Virendra Prabhakar | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1928-08-15)15 August 1928 Uttar Pradesh,British Raj |
| Died | 4 January 2015(2015-01-04) (aged 86) New Delhi, India |
| Occupation | Press photojournalist |
| Years active | 1947–2015 |
| Known for | News photos |
| Spouse | Kanta |
| Children | Two sons and a daughter |
| Awards | Padma Shri Delhi State Award AIFACS Kala Vibhushan Award ABI Distinguished Leadership Award Rotary International Man of the Year 2000 Acharya Mahapragya Ahimsa Prakshikshan Samman |
Virendra Prabhakar (15 August 1928 – 4 January 2015) was an Indian pressphotojournalist, cited by theLimca Book of Records as the longest serving press photojournalist.[1] 14,458 published news photos have been credited to him.[2] TheGovernment of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian honour ofPadma Shri in 1982.[3]
Virendra Prabhakar was born in the Indian state ofUttar Pradesh in a Jain family on 15 August 1928 and did his schooling at theDoon School where he had the opportunity to train in sculpture and photography under the renowned sculptor,Sudhir Khastgir who was a member of the arts faculty.[4] Later, he did training in painting at the Chitrashala,Mussoorie.[5] His career started with a coverage of theAsian Relations Conference hosted by the provisional government headed byJawaharlal Nehru in 1947 as India was in the transitional stage to independence.[5] Prabhakar covered the conference staged at theOld Fort, Delhi which was attended to byMahatma Gandhi and former Indonesian president,Sukarno.
Prabhakar's career which returned a reported 14,458 published news photos and spanned from 1947 till his death in 2015, earned him an entry in theLimca Book of Records as the longest serving photojournalist.[2] His photos have been published by many Hindi and English language dailies and his photo exhibitions on various themes have been staged at many places.[6] He was the founder secretary of the Chitra Kala Sangam, an organisation based in Delhi promoting art and culture.[5]
Prabhakar was married to Kanta[4] and the couple lived at Bapa Nagar, Delhi.[7] They had a daughter, Neelam and two sons, Ashok Jain and Ravi Jain, the latter a joint secretary of theDelhi District Cricket Association.[2] Prabhakar died on 4 January 2015 at Delhi at the age of 86 succumbing to a cardiac arrest.[7][8]
TheGovernment of India awarded him the civilian honour ofPadma Shri. in 1982.[3] This was followed by theDelhi State Award TheAll India Fine Arts and Crafts Society awarded him theMillennium 2000 Kala Vibhushan Award in 2000, the same year as he received theMan of the Year award fromRotary International.[5] In 2006, he received theAcharya Mahapragya Ahimsa Prakshikshan Samman in 2006.[9]
