ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani tea seller with striking eyes who saw his life change overnight after a picture of him at work went viral, said he was totally unaware of social media until recently, when boys and girls suddenly started thronging his tea stall to take selfies with him.
Arshad Khan, an 18-year-old with piercing light green eyes, initially became so nervous that he quit his job and went into hiding, fearing he might have done something wrong. But his fears quickly diminished after friends and relatives told him that it was his picture which made him popular and helped him become a model.
It prompted Islamabad-based clothing retail site Fitin.pk to contact him for his first modelling shoot. He now graces the site’s home page modeling t-shirts.
“Chai wala is no more chai wala, now he is fashion wala,” the site said in a message accompanying his photos.
For Khan, one of 17 siblings from Pakistan’s conservative town of Mardan in the northwest, it has been a life-changer. For months he worked at the tea stall, getting paid $5 per day to serve customers from morning to sunset. He says he now hopes to work in TV and films.
“I need money to help my family. I also want to do charity work across Pakistan,” he said. The 18-year-old has no phone and doesn’t know how to read and write, but he has a dream: He wants to educate others.
“I am not an educated person and cannot claim that I will become a doctor or a judge,” he said.
“All I want to say is that I will help those children who are deprived of education. If I get enough money, I will set up schools for children,” he told The Associated Press, sitting at the same stall he had worked at for months.
Pakistan’s blue eyed tea seller has a dream — to educate others
Pakistan’s blue eyed tea seller has a dream — to educate others
