“If I had to describe him in one word, it would be crazy,” said 76-year-old photographer Bhawan Singh, while remembering his colleague and friend S. Paul who passed away on Wednesday night.
“He was crazy about photography. It was more than a job for him. It was his life,” Mr. Singh added.
Late on Wednesday night, the world of Indian photography lost a gem. At 88 years, Paul Sahab , as he was lovingly known by colleagues, passed away after a bout of illness. He is the elder brother of veteran photographer Raghu Rai.
Fascinated by people
“He would just take his camera and walk around the streets looking for stories. People used to fascinate him. More than the usual news stories, Paul Sahab , was interested in telling stories of the every day lives of people. Their struggles, aspirations, and dreams,” Mr. Singh recalled.
Mr. Singh was with The Indian Express when Mr. Paul joined as photographer in the 1960s. What followed was the camaraderie of over a decade, which continued even after Mr. Singh moved to The Hindustan Times .
Mr. Paul, however, stayed with The Indian Express till he retired in 1989.
“I can confidently say that no one from our generation was as good as he was,” Mr. Singh added.
Born in Jhang in Pakistan in 1929, Mr. Paul’s family moved to Shimla after Partition. A self-taught photographer, he discovered his passion for the camera as a teenager. Juniors in the industry fondly remember him as a selfless mentor ready to impart the tricks of the trade to anyone who came to him.
“He would take photographers for photo walks and tell them about intricacies of angles and shots. Many in the industry looked up to him as their mentor,” said senior photojournalist Saraswati Chakravarty.
