In 1975, about a year into his job at the Statesman newspaper, photojournalist Raghu Rai was sent to Ladakh to cover a three-day teaching session by the 14th Dalai Lama.

On the third day, as the Dalai Lama sat down for an interview, Rai took a series of portraits of the Tibetan spiritual leader. That first meeting marked the beginning of a decades-long relationship, giving Rai inside access to a unique world.

“He left an indelible impression on me—gentle, gracious, humble, and full of wonder. It is peculiar to say such a thing, but I got the strange yet pleasant feeling of being equals, despite his position,” Rai recalls in the preface to a new book titled A God in Exile, published by Roli Books, that brings together his intimate photographs of the Dalai Lama, taken over forty years.

The photos capture the Dalai Lama in public and in private, from presiding over spiritual events to sitting in a garden and even watching a TV serial. Accompanied by personal anecdotes that reveal his friendly and even playful side, the book offers a rare peek into the Nobel laureate’s life through the eyes of India’s most renowned photojournalist.

© Raghu Rai The 14th Dalai Lama was the first Nobel Laureate to be cited for his environmental advocacy.

© Raghu Rai

© Raghu Rai The Dalai Lama watches the popular “Mahabharata” serial on Indian television.

© Raghu Rai The leader’s morning routine often involves reading Tibetan scriptures.

© Raghu Rai Rai captures the Dalai Lama absorbed in meditation.

© Raghu Rai In his personal prayer room within the palace in Dharamsala.

© Raghu Rai Celebrations beyond the palace gates.

© Raghu Rai With students at a school for the blind at the Mundgod Tibetan Settlement, Karnataka.