“I’m Kavali Chandrakanth, an electrical engineer and photographer based in Hyderabad. I contribute to Telugu Wikipedia, work as a Google Local Guide, and spend most of my time documenting places across Telangana that often go unnoticed. I’m part of Kotha Telangana Charitra Brundam, and I am conducting a photo exhibition titled Mapography at the Hyderabad Literature Festival.

I come from Peddamunagalachedu in Addakal Mandal, Mahbubnagar district. During my school days at the local government school, my teachers encouraged us to look beyond textbooks. Years later, when the school building became unsafe, I documented its condition through photographs and shared them with local leaders.

With the support of Addakal ZPTC Nallamaddi Raja Shekar Reddy Garu, a new ₹35-lakh school building with seven classrooms was constructed. At the inauguration, I hosted a small photo exhibition titled Pragathi Pathamlo Peddamunagalachedu, which documented my village’s journey.

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I’ve geo-tagged all 14 villages in Addakal Mandal and regularly upload photographs of old temples, historical sites, and cultural spaces to Google Maps, Wikimedia, and Telugu Wikipedia. Using only smartphones, I’ve added over 25,000 photos and 4,500 videos, marked nearly 300 new places, and recently crossed 500 million views on Google Maps.

Today, I work as a PMU consultant with Telangana Tourism. Whether it’s mapping forgotten places or documenting festivals like the Khairatabad Ganesh, I continue to photograph with one belief—to make places visible and accessible to everyone.”