MAM
Humans of Bombay celebrates ten years with ‘Realign’
Mumbai: Humans of Bombay, one of the storytelling platforms renowned for capturing inspiring stories from diverse individuals celebrated its ten anniversary on 29 January 2024. Commencing its legacy in Mumbai, over the past decade, the platform has expanded to cover all Indian cities and connect with people across the globe through the power of storytelling. With a community of over 5M followers and a diverse pan-India audience, HOB chronicles stories ranging from local tea stalls to decoding the journeys of India’s foremost leaders like Ratan Tata and Narendra Modi.
The platform is committed to capturing the brighter side of human experiences, delving into complex subjects such as domestic violence, homosexuality, sex work, and drug abuse. This milestone not only marks a decade-long strive to championing India’s exceptional stories, but also signifies the platform’s dedication to making important conversations accessible to a wider audience.
The journey has been extremely rewarding, achieving numerous milestones, including raising funds for individuals such as Ali Bhatt, a Kashmiri carpet weaver wrongfully imprisoned for 23 years, a young girl from the Kalbelia tribe, and a 14-year-old aspiring pilot. In addition to sharing inspiring narratives, HOB has collaborated with brands like Dove, Amazon, WhatsApp, OLA and Hindustan Unilever, to further showcase the achievements and success of ordinary people. The Suvidha Centre, a CSR initiative by Hindustan Unilever, collaborated with HOB highlighting stories of individuals benefiting from dignified sanitation, generating positive responses and increasing social media awareness. Beyond these online initiatives, the platform extends its influence through various channels, including a white-label agency, YouTube shows like ‘How The Hell Did I Do It’ and ‘The Humans of Bombay Show’.
Looking ahead, HOB is gearing up for its first large offline event, the ‘Bombay Storytelling Festival,’ scheduled for later this year. The festival aims to bring online stories to an offline space, offering unique experiences like the human library, panel discussions, open mics, live music performances, food stalls, and interactive installations. Alongside this HOB now has plans to diversify further into long form content as well.
The platform is now diving deep alongside their storytelling approach, with ‘Realign’, a new venture that serves as an immersive experience, exploring a unique intersection of science, spirituality, and wellness. ‘Realign’ stands on three pillars, ‘listen,’ ‘learn,’ and ‘live,’ offering a podcast with insightful conversations, courses that help you align life, and creative community based experiential events, to provide a comprehensive platform and community to Realign.
The launch of ‘Realign’ marks a new venture expanding towards diving deep into holistic narratives and guiding people towards a better life. The first leg of ‘Realign,’ the podcast, is now live. With each episode, listeners are invited to partake in transformative conversations with experts, thought leaders, and visionaries who add up to one’s personal growth. Patrons can anticipate engaging conversations with notable guests such as Shikhar Dhawan, Zepto founders Aadit and Kaivalya Vohra, and humanitarian and spiritual leader Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
On 13 January, 2024, the 3 Pillar of Realign – Live, was launched with their Manifestation edition. The event focused on the topic of manifestation conducted by Karishma Mehta and specialist Dr Karishma Ahuja. The 3-hour event was a mix of conversations, a workshop and a bringing together of like-minded individuals. It saw a wonderful turn out that was a diverse range of people from 18 to 60 years of age of whom some had flown in from different parts of the country with the vision and goal to Realign.
A glimpse of the first event is presented here.
Humans of Bombay CEO Karishma Mehta reflects on the journey, stating, “One thing that binds us together is inspiring real-life stories. And in the past ten years of Humans of Bombay, we have believed in the thought strongly. As we look back with gratitude, it’s empowering to see how the platform has created a sense of belonging and resonated with millions of hearts. In the future, our goal remains the same – to unify humans with authentic stories. We are also excited to introduce new avenues, the ‘Bombay Storytelling Festival,’ and much more, as we embark on the next chapter of storytelling. While these 10 years we have focused on the going wide with our stories and we continue to do that, we now bring to you Realign which is a whole venture about Diving deep into Science, spirituality & Well being”
Celebrating a decade of impactful storytelling, Humans of Bombay (HOB) remains steadfast in its commitment to positive change. Humans of Bombay, pledges to explore new ways of storytelling that uplifts and inspires. Realign, HOB’s latest venture, is a testament to giving back and empowering the community to lead better lives. In this next chapter, Humans of Bombay continues with its mission, weaving narratives that resonate with the essence of humanity.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
