As I was walking around Little India looking for hidden gems for the Moment of More contest, I chanced upon a unique photography studio: Sajeev Digital Studio. This studio is unique because it is more than a photography studio. Taken by Mr K Sajeev Lal, these photographs perform an important social function: they help South Asian male migrant workers find love back home in India and Sri Lanka! Mr Sajeev happily claims that he has a success rate of 100%.

An affable and jovial soul, Mr Sajeev gave me a tour of his studio and shared his personal story. I learned that he taught himself photography on a Yashica film camera when he was 15. He learnt film developing later, and adroitly turned his passion into a profession. I’m also glad that Mr Sajeev was game enough to pose for my photographs. As a photographer, I know that willing subjects are hard to come by. Mr Sajeev’s willingness made the photo-taking experience so much more unique and imbued deeper meaning into these photographs that you see here.

This recommendation is unique because there are thousands of portraits of migrant workers the adorned the walls of the little studio. These portraits formed an eclectic mosaic of untold stories. I took a moment to appreciate the fact that much of Singapore’s modern development would have been impossible without them. Looking at these portraits turned out to be a gentle reminder that we can do more to appreciate our migrant workers in our midst. I realised that touring Singapore is not just about visiting local cookie-cutter places of interest – it’s about rediscovering the different threads that form our magnificent social fabric, and how it is up to each and every one of us to make it stronger.

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