Delhi …That Was:
Through the Eyes of
Raghu Rai
Anubhav Nath

To cherish and enjoy all aspects of Delhi equally, that is, its
grandeur, history, arts, culture (and shortcomings) makes one a true
Delhiwallah. Raghu Rai is one such Delhiwallah. His long-standing
affair with photographing Delhi is testimony of his love for Delhi.
The images span his photographic journey of more than four decades.
In October 2012, Ojas Art presented ‘Delhi…that was’ a
retrospective style show of Rai’s works based on Delhi. It was very
interesting for me to spend time with him in planning the exhibition.
My visits to his studio were made even more interesting with his
historical work being archived in the background. The depth and
breadth of his archives is perennial – it started with a whole room full
of slides and negatives! One day I would get to see rolls of negatives
from a photo shoot in Gujarat and the next time it would be an
assortment of the various national leaders he has photographed from
time to time in a career spanning more than forty years. My visits to
his studio were very rewarding.
‘Delhi…that was’ is also a landmark exhibition as all the works
presented were in extended edition, a first for a senior photographer in
India. The earliest image was from 1966, which is also approximately
the same time he started photographing Delhi. Majority of the images
belonged to the 1960s and 70s, when Delhi looked different, felt
different and lived differently. The flyovers and skyscrapers were yet
to come, which altered the view of many monuments forever.