MAM
BARC week 22: Dettol products top list of brands
Mumbai: The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has released its week 22 report in which Dettol Range of Products is the advertising brands list topper with 474.53 (000 secs) ad volume.
Dettol Toilet Soaps also bagged the second spot with 423.92 (000 secs) ad volume followed by Amazon Prime Video with 385.97 (000 secs) and Veet Hair Removal System with 342.36 (000 secs) holding on to the third and fourth spots respectively. The BARC list for week 22 includes Harpic Bathroom Cleaner, Dettol Antiseptic Liquid, Surf Excel Easy Wash, Horlicks, and Dettol Liquid Soap.
Disinfectant cleaner Lizol is in the 10th spot with 273.47 (000 secs) ad volume. It should be noted that Lizol had topped the BARC’s list of most advertised brands last week with 573.05 (000 secs) ad volume.
Hindustan Lever Ltd topped the list of advertisers with 4234.36 ad volume. Reckitt Benckiser India which was on the top spot last week is in the second spot in week 22 with 4162.47 ad volume.
Other advertises named in this list released by BARC includes, Brooke Bond Lipton India Ltd (722.19), Colgate Palmolive India Ltd (520.71), Procter and Gamble (497.41), Amazon Online India Pvt Ltd (417.89), ITC Ltd (371.22), Wipro Ltd (363.72), Google (354.72), and Pepsi Co (330.45).
MAM
Raghu Rai passes away at 83, leaves behind iconic legacy
Padma Shri-winning photographer documented history across 5 decades.
MUMBAI: The lens may have stilled, but the stories it captured will never fade. Raghu Rai, one of India’s most celebrated photojournalists, passed away on April 26, 2026, at the age of 83. He breathed his last at a private hospital in New Delhi after battling cancer and age-related health issues.
His son, Nitin Rai, revealed that Rai had been diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago, which later spread to the stomach and, more recently, the brain. Despite multiple rounds of treatment, his health had declined in recent months.
Born in 1942 in Jhang, Punjab (now in Pakistan), Rai entered photography in his early twenties, inspired by his elder brother, photographer S. Paul. Beginning his career in the mid-1960s, he went on to build a body of work that spanned more than five decades, contributing to global publications such as Time, Life, GEO, Le Figaro, The New York Times, Vogue, GQ and Marie Claire.
His global recognition took a decisive leap in 1977 when legendary French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson nominated him to join Magnum Photos, placing him among the world’s most respected visual storytellers.
Rai’s lens chronicled both power and poignancy. He photographed towering figures such as Indira Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Bal Thackeray, Satyajit Ray and Mother Teresa, while also documenting defining moments like the Bhopal gas tragedy later captured in his book Exposure: A Corporate Crime.
Over the years, he published more than 18 books, building an archive that blended journalism with artistry. His contributions were recognised early when he was awarded the Padma Shri in 1972 for his coverage of the Bangladesh War and refugee crisis. In 1992, he was named “Photographer of the Year” in the United States for his work in National Geographic, and in 2009, he was honoured with the Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
Rai is survived by his wife Gurmeet, son Nitin, and daughters Lagan, Avani and Purvai. His last rites will be held at Lodhi Cremation Ground in New Delhi at 4 pm on Sunday.
With his passing, Indian photojournalism loses not just a pioneer, but a patient observer of history, one frame at a time.
