The world of photography has lost one of its most profound observers. Raghu Rai, the legendary Indian photojournalist who spent six decades documenting the "soul of India," passed away at the age of 83 on April 26, 2026. His son, Nitin Rai, confirmed that the maestro succumbed to a battle with cancer at a private hospital in New Delhi.
Born in 1942, Rai was more than just a photographer; he was a visual historian. Nominated to Magnum Photos in 1977 by the great Henri Cartier-Bresson, Rai’s career spanned the defining moments of modern India. From his haunting coverage of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy to his intimate portraits of Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama, his lens captured truth with a raw, poetic honesty.
Rai was a recipient of the Padma Shri (1972) for his work during the Bangladesh War and was the first Indian to receive the Académie des Beaux-Arts Photography Award in 2019. His legacy lives on in over 50 books that remain the definitive visual record of India’s complexity, grit, and beauty. As he famously said, "I meet my god through my camera." Today, that camera rests, but the vision remains eternal.
