Interview with Kamiya Jani: Indian Lifestyle Journalist and Founder of Curly Tales

Journalism is not everyone’s cup of tea, and when you are in the mainstream media and on the news screens, your career is said to be fulfilled. However, only a few are there who have the courage to give up on the easy paths and pursue their passion. Kamiya Jani is one such name. Starting as a business journalist, Jani is now an entrepreneur who has started her venture, Curly Tales, a travel platform that caters to your travel appetite and covers stories of people from across her travel destinations. Curly Tales was started as a personal blog that showcased Jani’s wanderlust. It was a blog that gave people an insight into a traveler’s life after she quit her full-time media job as a business journalist. She posted these videos on her social media handle. But later, with her husband’s support, Jani turned Curly Tales into a professional space that is now ruling India’s travel and lifestyle media.  

Journey from Being a Prime Time Business Journalist to Launching Curly Tales 

Jani was a successful television news anchor at leading media houses like CNBC TV18, ET NOW, and Bloomberg TV, where she covered business stories. She tried maintaining the job and her blog simultaneously but soon realized her passion for travel. Therefore, in pursuit of her love for travel, she gave up on her nine-to-five media job as she believed that one who tries to do everything ends up doing nothing. Since then, there has been no looking back. 

Since Curly Tales started, Jani has always mentioned that success is shabby, and there will be hiccups. Talking about travel schedules, Jani says, “Most people would think that I have the best job in the world as I get paid to travel. This is mostly true; it’s definitely one of the best jobs in the world. But it involves a lot of hard work. I need to wake up very early in the morning and catch the first flight. But that’s just the beginning.”

She reveals that even though content creation matters, algorithms play a significant role. It is not necessary that the video that works on Facebook might work on YouTube because of the audience engagement. She says that her job is to make travel look seamless, but it’s the team’s hard work, from several days of shooting to hours of editing, to get a video that wins the game. The best part about her entrepreneurship is that she generates employment, which is the most fulfilling thing for her. She shares that she is happy that she isn’t confined within the nine-to-five job structure and creates youthful, energized content. 

Turning Childhood Dreams into Reality 

Jani shares that her source of inspiration is her father, Mr. Mohan Jani, who had started his journey as an auto-rickshaw driver but now owns an Audi. She fondly titles the story From Auto to Audi. She says that it was her childhood family travel expeditions that made her realize that traveling too needs discipline. She learned it on these trips when her family used to drive to places and stay at relatives’ homes to save additional bucks. These experiences made Jani’s desire to travel grow stronger and become a better traveler.

So even after having a stable media job and post-marriage trying to fit into the norms set by society, Jani emerged as an entrepreneur and traveler by not settling for either and choosing what her heart wanted. 

Jani’s Take on the Unsolicited Views of the Society About Working Women

Society always has an issue with independent women. However, Jani says that handling such views and juggling between home and work becomes more manageable when one has a supportive family. She agrees that people still question her about her responsibilities towards her family and daughter. But, she shares that since her in-laws are supportive and understanding, these views do not bother her. 

Media’s Transition 

Jani shares that when Curly Tales was launched, there was a void in the industry, and it lacked stories and platforms covering travel, food, fashion, and, most importantly, human experiences. However, she acknowledges that the media industry is changing. There is a shift as the audience desires platforms that exclusively offer them soft stories without letting in the noise of other topics. She believes that some possible factors for this can be a rise in disposable income, access to the internet that gives them a glimpse of what the rest of the world is doing, and perhaps even exhaustion to heavy propaganda news. Food and travel unite everyone irrespective of gender, age, or income. Hence, this is why lifestyle and entertainment journalism is getting the attention that it rightly deserves. She confirms that there are target audience differences, but then it is a viewer’s choice on the content genre they want to consume. 

Curly Tales’ Stays Unstoppable Even During the Pandemic and Plans to Expand Globally

The coronavirus pandemic was a difficult time for travel platforms. But Curly Tales tried to keep the sentiment positive and created wholesome content around Virtual Travel and Lockdown Recipes to keep the audience happy and entertained. 

She shares that post-pandemic revenge travel is on the rise with a sprinkle of responsible travel and social distancing. People now prefer road trips and secluded destinations in the midst of nature. However, the travel industry is slowly picking up, especially during festive and holiday seasons. 

“The sky is the limit for Curly Tales,” says Jani. Curly Tales plans to spread its branches across the globe while building a community of ardent travelers and foodies. It also aims to empower content creators to show their talents to the rest of the world. 

A Message for Our Readers Across the Globe 

Jani ascertains that passion and skills go hand in hand. She shares that identifying one’s driving force and then turning your passion into a paycheck will give one the utmost satisfaction and peace without feeling that work is nothing but a burden. 

Photos courtesy of Kamiya Jani

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