Raghu Rai, amongst the very best in photo-journalism, passed away a few days ago at the age of 83. If you don’t know who he is is or what he is famous for, do yourself a favor and check out his archives. Especially, see his portrayal of Kolkata, his black and white work, and also his haunting, heart-wrenching, and yet, completely matter-of-fact capture of Bhopal and its victims in the aftermath of the gas tragedy.

My first exposure to his work was during my time at Jadavpur University Photographic Club (JUPC) during my undergrad days, when as a budding photographer I went to a couple of his exhibitions in Kolkata. One was his follow-up coverage to see, and show, the Bhopal victims after a couple of decades. I had seen nothing like it, and it left a deep impression on me. He was capturing tragedy and horror, he was telling peoples’ stories; there was something serene and poignant in his imagery, and yet something captivatingly prosaic. I felt like I was there.

Photo-journalism is inherently opinionated, and always wants to do two things— tell a story, and capture realism. Any event can be captured in photos from multiple perspectives, and every photographer has to choose one perspective over another. The good photo-journalist knows how to capture and portray the core truth (in their opinion) of the event in their lens, while telling a story, and capturing impactful photographs. There was no one better at it than Raghu Rai. Every story that he has covered, you will find his opinion, his perspectives, and feel the story in your mind’s eye and your heart’s strings.

Alas, I never had the fortune to meet him in person during my JUPC days, but as I said above, his photography had an outsize impact in how I thought about my own photography.

Rest in peace, sir.

There are several references to this on the internet, but this is the reference that I first came across, so this is what I’m linking to. From Ingrid Fetell Lee:

Did you know that the Navajo (Diné) people have a specific tradition around celebrating a baby’s first laugh? Around three months, they watch the baby closely for that first real giggle. The person who has the good fortune of eliciting that first laugh is then responsible for throwing a party, with the baby technically playing the role of host. Of course, a baby can’t host a party, so the relative or friend who coaxed out that first laugh hands out rock salt, candy, and gifts on the baby’s behalf.

I love this tradition, if for nothing else then for the cuteness factor alone. There are more reasons to celebrate this event, though: laughter is a baby’s first form of communication with its surroundings and with other humans. From this great Ted.com article referencing psychology researcher Caspar Addyman:

The need to communicate with laughter may have deep roots in our development as a species, speculates Addyman. Evolutionary biology suggests it’s a way for humans to share with other humans — and thus, to belong. While he is still teasing out why children needed to signal their enjoyment of the cartoon to whoever was there, he thinks it has to do with the idea, raised by Oxford University anthropologist and primatologist Robin Dunbar, that laughter could be a replacement for the earlier primate behavior of grooming. “Grooming was a one-on-one, unfakeable investment of time in somebody else,” explains Addyman, and it created trust among group members as well as a sense of community.

We have several different baby-event celebrations; this should be one of them!

A great fighter—“The greatest ever”—but he was so much more than that.

[…] as a young heavyweight champion he converted to Islam and refused to serve in the Vietnam War, and became an emblem of strength, eloquence, conscience and courage. Ali was an anti-establishment showman who transcended borders and barriers, race and religion. His fights against other men became spectacles, but he embodied much greater battles.

Also, these are must watch, if you haven’t seem them already:

Rest in peace, sir.