 had no plans to become a photographer. But I just borrowed a camera from my brother by chance just to have fun with it. And the first picture I took of a BV donkey which got published in London Times, half page. And that was the time when my name was also printed and I got enough money from one photograph that I could go on for a month. So it was that kind of a thing and it fascinated me. I said, my God, this is not bad at all doing this kind of discovery through the camera, having fun with life, and yet earning some money out of it. The more I saw it look through the camera, I discovered that I can take a close look at the world. My energies, my mind, everything became very focused and clear. And this is how I thought I can see the world from a very close, intense quarters. So basically it was black and white all over. So the more I started using camera and started focusing on life, it was a journey into life, through the viewfinder. Because if you have different colors in any given space and they may not gel with the mood of the situation, the picture doesn't work well. It all began in Delhi almost 40 years ago. The beginning of a journey to explore through the lens the diversity of India, the land, its soil, its myriad colors. This journey had no pattern and literally evolved on its own as time progressed, compelled as Raghurai was by his creative impulses. Raghurai firmly believes that the photographer's job is to cut a frame-sized slice out of the world around him faithfully and honestly, so that if he were to put it back again, life and the world would begin to move without a stumble. Photography at its best goes far beyond the style of an individual, like the spirit, the soul. And it need not always be explained. It is not so difficult to produce competent and good photographs now and again. However, it is the fire inside you that makes you thirsty. And quenching that thirst lies in digging deeper into the layers and complexities of everyday existence. The stone structures are not mere wonderful pieces of architecture. They still vibrate. And vibrations come in gentle whispers, only in moments when your mind is still and there is silence in you. To be able to experience, realize, and capture the infinite beauty of these silent sentinels to a time gone by, one has to be like a clean mirror that has the sensitivity and the discipline of the medium to capture and reflect what is, not to judge, but to let the situation, that framed slice of life, speak for itself. Like the monuments themselves, that seem to communicate some message to humanity through the unmitigated silences that permeate around them. It is said, a good photograph is worth a thousand words, but a thousand words can be a lot of noise. How about some silence? A moment in space which is non-negotiable. Stories have been told and retold in many different ways through words and photographs, but silence happens rarely. Photography, even at this young age, has acquired a very specific and significant role to play, especially. And that role cannot be replaced by another art form. A great master photographer once observed, the purpose of photography is to explain man to man and to himself. In an ongoing journey, it is not unnatural for one to be driven by some inner compulsions to return to a familiar place or environment again and again. There are times when a spirit binds life. For even those who cannot express themselves in words have a way of sending you signals that drive you towards them. And you find something new, something more palpable than before, even in a familiar surrounding. Raghuraya believes all animate objects are seeking to convey something through gestures and movement, for life is never the same again at the same spot. Yet, it is always a spectacle unvisited before. Amused to poetic outbursts, Kashmir has a timeless beauty that not even a living prophet of doom can eliminate. But unlike many others who find creative fulfillment only in nature, Raghuraya's calling has been in situations that speak to him in human forms. For him, an expression tells a thousand tales. Each wrinkle has a story to tell, and each story unfolds a million myths. A distinct timelessness invades the fulcrum of life in India. Several religions coexist, and they all celebrate life in all its manifestations. But there is something in Sikhism that sets it apart. And the best manifestation of it can be found in life around the famed Golden Temple in Amritsar, day and night out, moment by moment. The barefooted vibrancy can be felt even in the melting of a candle. Over the centuries, so much has melted into India that it is not really one country. It is not one culture. It is crowded with cross currents of many religions, beliefs, cultures, and their practices that may appear in Congress. But India keeps alive the inner spirit of her own civilization with all its contradictions. Here, several centuries have learned to live side by side at the same time. And a good photograph is a lasting witness to that as a photo history of our times. India revels in vivifying life, both in vivariums and tumultuousness. And it is a riot of colors that is evident near flowing waters, giving vent to ancient philosophy that life is transient, and the world merely an aberration in man's eternal journey through timelessness. Photography is nothing but capturing the time we live in, for Raghurai, an ocean of life, churning day in and day out. At the same time, it is too vast a landscape to be captured by a single or even a multitude of individuals. However, facile-footed they might be. But every nook and corner haunts a photographer to instill in timelessness. For Raghurai, to be haunted by this desire is to acknowledge the existence of God, the journey of the spirit, and the demands of posterity. Mid-70s to early 80s, when color films were getting better, you could also get high-speed color films. And especially being in photojournalism, most of the big magazines in Europe were printing a lot of color photographs. And then that was the time of early 80s. I started shooting for Time Magazine, and then I started doing stories for National Geographic. So it was to be done only in color. And since we see everything in color, and life is so colorful, and India is being such a colorful country. So it was becoming important that I photograph the world around me in color. And gradually, there were more controls and more fast lenses also available. So the transition from black and white to color was inevitable and very natural. Or even in those years, I used to carry two cameras, one for color, one for black and white. So even if I am doing an assignment for somebody in color, I will still carry my black and white camera and choose which is good for this situation, whether I need to photograph it in color or black and white. A city of contrasts and contradictions, dreams, aspirations, despair, joy, commerce, and always a new beginning. A city that rises to the moods and colors of the sea. A city that literally never sleeps. A city that grows on you, frame by frame. A city that holds almost the whole of India in its mirrored and mirrored folds. Vibrant and alive to the sights and sounds of life. Ever dying and reinventing itself, it is a survivor. And that's what makes it all the more alluring. It is majestic and magical. Mumbai is widely regarded as a dream city. A city to which thousands throng every day with dreams unlimited. A city that cannot be shored. A blend of cultures and contrasting hues and slices of life. Mumbai denies bounding down by any means or mediums. A celebration of life sculpted in stone, aesthetically. And every stone impregnated with expectancy and deliverance. The temples of Khajuraho are a living testimony to the cravings of love. Every engraved piece is an unmatched marvel. Unlimited in vibrancy, Raghurai has sought to reach the emotions manifest in these timeless forms. Times we live in are complex and multi-nair. The experience of India does not begin or end anywhere. And it opens up a much larger canvas to deal with. Kolkata has always been a big puzzle for Raghurai. And that for him is the most engaging part of an unending experience. He feels Kolkata never seems to begin. And of course, it never seems to end. The photographer in him finds in the city possibilities that open the road to salvation of all sorts. Yes, this is one Indian city which is forever alive to the sights and sounds to almost every human endeavor. Does this vibrant city ever stop you to breathe abnormally? Probably does. Because it yearns to seek deliverance. It yearns to be redeemed. India's Northeast has a unique culture. There are no confluences. And the contrasts spell out contours of life that are musical and spiritual at the same time. It seems to be a place on earth where man and nature learn to coexist in complete harmony. Curiosity can also sometimes lead to confusion. And it is moments such as these that the artist in Raghurai feels bewildered about and what they are trying to convey. That's probably what they call unity in diversity. And experiencing this reality opens up new vistas, Varanasi. The confluence of all Indian cultures. The sublimation point where the relevant and the irrelevant separate to merge again. At times, different meditations merge into one. And they gather in a single space. Simply a spontaneous collection of circumstances. Raghurai stands amid this human deluge trying to untangle the merging and emerging of various colors and recharge. It energizes and enriches itself. It's life's longing for itself that makes one go on. That's what India is all about. Where several centuries and several moments can live and vibrate through each other and beyond. That challenges the vision of the past. And the only choice is to open up the understanding inside and the space outside. It is the panoramic experience that allows Raghurai to photograph for posterity the throbbing of several energies on one given canvas. India being a multicultural, multi-religious society. And India being a land of many varied landscapes like Himalayas and the deserts and the backwaters and the valleys. And India being an ancient culture where so many centuries have learned to live side by side at the same time. So I thought the experience of India is not enough when you say I have captured a moment in space. Because in India, so many moments live at the same place at the same time. So a panoramic image of India where so several moments are living together at the same time became a necessity. And this was born out of that urge to capture much more because India is a horizontal experience for me.