Karishma Mehta
{{Short description|Writer and photographer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Karishma Mehta
| image = Karishma Mehta, Ordinary People Extraordinary Stories launch, standing.jpg
| caption = Mehta at 2019 launch of her book, Humans of Bombay: Ordinary People Extraordinary Stories
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1992|03|05}} | birth_place = Mumbai, India
| nationality =Indian
| occupation = {{Flatlist|
- Writer
- Photographer
}}
| known_for = Humans of Bombay
| years_active = 2014–present
}}
Karishma Mehta (born 5 March 1992) is the founder of the photo blog page Humans of Bombay which launched in January 2014, and author of the related book Humans of Bombay.{{Cite web|url=https://thepostindia.co.in/14013-2/|title= Meet The Founder: Karishma Mehta {Humans of Bombay}|website= The Post|date= 7 July 2020|language=en |access-date=2020-07-07}}
Biography
Mehta was born and raised in Mumbai and attended the Bombay Scottish School, Mahim.{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Tanaya |title=Meet the Human Behind the Popular 'Humans of Bombay' Page |url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/39315/humans-of-bombay-facebook-karishma-mehta/ |access-date=17 June 2021 |work=The Better India |date=26 November 2015}}{{cite news |last1=Joshi |first1=Poorva |date=6 May 2016 |title=Meet Karishma Mehta, the woman behind Humans of Bombay |work=Hindustan Times |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/meet-karishma-mehta-the-woman-behind-humans-of-bombay/story-Zwhwt3VJmysEGx62ZsuukJ.html |access-date=17 June 2021}} She attended a boarding school in Bangalore for two years and then college in the UK for three years. In 2013, Mehta was an economics and business student in Nottingham, UK, and holds a degree in business and economics{{cite news |last1=Shaikh |first1=Sadaf |date=11 January 2018 |title=Karishma Mehta On How Humans Of Bombay Captures The Invincible Spirit Of The City |work=Verve |url=https://www.vervemagazine.in/people/karishma-mehta-on-how-humans-of-bombay-captures-the-invincible-spirit-of-the-city |access-date=17 June 2021}} from the University of Nottingham.{{cite news |last1=Vaz |first1=Wyanet |title=Karishma Mehta On The Power Of A Facebook Page |url=https://www.vervemagazine.in/people/karishma-mehta-humans-of-bombay |access-date=18 June 2021 |work=Verve |date=29 April 2016}}{{cite news |last1=Lakhe |first1=Amruta |date=22 April 2014 |title=Being the humans of Bombay |work=The Indian Express |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/being-the-humans-of-bombay/ |access-date=20 June 2021}} She is a freelance writer for various publications, including National Geographic. She is a TEDx speaker.{{cite news |last1=Borges |first1=Andre |title=People Are Inspired By The Woman Behind Humans Of Bombay Honestly Speaking About Her Failures |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/andreborges/people-really-appreciate-the-woman-behind-humans-of-bombay |access-date=17 June 2021 |work=BuzzFeed |date=17 October 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Rodrigues |first1=Janice |title=Meet the Humans of Bombay founder |url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/lifestyle/meet-the-humans-of-bombay-founder |access-date=17 June 2021 |work=Khaleej Times |date=3 August 2018}} Mehta is fluent in Hindi, English and Marathi. She is the niece of Zarna Garg.
Works
In January 2014, Mehta began the Humans of Bombay Facebook page, copied from American Photographer Brandon Stanton's - the Humans of New York (HoNY) Facebook page.{{cite news |last1=Lakhe |first1=Amruta |date=14 April 2016 |title=From the heart, through a lens |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/from-the-heart-through-a-lens/article8474697.ece |access-date=17 June 2021}} After discovering the HoNY page in 2013, she tried to find a similar page for Mumbai, and after not finding one, she created a logo and made a Facebook page herself. To find subjects for the website, Mehta approached people on the street and interviewed them. By 2018, her team had expanded to six members based in Mumbai, with freelance members in other parts of India.
In 2016, Mehta compiled posts, into a self-published book, Humans of Bombay, in her attempt to directly raise money to fund the website.
As of 2021, the site has over a million followers on Facebook and over two million on Instagram.{{Cite news |title=She Was Just 21 When She Started 'Humans Of Bombay'. Here's Her Story |url=https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/karishma-mehta-the-woman-who-started-humans-of-bombay-heres-her-story-2623975 |access-date=2022-07-05 |website=NDTV.com | first=Sanya | last=Jain | date=25 November 2021}} In 2022, she launched an interview-based YouTube web series called "How The Hell Did I Do It?" which features businesspeople, celebrities, and other accomplished people answering interview questions to provide insight on how they accomplished certain things in their lives.{{Cite web |date=2022-09-10 |title=How the hell did she do it? |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/brunch/how-the-hell-did-she-doit-101662816067956.html |access-date=2022-09-23 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}
Plagiarism and Controversy
In October 2023, Mehta faced widespread cyber trolling after a failed attempt at suing another page 'People of India' for copyright infringement and Mehta's work called out for plagiarism.{{Cite web |title="Received Death, Rape Threats": Humans Of Bombay CEO Amid Plagiarism Row |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/received-death-rape-threats-humans-of-bombay-ceo-and-founder-karishma-mehta-amid-plagiarism-row-4473935 |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=NDTV.com}} Mehta and Humans of Bombay also received criticism from their inspiration Brandon Stanton, the founder of the Humans of New York{{Cite news |date=2023-09-27 |title='Haven't received a penny for a single story': Humans of New York founder hits back at Humans of Bombay for reducing art to a 'product' |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/havent-received-a-penny-for-a-single-story-humans-of-new-york-founder-hits-back-at-humans-of-bombay-for-reducing-art-to-a-product/articleshow/103962624.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2024-12-18 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}{{Cite web |title=How Humans of Bombay Lost at Its Own Game |url=https://www.thejuggernaut.com/humans-of-new-york-controversy-humans-of-bombay-lawsuit |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=The Juggernaut |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2023-09-25 |title=Humans of Bombay vs. Humans of New York: All you need to know about the controversy |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/etimes/trending/humans-of-bombay-vs-humans-of-new-york-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-controversy/articleshow/103928016.cms |access-date=2024-12-18 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/almost-every-photo-has-a-common-undertone-of-mumbai-karishma-mehta/story-mH8CdDam8CB1FyQ02XMnXN.html Almost every photo has a common undertone of Mumbai: Karishma Mehta] (Hindustan Times, 2016)
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Karishma}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century Indian women writers
Category:Alumni of the University of Nottingham