Andhra photographer Rukhiya Mohammed on her award-winning photographs of Eastern Ghats

Key points

• For Rukhiya Mohammed, the mountains of the Eastern Ghats are more than just landscapes.
• They are living ecosystems carrying stories of survival, loss and resilience.
• The photographer, who was born and brought up in Kakinada and is currently working in Hyderabad, won the Portfolio category at the Nature inFocus Awards 2025 for her photo story ‘Echoes from the Eastern Ghats’.
• The awards are among India’s leading wildlife and conservation photography platforms, celebrating powerful visual narratives from across the world.
• Her winning portfolio documents the gradual transformation of the Eastern Ghats under mounting human pressure — from deforestation and mining to tourism projects and rapid urbanisation.