Karishma Mehta

Karishma Mehta
Mehta at 2019 launch of her book, Humans of Bombay: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Stories
Born
Mumbai, India
EducationUniversity of Nottingham
Occupations
  • CEO
  • Writer
  • Photographer
Years active2014–present
Known forHumans of Bombay

Karishma Mehta is the founder and CEO of the Humans of Bombay website, which launched in January 2014, and author of the related book Humans of Bombay Presents: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Stories.

Early life and education

Mehta was born and raised in Mumbai and attended the Bombay Scottish School, Mahim.[1][2] She attended a boarding school in Bangalore for two years and then college in the UK for three years,[1] and holds a degree in business and economics[3] from the University of Nottingham.[4][5]

Mehta is fluent in Hindi, English and Marathi.[6]

Career

In January 2014, Mehta began the Humans of Bombay Facebook page at age 21,[7] inspired by the Humans of New York (HoNY) Facebook page.[2][8][5] 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.[2] To find subjects for the website, Mehta approached people on the street[2][6] and interviewed them.[3][9] By 2015, she had used the Facebook page to conduct a successful fundraising campaign for Kranti, an organization in India that supports daughters of sex workers.[1]

In 2016, Mehta compiled posts and photographs into the book, Humans of Bombay.[2][10] Raveena Shapurri of Vogue India described the book as "An exceptional read, it tells you tales of people of different walks of life with utmost ingenuity and is a real page turner."[11]

By 2016, Mehta moved Humans of Bombay to the website humansofbombay.in,[8] and by 2018, her team had expanded to six members based in Mumbai, with freelance members in other parts of India.[6]

As of 2021, the site had over a million followers on Facebook and over two million on Instagram.[7] In 2022, Mehta 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.[12][13] Mehta also developed podcasts related to Humans of Bombay on the same YouTube channel.[13]

In March 2023, Mehta was awarded the DNA Women Achievers Awards 2023 in the "Voice of the Voiceless in Media" category.[13]

In October 2023, Mehta faced widespread cybertrolling after Humans of Bombay sued the People of India website for alleged copyright infringement.[14] After the lawsuit was filed, Mehta and Humans of Bombay also received criticism from Brandon Stanton, the founder of Humans of New York,[15] and Humans of Bombay replied to Stanton on social media to express gratitude for his inspiration and to explain the lawsuit allegations against the People of India website.[16] After the case ended with an agreement of the parties, articulated in the Delhi High Court ruling for both websites to "refrain" from copyright infringement,[17] Mehta published a statement on Instagram about the legal case, including, "While we did not expect to be vilified to this extent, it will not deter us from continuing to tell important stories that change the narrative, and sometimes, even change lives."[18][19]

By October 2024, Humans of Bombay had an estimated six million followers across its social media channels.[13]

Personal life

At age 32, Mehta announced on Instagram that she had undergone an egg freezing procedure in January 2025,[20][21][22] which increased public discussion about the choice for women.[23] During a podcast with actress Shefali Shah, Mehta said, "I may or may not want kids, but I wanted insurance" and discussed the procedure, including that it was "a hard process."[24]

Publications

  • Mehta, Karishma (2017). Humans of Bombay. ISBN 9788179918951.
  • Mehta, Karishma (2021). Humans of Bombay Presents: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Stories. HarperCollins. ISBN 9390327261.

Other works

Mehta is a freelance writer for various publications, including National Geographic.[2] She is also a TEDx speaker.[25][26][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Singh, Tanaya (26 November 2015). "Meet the Human Behind the Popular 'Humans of Bombay' Page". The Better India. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Joshi, Poorva (6 May 2016). "Meet Karishma Mehta, the woman behind Humans of Bombay". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b Lakhe, Amruta (22 April 2014). "Being the humans of Bombay". The Indian Express. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  4. ^ Vaz, Wyanet (29 April 2016). "Karishma Mehta On The Power Of A Facebook Page". Verve. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b Jain, Sanya (3 June 2026). "Humans of Bombay CEO Karishma Mehta reveals she sat for 7 hours across 2 days to record longest-ever interview". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d Rodrigues, Janice (3 August 2018). "Meet the Humans of Bombay founder". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b Jain, Sanya (25 November 2021). "She Was Just 21 When She Started 'Humans Of Bombay'. Here's Her Story". NDTV.com. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  8. ^ a b Lakhe, Amruta (14 April 2016). "From the heart, through a lens". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  9. ^ Rao, N. Sudhakar; Sinha, Arbind (2022). Culture, communication and India's development. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company Pvt. Ltd. p. 307-308. ISBN 978-93-5439-023-4. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  10. ^ Mahindru, Megha (2 May 2016). "The story behind Humans of Bombay: The Book". Vogue India. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  11. ^ Shahpuri, Raveena (29 April 2016). "'Humans of Bombay' fans have to read this now". Vogue India. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  12. ^ "How the hell did she do it?". Hindustan Times. 10 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d Gupta, Anandita (19 October 2024). "Taking the story forward...Karishma Mehta". The Tribune (India). Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  14. ^ ""Received Death, Rape Threats": Humans Of Bombay CEO Amid Plagiarism Row". NDTV.com. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  15. ^ "'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'". The Economic Times. 27 September 2023. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  16. ^ Sebastian, Meryl (26 September 2023). "Humans of New York's Brandon Stanton wades into India copyright row". BBC News. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  17. ^ Thyagarajan, S.N. (11 October 2023). "Humans of Bombay vs People of India: No monopoly in running storytelling platforms, says Delhi HC". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  18. ^ Rahaman Sarkar, Alisha (12 October 2023). "'Didn't expect to be vilified to this extent': Humans of Bombay founder speaks up days after online trolling". The Independent. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  19. ^ "Humans of Bombay founder, CEO Karishma Mehta addresses controversy after Delhi High Court ruling". The Indian Express. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  20. ^ Panwar, Sanya (3 February 2025). "Humans of Bombay CEO Karishma Mehta gets her eggs frozen at 32: Know everything from cost and risks to ideal age". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  21. ^ Sengupta, Trisha (2 February 2025). "Humans of Bombay CEO Karishma Mehta gets her eggs frozen at 32: 'Been meaning to…'". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  22. ^ Majumdar, Anindita; Thapar-Björkert, Suruchi; Gondouin, Johanna (2 June 2026). "Commercial egg extraction and the discourse on empowerment/exploitation in India". Current Sociology. doi:10.1177/00113921261449290. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  23. ^ Mathew, Allen Joe (11 February 2025). "Karishma Mehta, founder of 'Humans of Bombay', freezes her eggs. Is it the right choice for you?". The Week. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  24. ^ ""It Is A Hard Process": Humans Of Bombay CEO Karishma Mehta On Freezing Eggs". NDTV. 7 March 2025. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  25. ^ Srivastawa, Vandana (17 October 2017). "Karishma Mehta, The Woman Behind Humans Of Bombay Facebook Page Gave A TEDx Talk About Her Failures At IIFT". India.com. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  26. ^ Borges, Andre (17 October 2017). "People Are Inspired By The Woman Behind Humans Of Bombay Honestly Speaking About Her Failures". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
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