finally it wasnt about aperture or shutter speed focal length or white balance when raghu rai spoke about his art it was straight simple and from the heart a good photograph is that which combines mind body and spirit its a darshan in the most profound sense the photographer said sitting crosslegged on a chair on the gyan manch stage this downtoearth approach set the tone for the day as rai spoke about his art and attitude to life at a photography workshop organised by canon india in association with the times of india on saturday for the packedtothegills auditorium that was hanging on to each word he said rai had this advice get out of your comfort zone and be tough on yourself all good guys are easy breezy and boring thats the mould you have to break in a career spanning nearly five decades thats exactly what rai has done an engineer by training and a photographer by accident he has worked with and for various publications including the statesman his first job india today time life national geographic and new york times along the way he met henri cartierbresson and joined magnum the worlds most prestigious photographic cooperative the days proceedings at gyan manch took the audience through this journey progressing from the very first picture rai clicked a closeup of a curious donkey that made it to the times to later works in kolkata varanasi and bhopal after the gas tragedy which made him famous across the globe it was a story peppered with anecdotes and rai had quite a few to share on kolkata a city very close to his heart i had a very special relationship with manikda satyajit ray and photographing mother teresa was the most amazing experience he said and what about kolkata its a city thats overflowing with motion from the ghats to the crowded streets it has given me some stunning moments the ace photographer said so deep has been the impact that rai is now ready with his second book on the city which will be out just before puja titled calcutta kolkata it never begins it never ends the work is being published by timeless publishing coming back to the city again and again rai has seen it change in front of his eyes over the past 10 years globalisation has had an effect yes it looks much cleaner now but globalisation also leads to levelisation where all cities start looking the same this is something we should guard againstthe filmversusdigital debate opened up as soon as rai took questions doesnt a film camera always give you a special feel do you think it is right to modify photos on the computer are you being faithful if you tinker with brightness and contrast as always rai had simple answers digital technology is a great leap forward and if you feel that you get a good photograph after modifying it on the computer then do so by all meanshe