Kedar Misani: SOULFUL PHOTOGRAPHY

A publishing adventure

“Art is not something to be understood; it is something to be felt.”
—Sri Chinmoy

IN ITS FINAL post of 2024, The Culturium is proud to feature the work of Kedar Misani, photographer and publisher of the bi-monthly magazine, SOULFUL PHOTOGRAPHY, a cultural project to promote, as the name suggests, photography for the soul, serving as inspiration for its readers in their personal quests for spiritual transcendence. Initiated by spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007), who worked for peace and harmony all his life, the full title of the publication is SATRANGA RABI (THE SEVEN-HUED SUN): International Magazine for Soulful Photography.

As Kedar explains in his fascinating guest post, the very heart of the magazine is its focus on spirituality expressed through the stunning images captured by creatives from around the world, who bring their unique feelings and insights into their breathtaking work. Past editions of the magazine have focused on trees, Nepal, stones, landscapes and water; the first issue of 2025 is dedicated to flowers and plants. Kedar welcomes and encourages submissions—full details can be found on the SOULFUL PHOTOGRAPHY website.

When I was a child, my father implanted in me a love for photography and nature. Although he was not a prolific photographer himself, he managed to tell me the guidelines of a good shot. I got a simple camera called Agfa Clack, where you had to transport the film after each picture to prevent a double exposure. The technique was simple and the film was black and white, but the essentials I managed to learn.

Skipping my school years and my first steps in journalism, some 20 years later, I was so fascinated by the emerging new market of doing, collecting, printing and exhibiting photographs—often signed and in limited editions—that I started to publish my own newsletter/magazine called print letter—all in black and white—where I informed readers about the prices of original (photographic) prints, exhibitions, auctions, books and fairs, as well as presented photographers with interviews and portfolios. Altogether, I produced 41 issues—not in a huge circulation but to the main people of the art scene.

I was always a seeker and attended many workshops and meditation groups either to nourish my inner hunger for the meaning of life or to share my experiences through articles and photographs. One day, my wife invited me to join a lecture by some American meditation student, who spoke at the University of Zurich. I was sceptical but joined her nevertheless. He presented the philosophy of Sri Chinmoy, a spiritual teacher who lived for a long time in Jamaica, NY, after he left his native India following an inner cry.

My wife started to meditate right away, established a little shrine in her room and read his books. It took me a little longer to join the group but finally, we spent a major part of our life under the guidance of this teacher, who called himself a student of peace. He travelled the world, giving concerts, meeting with dignitaries from all walks of life and was extremely creative, writing way over a thousand books, composing thousands of spiritual songs in Bengali and English and painting art that came from within.

In my early years as a student, I thought it would be appropriate to ask him for guidance in my own life. His response was quite unexpected: he saw the opening of a bakery as a task to make some progress. So here I was, never having baked a loaf of bread before, getting the advice to do something completely different. I accepted the challenge and ran a wood-oven bakery in Zurich, delivering bread and sweets to around 20 shops in the region. After doing this for more than 13 years, I was active in many other enterprises and currently work in a vegan organic restaurant in Zurich.

Despite all these different jobs and tasks, my love for photography remained through the years. When I was joining my master for the yearly Christmas vacations or his many concert tours, I always had the possibility of taking pictures in my free time. So I am fortunate to have photos of many countries such as Japan, China, Iceland, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brasilia, Malta, Indonesia, Nepal and several European places.

I also helped publish books of Sri Chinmoy’s writings in recent years and manifesting his light became predominant. In a discussion with a close disciple who lived in New York, it came up that he expressed his interest and wish that an international photo magazine would be created, exploring the photo world from a sensitive, personal, artistic and soulful perspective—not being dependent on advertising and other marketing limits but offering a beautiful publication only in paper form, in a limited edition. With my background in photography, journalism and art I was immediately inspired by this idea and in December 2023, I published the first issue of SOULFUL PHOTOGRAPHY, which I continue to publish on a bi-monthly basis, each issue having a specific theme. So in 2024, subjects like trees, Malta, Nepal, stones, landscapes and water were treated. The first issue of 2025 is dedicated to flowers and plants.

The magazine SOULFUL PHOTOGRAPHY is open to all photographers and photo-enthusiasts, who are invited to submit their best work following the attributes mentioned above. I am also interested in presenting photographers with a whole portfolio of perhaps 6 to 14 pages if their work fits into the theme category of a planned issue. There is no online edition; you should be able to enjoy the magazine in your hands. Subscriptions are available worldwide via the SOULFUL PHOTOGRAPHY website.

More Information

Post Notes

• Feature image: © Marian Kraus, Soulful Photography
• SOULFUL PHOTOGRAPHY website
• Marian Kraus: Colours & Forms
• John Devitt: Cloud Illusions
• Tobias Wilkinson: German Forest Primer
• Danila Tkachenko: Escape
• Ron Rosenstock: The Invisible Light
• Ansel Adams: The Search for Beauty
• Roy Whenary: Open Awareness
• Jerry Katz: Let the Scene See You
• Andy Richter: Serpent in the Wilderness
• Laura Emerson: Deep Sea Contemplation
• Gabriel Rosenstock & Ron Rosenstock: Haiku Enlightenment
• The Culturium uses affiliate marketing links via the Amazon Associates Programme

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