A camera rested on his chest, the ideal companion in his final journey. Beside the camera was a roll of Kodak Colorplus 200 film in its little yellow box that was once ubiquitous but is rarely seen these days. Together, these two objects summed up the life, work, and genius of Raghu Rai.Family, friends, and a community of admirers that had grown around his work bade farewell to the master photographer and photojournalist at the Lodhi Cremation Ground on Sunday evening.Artists, journalists, editors, photographers, and many ordinary fans stood with Rai’s wife Gurmeet Sangha Rai and their four children, Nitin, Lagan, Purvai, and Avani. Rai passed away early on Sunday at age 83.Opinion | Raghu Rai, the man who saw the worldIn his tribute posted on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Rai as a “creative stalwart who captured India’s vibrancy through his lens”, the “extraordinary sensitivity, depth and diversity” of whose work “brought people closer to the different aspects of life in India”. Protesters being arrested in Chandni Chowk a day after the Emergency was declared in 1975. (Express photo by Raghu Rai)Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said Rai’s “lens chronicled the soul of India for over six decades – its people, its struggles, its joys, and its defining moments”.Several others including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Shashi Tharoor, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik mourned Rai’s passing.Among those present at the cremation were former MP Maneka Gandhi, India Today founder and editor-in-chief Aroon Purie, founder of ThePrint Shekhar Gupta, artists Bharti Kher, Subodh Gupta, and Jatin Das, and designer Rajeev Sethi.Story continues below this ad Raghu Rai, Photo Journalist. (Express archive photo)Also present were photojournalists Gurinder Osan of Press Trust of India, Bandeep Singh of India Today, and Praveen Jain of ThePrint, and photographers Samar Singh Jodha, Sondeep Shankar, Aditya Arya, Prashanth Vishwanathan, and Swapan Parekh.Actor and filmmaker Nandita Das, cardiologist Dr Naresh Trehan, and journalist Madhu Trehan were also in attendance.Sondeep Shankar said he first met Rai in 1972 as a second-year student at St. Stephen’s College. He had entered a photography competition with pictures he took with a camera he had borrowed from his uncle, and Rai, the judge, gave him the first prize. At the cattle fair in Pushkar Mela. (Express photo by Raghu Rai)“I asked him why he had chosen my picture. He said, ‘You’ve taken pictures of what’s happening around you, what students are doing today. You’re showing life’,” Shankar said.Story continues below this adRai was a straight-talking mentor – “He would tell you on your face if your work was bad,” Shankar said. Indira Gandhi and Varun Gandhi at Sanjay Gandhi’s death anniversary at Shantivan. (Express photo by Raghu Rai)Photographer, filmmaker, and graphic designer Parthiv Shah said he first encountered Rai’s work as a student at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad.Rai, Shah said, would immerse himself completely in the subjects of his work. “He would follow Indira Gandhi for years. He understood how she would sit, what she was going to do. A photographer has to anticipate the next moment. Rai was a master of that. And that can only happen if you’re close to the subject,” Shah said.Photojournalist and photographer Prashant Panjiar said he was handpicked by Rai to join India Today in 1986. “He was a larger-than-life personality. Hugely magnanimous. He could be very tough and very warm, sometimes in the same breath,” Panjiar said.Story continues below this ad An inside view of the Red Fort. (Express photo by Raghu Rai)“He would say, ‘Go to the art department, make sure your picture is used well. Fight for your space. Don’t just give it away.’” Panjiar recalled.Aditya Arya, photographer and director of Museo Camera, said he had known Rai from the 1970s onward. In 1977, Raghu Rai became the country’s first photographer to be invited to join Magnum Photos upon the nomination by legendary French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson“He was so polite and so nice to everyone… There are many photographers, but very few have the ability to teach and to mentor. He had that.” Arya said. Also, “He had a great sense of light and composition. His images were like a celebration of the moment, whether it was journalistic work or travel or anything else.”A memorial for Rai will be held on May 2 at the Chinmaya Mission Centre on Lodhi Road at 6 pm.