Many great photographers have confessed to being a witness long before they picked up a camera. From bustling metropolitans to rural villages, the drive to document is in their milieu. And, in Raajadharshini’s case, it’s all about the people.

The Tamil-born, London-based image maker captures ceremony and custom with equal forte; fusing fashion, documentary and portraiture to explore narratives of visibility and representation. “What empowers my work is the strong sense of vibrant colours and energy that reflect my cultural background, as well as capturing a variety of raw emotions within real people and real communities,” she tells us. Her series The Sun Came Up does exactly that, by documenting the people of the Chadong Village in Manipur, India, as they rebuild their community.

The project traces their psychical and cultural rebuilding after their village was submerged due to a mega dam project that started in 2014, seeing them move to Kamjong Village, some 80 miles away. “From their newly constructed tin roofs to the new roads still unpaved, there are many symbols of their collective efforts and slow-paced life within their tight-knit community,” Raajadharshini says. There is a wide variety of styles captured, in front of landscapes that give us an enhanced view of their devotion to each other and their new surroundings. In one of the images, a man in a grey suit and cattleman-style hat is seen looking out into the mountains and reflecting on a large simmering body of water. He appears serene and secure, with Raajadharshini emphasising their spirit as something that goes beyond location.