Photographer Zakaria Zainal has documented conflicts and social changes in South Asia. While studying in Singapore, he became interested in photography during an internship in Nepal. He has since traveled throughout the region, photographing people and events in countries like Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Zakaria is currently working on a book of portraits and stories of retired Singapore Gurkhas based on a university project. His photos have helped connect the Gurkha community scattered across Nepal by reviving memories and sharing family connections on social media. Zakaria aims to use photography to impact communities and showcase both exotic and familiar subjects in new ways.

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Photography
He brought Asia’s changing face into focus
Amir Hussain
amirhussain@mediacorp.com.sg
SINGAPORE—He was photographing the
studentunionelectionsinKathmandu
in early 2009 when small skirmishes
startedandheendeduphavingtododge
“missiles”,whichranged“frombottles
to rocks the size of your hand”.
Such elections can get intense as
someoftheunionsareaffiliatedtopoliti-
calparties,saidphotographerZakaria
Zainalasherecountedhisexperiences
Photographer Zakaria Zainal,
who documented the region
through conflict and progress,
is turning his lens back home
inNepal.The27-year-oldSingaporean
has travelled to countries such as Pak-
istan, Nepal and Bangladesh to pho-
tograph and document its people and
events, following an internship in Ne-
pal with the English daily Republica in
early 2009, where he first picked up
photography.
Mr Zakaria, the second of four chil-
dren, had been studying journalism at
the Wee Kim Wee School of Commu-
nication and Information at Nanyang
Technological University.
“Itwasonlythroughthisinternship
that I fully explored photography as a
medium to tell stories,” said the free-
lance photographer, in an email inter-
viewwithTODAYinbetweenhistravels
in Morocco.
He now focuses on documentary
projectsandshowsthechangingfaceof
Asiainconflictorinprogress.Heisalso
working on an anthology of portraits
andanecdotesoftheretiredSingapore
Gurkhas,basedoffhisuniversityfinal-
year project, as they reminisce about
life in the Lion City.
Meeting the Gurkhas
of Singapore
ItwasinNepalthatMrZakariagained
aninterestintheGurkhas,apara-mili-
taryunitintheSingaporePoliceForce
since 1949, having visited the Gurkha
museuminPokhara,andmeetingmem-
bersoftheSingaporeGurkhasPension-
ers’ Association.
Mr Zakaria decided to focus on the
Gurkhas for his joint final-year univer-
sity project, as there was, he says, a
“big vacuum in terms of coverage on
the Singapore Gurkhas”.
HemettheSingaporeGurkhacom-
munity—theGurkhas,theirwivesand
children—scatteredalloverNepaland
listened to the “intimate knowledge”
they have of Singapore.
“Often we shared stories of how
muchSingaporehaschangedandwhat
the future holds for them,” he said.
His photographs and stories have
appeared in several publications in
Singapore and Asia and, in November
last year, Mr Zakaria shared his expe-
riences at a TEDxYouth@Singapore
conference, part of an international
movement that seeks to spread ”ideas
worth sharing”.
AfterNepal,MrZakariadecidedto
travel the region and made his way to
Lahore, Pakistan.
Therewasamajormilitaryoffensive
against the Taliban in the North West
Frontier Province then, and he made
his way there with fellow Singaporean
photographerEdwinKoo,winnerofthe
2010GettyGrantsforEditorialPhotog-
raphy and Mr Zakaria’s “mentor and
inspiration”.
Homecoming
Mr Zakaria said he is now trying to
documenteventsandpeople“athome”.
Hephotographedlastyear’sGeneral
Election for the GE11: We Were There
magazine.
It was a collaboration between aca-
demic Cherian George, his company
Mix Media, and Platform, a volunteer
photographer group.
Itiseasierto“photographtheexotic,
the faraway and the unfamiliar” than
to photograph what is closer to home,
reflected Mr Zakaria, as people often
do not explore different ways of look-
ing at the familiar.
Whathelikesmostaboutphotogra-
phy is how it can impact communities.
WhenheshowedthephotosofGur-
khas he had taken to other Gurkhas,
theystartedtellinghim:“Thismanwas
my batch mate” or “We were neigh-
bours” or “We are relatives”.
“Andsocialnetworkingsitessimply
amplifiedthisasIgotintouchwiththe
Nepalese diaspora all over the world,”
said Mr Zakaria.
Theystartedtaggingthemselvesand
theirrelativesonthepicturesonFace-
book,andsharedtheworkhewasdoing.
“These photographs became re-
latable to this community, as well as
a rallying point for them to talk and
discuss about their time in Singapore
—andalsoahostofproblemsthatthey
facedoncetheyhadtoberepatriated,”
he said.
Describingphotographyasa“viscer-
al medium” that appeals to the senses
and emotions, Mr Zakaria said: “You
cannot fully explain a photograph or
photographs, but you can sure feel it.”
(Far left) Mr Bhaktabahadur Gurung, who served
as a Gurkha in Singapore, holding his memo-
randum of service. (Left) A protest in Islamabad
on the military offensive against the Taliban in
2009. (Above) A Kathmandu protest against the
resignation of Prime Minister Prachanda in 2009.
(Right) Mr Zakaria. Photos courtesy Zakaria Zainal