NEW DELHI, May 5 : The Pirelli Calendar 2027 will feature India as the protagonist, showcasing original works by renowned Indian master Raghu Rai along with Norwegian photographer Solve Sundsbo, Pirelli has announced.
The company said that Rai had dedicated himself to developing the project over the last three months, “through an original series of photographs that reflect his heritage and his vision of India for the Calendar”.
The calendar, known and trademarked as ‘The Cal’, will be brought to completion with the help of Rai’s daughter and acclaimed photographer Avani Rai, whose works will also feature in the upcoming edition to “realise her father’s intentions for the series”. “The work my father created for Pirelli was a tribute to India — bringing together his lifelong vision with a more contemporary expression of its people and diversity, something he was always deeply drawn to. I cannot bear the thought of it remaining unrealised. Bringing it to life feels deeply personal, as if I am stepping into his gaze and the way he saw India through his camera.
“Photography was his gift to me, not just as a craft, but as a way of seeing, and in that we found a quiet, profound connection. Carrying this forward feels like a way of staying close to him, of keeping a part of him alive within me,” Avani Rai said in a statement.
Raghu Rai, who died on April 26, has to his credit some of the most memorable photographs from significant events in Indian modern history, including the Bangladesh refugee crisis of 1972 and the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984.
He recorded India’s social, political and spiritual shades in his portraits of leading figures, including Indira Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Satyajit Ray, Hariprasad Chaurasia and Bismillah Khan, which offered hitherto unknown perspectives into their lives.
Sundsbo, who photographed the calendar 2026, will also contribute to the upcoming edition, working together with Avani Rai.
“It’s a great honor to be invited again to contribute to the Pirelli Calendar. I am very pleased to do so alongside Avani Rai and pay tribute to her father’s legacy. It’s a momentous opportunity to explore India. We will both do our utmost to celebrate the country and Mr. Rai’s memory with this collaboration,” Sundsbo said. (PTI)
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