Taking the story forward...Karishma Mehta
Anandita Gupta
This is the story of a storyteller. Once upon a time, there was a Mumbai girl named Karishma Mehta, who loved to tell stories. She was sweet-as-sugar, charming, kind and humble, yet iron-willed in her pursuit to make the world a better place. She believed every person had an interesting backstory and sharing it could heal the world—uplifting, inspiring and transforming people. So, at 21, after bagging a degree in Industrial Economics, Karishma armed herself with a camera and a notepad. She set out to talk to complete strangers on the streets of Mumbai (previously called Bombay) since January, 2014; posting the same on her Facebook page entitled Humans of Bombay.
A hopeful heart
Some thought this girl was crazy, while others looked at her as funny. But she carried on, relentlessly. Gradually, Mumbaikars started sharing their life-stories, opening up to her. And well, some started thanking her for asking them, “How are you feeling today?”
The very first woman who agreed to chat with her was in her mid-50s and recently widowed. Her final statement to Karishma ‘Thank you, it feels like a burden has been lifted off my chest’ sowed hope in Karishma’s heart regarding the path she had chosen.
Trailblazing mission
And a golden path it truly was, as walking on it for the last 10 years, has helped Karishma tell stories of people’s excruciating lows and can’t-hold-it-in-my-heart highs. Karishma’s subjects had battled abusive marriages, drug abuse and social exclusion to name a few. Her selfless efforts have proved to be instrumental in giving them a rock-solid voice.
Creating an impact
In the process Karishma’s storytelling platform Humans of Bombay has overturned a law, brought a sense of justice to the wronged, become the voice of the voiceless, raised over Rs 15 crore for various causes and made people believe in the power of love and kindness.
Drawing inspiration from the iconic Humans of New York, Karishma founded Humans of Bombay 10 years back. HOB today is a storytelling powerhouse, having built a community of over 6 million followers over social media. With HOB, Karishma has been the architect of social change, through her various extraordinary fundraising campaigns. “Your life actually changes overnight. It just takes years to get to that night,” says Karishma, highlighting the impactful journey of Humans of Bombay.
Humans of Bombay has raised Rs 15 crore so far to pay for surgeries and the education of the less privileged lot, and also for the rehabilitation of women in the sex trade. Karishma is now making HOB a 360-degree media house, focusing on podcasts, videos, live events, 4-hour courses on storytelling.
Learnings & takeaways
Karishma says that she learnt a lot while building the platform, “I’ve learnt everything while building HOB– running a bootstrapped company, managing people, dealing with excruciating lows and highs.”
Accolades & future vision
She was the recipient of the coveted DNA Women Achievers Award 2023 in the category of Voice of the Voiceless in Media. In April 2016, a massive 3-page article dedicated to her was featured in Forbes Asia. Karishma’s Humans Of Bombay also has a YouTube channel with 1.1 million subscribers, where her newest talk show called How the Hell Did I Do It can be watched. This talk show features celebrities who discuss the ‘How’s’ of their lives’ success. She has also launched two other podcasts— The Humans of Bombay Show and The Realign Podcast, in the same channel.
Mehta goes on to share that she gave 10 years of her life to the storytelling platform and now plans to “turn the page”.
“After 10 years of asking who you are and what defines your life, the only question I have left is – where do we go once the stories are told? After 10 years…it’s finally time to turn the page…,” she flashes a smile adding, “We still have a billion stories to tell and miles to go before we’re anywhere near resting!”
Karishma’s Winning Tactics
Envious of Karishma’s job? Well, follow into ace storyteller’s footsteps, with these on-the-go tips!
No dream is too big: Keep pushing towards your dreams, no matter how overwhelming and unattainable they seem.
Bootstrap everything: Live each day in the company trying to save as much money as possible. You can always dig into resources to stay afloat.
Be street-smart: Degrees and institutions don’t matter. Soaking in life’s experiences and knowledge does!
