Iconic photos by legendary photographer Raghu Rai

Padmashree awardee photojournalist Raghu Rai was born in December of 1942. A civil engineer by profession, he started photographing at the age of 23. 

Updated on: Apr 26, 2026 3:32 PM IST

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Simply captioned as 1984, this image captured by Raghu Rai shows the beautiful female form perched on a phallic-shaped chair. (Instagram / Raghu Rai )

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An image of two street children sitting still in a subway tunnel as the fast-paced city moves around them captured by Raghu Rai in Mumbai, 1995. (Instagram / Raghu Rai )

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This image of Bismillah Khan was captioned, "Bismillah Khan saheb at his home in Varanasi. 1988." (Instagram / Raghu Rai )

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This image of the Dalai Lama was captioned, "It was spring time. His holiness asked me to come see his garden." (Instagram / Raghu Rai )

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This image of the Taj Mahal in Agra captured by Raghu Rai in 1985 shows the stark contrast between the grandeur of the monument and the life of those around it. (Instagram / Raghu Rai )

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This image was captioned as "Khajuraho, 1986" (Instagram / Raghu Rai )

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An image from Raghu Rai's Bangladesh, 1971 collection. (Instagram / Raghu Rai )

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An image from Raghu Rai's Bangladesh, 1971 collection. In 1972, Raghu Rai was awarded the Padmashree for his documentation of Bangladesh refugees, the war and its surrender. (Instagram / Raghu Rai )