On Our Radar: 5 Contemporary Photoseries Redefining South Asian Visual Storytelling

Photography has long been a means of revealing what lies beneath the surface of everyday life, bearing witness to injustice, and radically reimagining alternative possibilities. These five photoseries on our radar — span portraits from Sri Lanka's coastal town of Ahangama to the crowded compartments of Mumbai locals; from India's fading barbershop culture to the intimate explorations of faith, femininity, and nature. All of them reveal how photographers are reshaping our understanding of identity, place, and community. Whether confronting the unequal burdens of climate change on Dalit women workers or preserving overlooked traditions, these works remind us that the camera is not only an instrument of witnessing but also a powerful tool in the arsenal of a storyteller, archivist, or advocate. In the right hands, it has the power to alter our perception of the world.

Oken Silva's portraits from Ahangama represent an intimate chapter of his ongoing 'Residents' series, which aims to archive the human essence of various places through their everyday inhabitants. In these photographs, local people are placed at in foreground: the couple who first opened a modest coconut stall for surfers long before the area's modern cafés appeared, the fisherman who smokes calmly at the market, the boatman steering travellers through inland waterways, and the station master overseeing journeys at Ahangama's railway station. Each image resists the superficial lens of tourism, instead emphasising individuality, pride, and lending a distinct sense of myth to often-overlooked lives. Learn more about the project here.

Bhumika Saraswati's 'Unequal Heat' is a searing visual inquiry into how climate change deepens existing social inequities in India. Moving through urban sprawls, rural fields, and informal settlements, her lens captures the effects of rising temperatures and the unequal burdens they impose on Dalit women workers who must walk farther for water, on labourers who toil in blistering conditions, and on communities with the least access to cooling infrastructure. Saraswati's project is both urgent reportage and intimate testimony, tracing the human cost of a rapidly warming world. Follow Bhumika Saraswati here and learn more about the project here.

Over several months, Mumbai-based street photographer Ranjit Shankar documented the humble neighbourhood barber shops of Mumbai, capturing what they've come to represent beyond a mere haircut. The photographs depict men reclining in peeling‑paint interiors with cassette decks in the corner, posters of Bollywood icons framed by the mirrors, and barbers offering massages, fades, and conversation — all part of a ritual that's slowly fading from the city's landscape. Learn more about the project here.

Simrah Farrukh is a Pakistani-American visual artist and photographer whose work explores themes of femininity, spirituality, cultural identity, and decolonial narratives. Rooted in editorial portraiture and conceptual storytelling, her practice reimagines women of the South Asian and Muslim diaspora beyond orientalist frames, centring their strength, beauty, and intimacy with nature. Her photoseries 'An Nisa : Al Ardh', is an intimate visual exploration of faith and the feminine qualities of nature. Follow Farrukh here.

Ritesh Uttamchandani's zine-length photoseries 'Snoops On A Train' is a playful but incisive chronicle of everyday life on Mumbai's infamous local trains. Shot with curiosity and humour, the series captures fleeting gestures, overheard conversation, and the quotidian theatre of strangers sharing space. By lingering on the in-between — the glances, naps, and negotiations of proximity — Uttamchandani transforms the commute into a stage where intimacy and absurdity coexist, offering a portrait of the city that is both familiar and fresh. Learn more about the series here.

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