Testimonials
I joined the Photographic Society of India in 1957 when I was just 15 years old with my cousin which was a nice idea as our uncle from Aden had gifted us a Rolleicord camera.
We made sure we attended all weekly sessions which were exciting presented by stalwart members. Member Atu Shoda who lived near my house became my mentor which developed into a true lifelong friendship till he passed away in 2019. Among PSI members I can only remember member Bhansali and Belihomji names.
We did excursions to beaches, table top and landscape photography, specially post monsoons to capture cloud formations highlighted by using blue filters. This was all B&W photography then.
I remember the day actor Pran (not sure) who posed for night photography at our studio. He posed in a rubber raincoat with a rubber hat holding a lit kerosene lamp. Water was poured on him to highlight the wet drops.
I had entered in a PSI Salon at the Jehangir Art Gallery and was awarded a special mention of my submission of my little niece wearing my eye glasses captioned “Precocity.”
I developed a great skill in candid portraiture photography using zoom lenses to the delight of friends and family. My cousin then got an enlarger from the Chor Bazaar and we converted one of 4 bathrooms in our two flats into a dark room and started developing films to the utter dismay of my parents.
In 1964 I embarked on a career in Hotel Management in Mumbai and England and managed luxury hotels.
I was invited in 1984 to USA in the San Francisco Bay Area where I live. In my career I travelled to 32 countries and have made some great friendships and memories including PSI members.
Have a very successful Exhibition in January 2026 and continue to bond friendships through the wonderful thing called a camera!
Godrej Kerawalla
The Photographic Society of India is 85 years old and is probably the oldest photography institute in the country. I joined PSI in around 1972-73 as a total beginner in photography and I often wondered if I would be able to create such superb images as I used to see at the Society premises. The senior members of the Society were always ready to help and I learned a lot from them; in fact, I owe a lot to them. I made it a point to attend every Friday program and that helped me to a very great extent. I used to love going on the monthly outings to various places in and around Mumbai. And the annual photo exhibitions (both local and international) were (and still are) a delight to see and learn from. Today, budding photographers learn from me but I shall never forget that I learned from the ever-helping seniors of the Society.
1980s…. I was then doing my 1 year conrse in basic photography at Sir JJ School of Applied Art, when my mentor there- Murthy Sir mentioned about this organization PSI. His words were something like this- “You must attend their exhibitions, talks held by seniors & once you join hire their studio with equipment to practice”. I attended the demo of a model shoot there and my relation with PSI thus began. Later it fortified on many levels. NOBODY TAUGHT COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY THEN, ONE HAD TO LEARN IT.
In those days there were only two main dealers of photography equipment, one was in the fort area. Today where PSI exists, we find several dealers , almost every shop sells some useful stuff that pulls the photographers & the once dead alley is now famous as the camera gully. I wonder if somewhere the seed was PSI that indirectly led to these branches which flower in all seasons! PSI WAS, IS & SHALL CONTINUE TO BE THE ‘OLD FAITHFUL’ OF THE INDUSTRY.
Dilip Yande
