At the Loreto House church in Calcutta’s Middleton Row, the body of Mother Teresa was kept inside a glass coffin. Her passing away was international news and photographers and correspondents from around the world had flocked to the church.

Back then, I was a young photojournalist working for a national newspaper and, much like many others from my profession, was present there too. Then-prime minister Deve Gowda was supposed to visit and pay his condolences when a fight broke out between the security, special branch and the photographers, over the space allocated to photojournalists from where pictures could be taken.

I, being a junior person, kept quiet and was watching the scenes. Just then, I looked back and saw that a tall, well-built man over six feet, with multiple cameras hanging from his neck and shoulder, was quietly taking pictures and not getting involved in the quarrel. I thought to join him and, after a while, he smiled at me and pulled me to a position from where I could see a more newsworthy frame.

Minutes later, before I could introduce myself, he stretched his hand to shake mine and said, “I am Raghu Rai.” I responded but was in awe for a while. Yes, I knew him by face, as I had seen his pictures and interviews in magazines earlier, but the fact that this same man would humbly come and introduce himself to me, a young photojournalist, was a shock for a moment.

Photojournalist Raghu Rai, who has died aged 83, did not just photograph India. He helped a generation of readers, editors and photographers understand what looking — really looking — meant. A young photographer who learned his craft in Raghu’s shadow pays tribute…

Photojournalist Raghu Rai, who has died aged 83, did not just photograph India. He helped a generation of readers, editors and photographers understand what looking — really looking — meant. A young photographer who learned his craft in Raghu’s shadow pays tribute…

He exchanged his coordinates and I was happy to know the photojournalist who, by then, had already attained celebrity status. Months before that, I had read a story about his works in a Sunday Telegraph magazine. It was inspirational for a budding........

© Dawn (Magazines)