Lifestyle
Kavya Karnatac: Bringing Cultures Together and Educating with Fun
Kavya Karnatac is different from a typical content creator. She is a genius with a love for geography and a skill for creating eye-catching educational content. Her efforts are simple, she wants to reshape people’s views, their learning and how we all understand the subject. Her unique approach has brought her over 1.8 million followers on Instagram and 1.66 million subscribers on YouTube in less than a year, making her one of India’s fastest-growing educational influencers.
But it’s not just the numbers that define her success. Kavya’s content goes beyond these evaluations, charts and maps. Her content walks into the deep caves in the heart of India, exploring India’s hidden gems and debunking common myths.
Kavya Karnatac was born in Nainital, Uttarakhand, and her journey from a regular media professional to a celebrated educational creator goes beyond words. Nevertheless, I managed to gather some and write about her.
Let’s read!
From Just Job to Content Creation
Kavya graduated from Lady Shri Ram College with a degree in English, followed by post-graduation from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Media and Cultural Studies. Being a media student laid the foundation for her storytelling skills, which she utilised to the best of her ability in her media career. However, she made one of the biggest decisions in November 2022 when she decided to leave her secure media job to pursue content creation full-time.
All the fun, informative and well-edited videos began as a one-woman show. She managed everything from scripting to editing and today evolved into a team of 10-15. Despite her rapid growth, she prioritises creativity and building meaningful connections with her audience.
Did you think you were going to fall in love with Geography?
Initially, Kavya created content on geopolitics, but she soon realised the importance of understanding our nation’s geography to grasp the nuances of geopolitics. To her, geography is more than just mountains and rivers. It’s about understanding food, language, culture and business. She believes geography is the key to understanding India’s diversity.
Kavya’s content is all about mind-boggling facts that captivate us. Let’s look at some she covered:
- A video on a house in Chandrapur, India. The property lies half in Maharashtra and half in Telangana.
- A Longwa village in Nagaland where residents have dual citizenship, both in India and Myanmar.
- The famous Puducherry, a Union Territory. This UT has parts of land spread across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh.
- The India-Bangladesh border once had enclaves where one could change countries eight times within 100 meters.
Debunking Myths and Blasting Stereotypes
One of the most popular segments on Kavya’s platforms is myth-busting. Through her videos, she challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about India’s geography.
- Is Rajasthan just a Desert? Kavya shows Rajasthan’s diversity, from the city of Udaipur, known for its lakes, to its status as a leading producer of wool, milk, and garlic. She emphasises the state’s rich cultural and natural landscape, including the Aravalli mountain range and Asia’s second-largest man-made lake.
- Do people from the North only speak Hindi? The northern states have multiple languages and dialects, such as Rajasthani, Gujarati, Punjabi, and Bhojpuri. She needs to do one video on South India too, contrary to the popular belief that everyone is a Madrasi!
- The Northeast is More Than Forests: Kavya focuses on the Northeast’s unique aspects, such as Asia’s cleanest village, the world’s largest river island and a lovely market run entirely by women.
Content that is Interactive and Relatable!
Kavya’s content stands out because of her ability to make learning interactive and relatable. Her Instagram stories and posts are a hub for quizzes, thought-provoking questions, and challenges to engage her audience. Turning geography into a participatory experience, she encourages her followers to learn actively.
Kavya’s interdisciplinary approach allows her to connect geography with various brands. From food delivery apps to fashion brands, she links products to geography in a way that feels like “Is that it?”.
However, she remains selective about her collaborations and partnerships, valuing audience needs, trust and integrity. Recently, she declined a deal promoting Ambani’s wedding, citing ethical concerns and her commitment to authenticity.
Kavya has launched a series called NCERT Made Fun on YouTube, where she simplifies topics from NCERT textbooks. She makes foundational knowledge accessible and engaging for students and teachers alike. She plans to develop an app as a local guide to India, further enriching the learning experience.
Why Kavya’s Storytelling is Unique?
Kavya has visited many places across India, and her favourite destinations include the Western Ghats, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Nashik. She believes India’s geographic diversity is its greatest strength, influencing everything from culture to business.
She bridges the cultural gaps between India’s regions through her work. Her content highlights barely known traditions, festivals and lifestyles, with only one intention, a sense of unity. From a geography student to an educational creator, her videos inspire individuals to learn and pursue further, no matter how unconventional.
She incorporates history, traditions, and cultural insights into her geography content. Her unique presentation style, often involving 3D models, physical crafts, and real-location shoots, makes her videos visually engaging and educational.
- She used balloons to explain North India’s floods.
- A reel about the rocks at Marine Drive was filmed on-site, enhancing viewer engagement and attention.
- Her collaboration with travel vlogger Monkey Magic on the Narmada River reel gained recognition from the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Milestones and Achievements
- Kavya’s journey as a creator saw her Instagram account grow from 50,000 to 100,000 followers in a single day, eventually surpassing 1.5 million in just ten months. Today, she has 1.8 million followers.
- Her content has earned accolades from government officials and celebrities. The state’s Tourism Minister shared her videos on Nagaland, and her work was appreciated by teachers and used in classrooms.
- Surprisingly, Kavya’s followers outnumber even the Indian Ministry of Tourism.
Memorable Moments and Inspirations:
Once Travelling, Kavya met a few local women of Goa who recognised her from her videos. They shared how her content made them discuss their state and its politics. This has put up with her belief in the power of relatable and impactful content.
Her primary inspiration comes from her mother, an educator with over 23 years of experience. The familial influence deeply shaped Kavya’s approach to teaching and content creation.
Lesser Known and Fun Facts about Kavya Karnatac
Future @kk.create
Kavya’s future project is to launch a long-form video series and create an app that serves as a guide to India. A simple app like Google Maps, but with unimaginable and vast information about the place, tips and techniques, history and culture and whatnot about the place visit, just at the tip of your fingers. These efforts will provide comprehensive and accessible educational resources.
kk.create is a combination of creativity, relatability, and a deep passion for geography. She has carved a niche for herself among students, teachers, and travellers alike.
Don’t you think we need content creators like Kavya, who stand out as creators who combine fun with education in this era dominated by entertainment content?
If you’re looking for a fresh perspective on learning, Kavya Karnatac proves that education and learning can be cool, relatable and inspiring.
Follow her and discover the range of magic in geography like never before!