Virendra Prabhakar

Virendra Prabhakar (15 August 1928 – 4 January 2015) was an Indian press photojournalist, cited by the Limca Book of Records as the longest serving press photojournalist. 14,458 published news photos have been credited to him. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1982.

Biography Virendra Prabhakar was born in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in a Jain family on 15 August 1928 and did his schooling at the Doon 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. Later, he did training in painting at the Chitrashala, Mussoorie. His career started with a coverage of the Asian Relations Conference hosted by the provisional government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947 as India was in the transitional stage to independence. He was the founder secretary of the Chitra Kala Sangam, an organisation based in Delhi promoting art and culture. They had a daughter, Neelam and two sons, Ashok Jain and Ravi Jain, the latter a joint secretary of the Delhi District Cricket Association.

Awards and honours The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri. in 1982.