When in 2010 the twenty-six-year-old New Yorker, Brandon Stanton began an ambitious photography project to create “an exhaustive catalogue of the city’s inhabitants” called the “Humans of New York” (HONY) he had no idea that he was creating a social media revolution. His photography project that uses social media to bring out the extraordinary stories of ordinary people has grown into a cause for humanity. His journey has inspired several young people to follow in his footsteps, of stepping out there, and bringing stories of hope, love, fear, sadness, joy, – just the whole palette of emotions humans are capable of feeling. Karishma Mehta, founder of the “Humans of Bombay” is one them. In a short span of time, her photo project documenting the lives of the people in the “city of dreams”, has grown to become immensely popular. Her aim is to catalogue the “beat of the city, one story at a time.”
In a society of growing isolation, where we are increasingly spending more time in the virtual world, these stories act as invisible connectors. They bring us closer to each other and serve as reminders for reality checks. They inspire us and prove to us that indeed, not all heroes wear capes. But more than anything else, they rekindle our faith in humanity. They remind us that the people around us may be strangers, but they too are human. Because somewhere in their stories we find our own.
What resonated with us the most were the stories of Little Humans… representing the lives of children in Mumbai in a very raw and real manner. Because, sometimes the littlest people have the biggest stories to tell.