>Beccaynr at 18:27, 28 June 2021

2021-06-28T18:27:44Z

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{{short description|Indian photoblog by Karishma Mehta}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Humans of Bombay
| type = [[Photoblog]]
| language = English
| owner = [[Karishma Mehta]]
| employees = 5
| url =
| commercial = No
| current_status = Online
}}

'''''Humans of Bombay''' '''(HoB)''''' is an Indian photoblog about people in [[Mumbai]] (previously known as Bombay). It was started in 2014 by [[Karishma Mehta]]. It is inspired by ''[[Humans of New York]]'' (HoNY). With her team, Mehta documents the stories of individuals and showcases it to the world through social media posts and a website. It has become India's largest blog.

==Development==
Inspired by the ''[[Humans of New York]]'' (HoNY) website, [[Karishma Mehta]] started ''Humans of Bombay'' in January 2014, by traveling around Mumbai and asking people questions about their lives and for permission to take and upload their photographs and their answers to her website.<ref name="Lakhe 2014">{{cite news |last1=Lakhe |first1=Amruta |title=Being the humans of Bombay |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/being-the-humans-of-bombay/ |access-date=28 June 2021 |work=The Indian Express |date=April 22, 2014}}</ref> By April 2014, the Facebook page had more than 135 posts and almost 40,000 followers.<ref name="Lakhe 2014"/> By November 2015, the page had reached 4 [[Lakh|lakh]] followers.<ref name="Singh 2015">{{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=28 June 2021 |work=[[The Better India]] |date=November 26, 2015}}</ref>

By 2015, Mehta began using the page to conduct fundraising campaigns, including for Kranti, an organization that supports the daughters of sex workers, and collected Rs. 6.5 lakhs for Kranti in one day.<ref name="Singh 2015"/> In 2015, ''Humans of Bombay'' featured the story and picture of a girl speaking out against child marriage, that within two days gained over 60,000 likes on Facebook, and created an opportunity for ''Humans of Bombay'' to promote Aangan, the child protection organization supporting the girl.<ref name="Lakshmin 2015">{{cite news |last1=Lakshmin |first1=Deepa |title=Her Parents Tried To Marry Her Off At 15, And She Said No. This Is Her Story. |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/2240830/humans-of-bombay-child-marriage/ |access-date=28 June 2021 |work=MTV |date=August 14, 2015}}</ref> A [[Crowdfunding|crowdfunding]] campaign for a child with blood cancer raised Rs 10.31 lakh within days.<ref name="Lakhe 2016"/>

By 2016, Mehta moved the blog to ''humansofbombay.in'', and self-published the book ''Humans of Bombay''.<ref name="Lakhe 2016">{{cite news |last1=Lakhe |first1=Amruta |title=From the heart, through a lens |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/from-the-heart-through-a-lens/article8474697.ece |access-date=28 June 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=April 14, 2016}}</ref> By then, the blog had covered a wide range of subjects, from everyday interactions to topics such as depression, alcoholism, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, [[Sapna Bhavnani]] discussing her gang-rape, and people sharing their own stories and support for others.<ref name="Lakhe 2016"/> Fundraising campaigns continued on the website, including in 2017, raising Rs 11 lakh within four days on behalf of the daughter of a sex worker to support her education at New York University.<ref name="FP 2017">{{cite news |last1=FP Staff |title=How Humans of Bombay is helping a sex worker's daughter study at New York University |url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/how-humans-of-bombay-is-helping-a-sex-workers-daughter-study-at-new-york-university-3534567.html |access-date=28 June 2021 |work=FirstPost |date=June 9, 2017}}</ref>

By 2018, ''Humans of Bombay'' had grown to six permanent employees, expanded beyond Mumbai, and established an Instagram page with what Aishwarya Upadhye of ''[[The Hindu]]'' described as "Stories that make you grin from ear to ear, stories that would give you pangs of guilt, the ones that would make you well up, those that cement your belief in hope and survival,"<ref name="Upadhye">{{cite news |last1=Upadhye |first1=Aishwarya |title=When the Humans of Bombay came to Chennai |url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/when-the-humans-of-bombay-came-to-chennai/article23604612.ece |access-date=28 June 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=April 19, 2018}}</ref> and Sadaf Shaikh of ''[[Verve (Indian magazine)|Verve]]'' described as "all kinds of stories – some that plaster a big grin on your face, others that elicit a quick prayer for having a privileged life."<ref name="Shaikh 2018">{{cite news |last1=Shaikh |first1=Sadaf |title=Karishma Mehta On How Humans Of Bombay Captures The Invincible Spirit Of The City |url=https://www.vervemagazine.in/people/karishma-mehta-on-how-humans-of-bombay-captures-the-invincible-spirit-of-the-city |access-date=28 June 2021 |work=[[Verve (Indian magazine)|Verve]] |date=January 11, 2018}}</ref>

==Details==
[[Marine Drive, Mumbai|Marine Drive]] was the first location chosen in 2014 and from there now they have covered thousands of people in Mumbai including [[Ratan Tata]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/companies/people/ratan-tata-at-his-candid-best-talks-about-his-break-up-childhood-parent-s-divorce-11581578229708.html|title=Ratan Tata at his candid best: Talks about his break-up, childhood, parents|last=Kumar|first=Ravi Prakash|date=2020-02-13|website=Livemint|language=en|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref> [[Nawazuddin Siddiqui]], [[Rajkummar Rao]], [[Kareena kapoor khan|Kareena Kapoor Khan]], [[Boman Irani]], [[Anupam Kher]], [[Kartik Aaryan]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mensxp.com/special-features/features/71365-10-best-tell-all-tales-ft-b-town-celebs-on-lsquo-humans-of-bombay-rsquo-in-2019-that-are-worth-re-reading.html|title=10 Best Tell-All Tales Ft. B-Town Celebs On 'Humans Of Bombay' In 2019 That Are Worth Re-Reading|last=Datta|first=Devlina|date=24 December 2019|website=MensXP.com|language=en|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref> [[Sunil Chhetri]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theweek.in/news/sports/2019/11/30/sunil-chhetri-gets-candid-about-his-love-affair-with-his-coachs-daughter.html|title=Sunil Chhetri gets candid about his love affair with his coach's daughter|website=The Week|language=en|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref> [[Milind Soman]], [[Sapna Bhavnani]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/meet-karishma-mehta-the-woman-behind-humans-of-bombay/story-Zwhwt3VJmysEGx62ZsuukJ.html|title=Meet Karishma Mehta, the woman behind Humans of Bombay|last=Joshi|first=Poorva|date=2016-05-05|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref> [[Kajol]] and [[Ajay Devgn|Ajay Devgan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/on-ajay-devgn-and-kajol-s-21st-anniversary-check-out-their-10-best-most-romantic-pics/story-o7SP1aYspxcrkE2xbd67CL.html|title=On Ajay Devgn and Kajol's 21st anniversary, check out their 10 best, most romantic pics|date=2020-02-23|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref> Topics include acid attacks, sex workers, domestic violence and inter-caste love stories. Humans of Bombay published a first-hand account of a Jamia student talking about the [[Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019|Citizenship Amendment Bill]] (CAA) and the [[2019 Jamia Milia Islamia attack|Jamia attack]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scoopwhoop.com/news/jamia-student-opens-up-about-violence-after-caa-protest/|title=Didn't Have Any Shred Of Humanity Left: Jamia Student Opens Up About Violence After CAA Protest|last=Magan|first=Srishti|date=2019-12-17|website=www.scoopwhoop.com|language=en|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref>

== Publications ==

* {{Cite book|last=Mehta|first=Karishma|title=Humans of Bombay|year=2017|isbn=9788179918951}}

==See also==
*[[Everyday Mumbai]]

== References ==

<references />

== External links ==

* [http://www.humansofbombay.in/ Humans of Bombay website]

[[Category:Culture of Mumbai]]
[[Category:Indian photography websites]]
[[Category:Photoblogs]]
[[Category:Indian blogs]]

Humans of Bombay - Revision history

>Beccaynr at 18:27, 28 June 2021