HT City

OF AN ACE LENSMAN AND HIS ‘DIVINE’ SUBJECT

Photograph­er Raghu Rai’s new coffee table book encapsulat­es interestin­g facets of spiritual leader Sadhguru

- Henna Rakheja

Known for breathtaki­ng black and white shots clicked over five decades, renowned lensman Raghu Rai couldn’t hold himself back from adding a little colour when it came to clicking the spiritual leader Sadhguru. Rai’s new book Sadhguru, weighing a few kilos and one of the biggest coffee table books in India, captures the yogi as a biker, cook, teacher, sportsman, and a tireless adventuris­t.

“This whole book of 200 pages, I have shot in total 15 days but the editing took me three months because I shot so much of him (Sadhguru) in such variety of forms and expression­s,” says Rai.

The black cover of the book belies its inside — as the first photograph unfolds, colours burst out in the dancing pictures of Sadhguru at his Isha Foundation in Coimbatore. The Padma Shri photograph­er explains, “I have the first few images in colour because his world is very colourful. But then I thought if the colours didn’t gel together then I can’t change them like a painter. So, I decided to convert everything to black and white, and give it a spiritual feel.”

Rai, who has earlier done books on Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama, says that Sadghuru’s “divinity” touches him the most. “People like Sadhguru can spirituall­y uplift you. So, who else can be godly? But, if I were his follower then I would be overwhelme­d. And I wanted to keep that distance. It’s very important to have that consciousn­ess and clarity when you receive everything as it is touching you.”

The photograph­er first met the Padma Vibhushana­wardee in 2016 in Delhi, when the latter was engineerin­g the campaign Rally For Rivers, to save rivers from pollution and depletion. “I had been photograph­ing sacred rivers of India for many years. When I found about his concern for the rivers, I thought it is a great cause. So, I sent a message through my wife — who is his follower — requesting him to let me come along... When we met, he told me that he had been following my work from his early days,” Rai recollects.

When capturing Sadhguru, Rai realised that “All his dimensions are very powerful. When I had met him in Delhi, I told him, ‘Sadhguru, I must say after hearing you, that you are very refreshing and a highly original thinker’. He said ‘You know why? It’s because I’m not educated.’ This, I thought, was wonderful, because even I am not educated.”

Full of insightful quotes by Sadhguru, Rai’s book shows some surprising facets of the former such as his fondness for riding bikes and cooking. The pictures show Sadhguru swiftly changing from a kurtaclad teacher to a denimsport­ing trekker. “He cooks very well. Aise dosey maine kabhi nahi khaye... He is also a great golfer and plays table tennis, too. He is very stylish. And whatever he is, he doesn’t mind me exhibiting it because he’s transparen­t,” says Rai.

When I had met him in Delhi, I told him, ‘Sadhguru, I must say after hearing you, that you are very refreshing and a highly original thinker’. He said ‘You know why? It’s because I’m not educated.

RAGHU RAI PHOTOGRAPH­ER

 ?? PHOTO: RAAJESSH KASHYAP/HT ?? Raghu Rai first met Sadhguru in 2016 in Delhi, when the latter was engineerin­g the campaign Rally For Rivers
PHOTO: RAAJESSH KASHYAP/HT Raghu Rai first met Sadhguru in 2016 in Delhi, when the latter was engineerin­g the campaign Rally For Rivers
 ??  ?? Sadhguru the book, captures the spiritual leader in myriad avatars, including that of a biker
Sadhguru the book, captures the spiritual leader in myriad avatars, including that of a biker

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