How did Raghubir Singh use color to portray life in India?

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Stieglitz, Alfred: Winter, Fifth Avenue — Street photography *Winter, Fifth Avenue*, photogravure by Alfred Stieglitz, 1892.

Raghubir Singh was a pioneering photographer who believed that color film was uniquely suited to capturing the visual essence of India. While some critics argued that his vibrant use of color glamorized his subjects, Singh firmly rejected this notion.1

He maintained that there was no inherent contradiction between the presence of sadness or poverty and the use of color in photography. By embracing a rich, chromatic palette, Singh sought to document the "baffling social complexity" and the varied landscapes of his homeland rather than merely producing travel imagery. His work, such as River of Colour: The India of Raghubir Singh, demonstrated his commitment to portraying the authentic, multifaceted reality of Indian life through a lens that celebrated the country's visual intensity.1