Miss Gorakhpur, an ex-model, finds new fame as Lucknow's Model Chai Wali in viral video

A video featuring Simran Gupta, popularly known as ‘ Model Chai Wali,’ has gone viral on Instagram, amassing over 11 million views within just four days. Posted by the food blogging channel The Hungry Panjabi, the clip captures Simran, a beauty pageant winner turned entrepreneur, as she brews chai at her tea stall. Gupta is among a growing number of small business owners who have transformed tea-selling into a fashionable entrepreneurial endeavor.

Other notable figures in this realm include her more prominent peers, such as Dolly Chaiwala from Nagpur and Prafull Billore, famously known as MBA Chai Wala.

Gupta earned the Miss Gorakhpur title in 2018 and has also dabbled in modeling. She shared her experience, saying, “After winning Miss Gorakhpur, my confidence soared significantly. I then moved to Delhi and began receiving modeling offers. I worked on several advertisements during that time, and my career was progressing well until Covid hit. Like many others in various professions, my work came to a standstill due to the lockdown, and I had to return to my hometown, Gorakhpur,” she recalled in an interview with The Better India.

Being the sole breadwinner in her family, Gupta decided to venture into entrepreneurship to generate income. She drew inspiration from MBA Chai Wala Prafull Billore and Priyanka Gupta, a tea seller from Patna, when she launched her tea shop in Lucknow.

The video has garnered more than 10,000 comments on Instagram. While numerous users applauded the young entrepreneur for her ability to earn a living and establish a brand, some criticized her for having her hair down and handling food without gloves.

One commenter expressed, “I have an issue with her hair being down and not wearing gloves… she keeps touching her hair and then the food!” Another remarked, “Chai ke saath baal free (hair free with tea).”