Video of Lucknow’s Model Chai Wali goes viral, but people say ‘please tie hair’

A video of Simran Gupta aka ‘Model Chai Wali’ has gone viral on Instagram, racking up over 11 million views in the span of four days. Shared by food blogging channel The Hungry Panjabi, the video shows beauty pageant winner-turned-entrepreneur Simran Gupta preparing chai at her tea stall.
Gupta is one in the long list of small entrepreneurs who have turned tea-selling into a trendy business venture. Others in this category include her more famous contemporaries like Nagpur’s Dolly Chaiwala and Prafull Billore, aka MBA Chai Wala.
Gupta won the Miss Gorakhpur title in 2018 and has tried her hand at modelling. “After becoming Miss Gorakhpur, my morale increased a lot. After this, I moved to Delhi and I started getting modeling offers. I also worked in some ads. During this time, my career was going very well, but then Covid came. When people of every profession were affected due to the lockdown, my work also came to a halt. I was forced to return to my city Gorakhpur,” she once told The Better India.
As the only earning member of her family, Gupta turned to entrepreneurship to make money. She was inspired by MBA Chai Wala Prafull Billore and Patna graduate tea seller Priyanka Gupta when she opened her tea shop in Lucknow.

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Although this is not her first brush with fame, a video of Gupta preparing tea at her Model Chai Wali tea shop is currently going viral on Instagram. The video shows Gupta dressed in a pink top and trousers, flipping her hair as she prepares masala chai for her customers.
The video has racked up over 10,000 comments on Instagram. While many praised the young entrepreneur for earning her own living and building a brand, others criticised her for leaving her hair open and touching food items without gloves.
“I have a problem with that hair open and hands without gloves… she is constantly touching her hair and then food!” wrote one commenter. “Chai ke saath baal free (hair free with tea),” another said.
“Chai with a hint of hair,” a user noted. Others were more polite, requesting Gupta to keep her hair tied in the future.