Born in Delhi. Bred in Dubai. Heart in Lancaster.

Hang on. That doesn’t do a decent job of telling you about me, does it?

Reading that probably tells you where I’ve come from. But does that tell you where I want to go?

Let’s see now…after launching Life Camera Karan at a crucial juncture (early 20’s) in my life, and writing my heart out for over 12 hours straight because I was depressed, things improved. Substantially.

I found the job I wanted and thought I had found my rightful place in the world.

As for blogging? That would continue in earnest, (or so I thought) because I wanted to:

1. Tell my story;
2. As a writer, hone my craft; and
3. ‘Find myself’.

(Excuse me whilst I throw up in my mouth after that last statement).

Sadly, I let life get in the way of blogging.

Thankfully, I still lived life to the full.

I tried everything at least once. I stumbled on new hobbies.

I did things by myself. I enjoyed my own company.

I made new friends. I dated extensively.

I travelled solo. I searched for purpose.

I made mistakes. I realized my shortcomings.

I harnessed my strengths. I discovered what drove me.

Slowly, but surely, I fell in love with life.

And as I went about living and loving life, I wrote. I wrote for myself. I wrote in the shadows. I wrote at the crack of dawn. I wrote when I was happy. I wrote when I despaired. I wrote on my birthday. I wrote on airplanes. I wrote on trains. I wrote in bathrooms. I wrote on holiday. I wrote in cafés. I wrote in the office.

I wrote thousands of words. For my eyes only. And started identifying patterns in my behaviour.

Things I didn’t like about myself. Things I wanted to change.

So I changed.

Shortly after, I recognized I had immense potential. Which I wasn’t utilizing.

And when I became cognizant of that, I decided to be better.

I chose to play the protagonist. In my story.

Hence the name: Life Camera Karan. It is a play on ‘Lights, camera, action.’

Because when you play the hero in your life, you must shoulder responsibility.

The hero must rise to the occasion, taking on challenges, elevating those around them in the process.

Sometimes, the hero may fail. Again. And again. Harder, this time.

Until the hero picks himself up, rises from the darkness, and steps into the light.

Better equipped to tackle life, and its trials and tribulations with aplomb.

That hero is me.

My name is Karan. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

Where would we be without humour? Certainly still here, on Earth. Maybe on Mars (Elon, I trust we’ll be ready for lift-off in my lifetime.) If we were, we’d probably be less happy. And gassier. I’d wager.

I feel like I sound too serious when I write. Which contrasts with my personality.

Don’t believe me? Check out the cool cat who wrote this page.

Alright, I’m about done tooting my horn. On second toot, probably not.

I am proud of the blog which sparked global conversations about preventing harassment on dancefloors. I’m also pleased with the blog where I dissected my past self as an electronic dance music vlogger, which you can read here.

I hold myself up to a high standard, only publishing work I am happy with.

And I continually raise the bar.

Parting thoughts:

1. If you like what you read – and you have my number – let me know if my words struck a chord with you.
2. If you didn’t like what you read – and you don’t have my number – let’s keep it at that.

I hope you enjoy reading. Because I enjoy writing.