to him. He believed the city revealed itself if you were patient enough. I remember him saying he could spend hours in one spot in Kolkata, because it’s a constantly moving cityscape—something was always unfolding. He loved the river, the streets, and the everyday life of the place. He used to say that he was standig still and the city was moving with him. -Sukrit Sen, heritage enthusiast “Raghu Rai had an insatiable hunger, if anything, it only grew stronger with age. For him, photography was never about just images; it was about telling stories that stayed with you. He was constantly curious, always observing, always wanting to go deeper into the moment. I remember he spoke to me about doing a book on Durga Puja together- he had even printed a cover for it, and he was very excited about the idea of capturing the spirit of the festival in his own way. Despite his legendary status, he lived simply, there was nothing extravagant about him. When he was in Kolkata, my mother would often send him home-cooked rice and fish curry, which he loved because he loved the simple things. When we visited his home, we noticed how everything he used came from his own farm. Everyone in Kolkata wasRaghu’s friend—but the truth is, he was very selective about who he truly spent time with. His circle was small. -Kounteya Sinha, photographer