By BHUMESH BHARTI
My meetings with Raghu Rai have been more through books than in person. In real life, I had the chance to meet him three or four times, and every single time I saw a camera hanging from his shoulders—whether he had come to deliver a lecture or attend an inauguration. We never had long conversations, but through reading about him, studying his work, and observing his methods, I learned a great deal.
When I once requested his autograph on his book “My Land and Its People”, he smiled and said, “Oh wow… even I do not have this book with me now. This was my very first photography book.” That moment revealed both his humility and simplicity.
On 6 March 2016, he came to Welham Boys’ School for an interaction with students and teachers. A day earlier, on 5 March, I was on the same flight to Dehradun. I noticed someone seated ahead, photographing through the airplane window with a camera. I too always prefer a window seat and love photographing while travelling, so I felt happy seeing someone still choosing a camera over a mobile phone. At that moment, I could not recognise him.
Later, while waiting for luggage, I saw that it was Raghu Rai himself. I greeted him and told him that I was also a photographer and tried to keep my camera with me at all times. He simply replied, “Then let us shoot in Rishikesh sometime.” I was speechless in that moment.
As we stepped outside the airport, I saw a teacher from Welham Boys’ School along with some of my photography students, holding a placard with his name. I immediately realised that he was coming to our own school. I quickly photographed his welcome and even got a picture clicked with him. Proudly, I told him that I also taught photography at Welham Boys’. He responded warmly, “Very good… then we shall meet tomorrow at school,” before leaving for Rishikesh.
In the same book, I had read that during his first four years of photography, he used only one camera and one lens. That day I truly understood that great photographs are not made by owning many lenses, but by developing vision.
In an interview on Doordarshan, he was asked why, despite loving black-and-white photography throughout his life, he made a colour book. He explained that The Sikhs could never be complete without colours, because vibrant colours are an essential part of Sikh identity.
A few months ago, when I met Maneka Gandhi and presented her a copy of my book Aerial Vistas of Uttarakhand, she asked me for another copy to give to Raghu Rai. She told me that he was working with her on a book project.
Later, I received a phone call from Raghu Rai himself regarding the book. He appreciated my aerial photography work and said that someday he would come to Dehradun, meet the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand with me, and discuss a photography project for the state. That meeting never happened, but the memory of his words remains with me forever.
What I learned from Raghu Rai is simple yet profound: even basic equipment is enough for a great photograph, if your vision is broad enough.
