Islamabad - After making headlines in local media, Arshad Khan, the Chaiwala (tea boy) has now become an international celebrity for receiving interview requests by renowned media houses across the world.
From the West to Africa and the Gulf region, this Pakistani tea boy has gained instant fame after his portrait went viral on the internet, sparking an impassioned debate on class, objectification, and the shifting values and standards of society.
After getting an overwhelming response with a single photo, the extremely poor but intelligent looking young man is now struggling hard to adapt to the new life - of holding on the attention he has drawn overnight.
Khan seems to be aware of the buzz on the Internet. Therefore, he has hired a personal assistant to tackle the media and search new job offers. However, Khan may be oblivious to the fact that his increasing popularity is making his critics harsher.
Until last week, the young man who was struggling to make both ends meet and finding it hard to buy a public transport ticket has managed to ride a car. Thanks to his newly signed contract with a clothing brand. He now owns a stylish western wardrobe as well.
Arshad Khan is no more a tea boy. He has abandoned the tea stall and avoids talking to media persons. “He is shy and only understands Pashto,” said Abdullah, who introduced himself as the tea seller’s manager.
On the contrary, Khan is not only fluent but articulates during his appearances on television.
The tea sellers at Sunday Bazaar pass on his manager Abdullah’s cell phone number when they are asked about the famous Chaiwala.
“You cannot visit his house because it is in the slum area of Golra Sharif and cannot be reached by car,” said Abdullah while rejecting requests to meet Arshad Khan’s parents.
Eventually, Khan’s manager agreed to arrange a meeting on condition of confidentiality.
While trying to manage the details professionally, Abdullah instructed them to keep details of the meeting secret. “I don’t want media to waste our time. Arshad is now a fashion model and we want to concentrate on business only.”
“Next week I will move him from Golra to Khudadad Heights. Then I will arrange your meeting with him,” he said.
When this correspondent tried to dig out more information about Khan, it was hard to find someone who knew of his whereabouts.
“I know him for a couple of months but he left the stall after becoming popular. People kept visiting and requesting for selfies with him,” said Hameedullah, a tea seller next to Khan’s stall.
Khan now has a Twitter account with the username @Arshaadkhan01.
Last week when girls were frantically sharing his pictures - making him an internet sensation - many were raising eyebrows; some out of curiosity, and others with envy.
In this era of the digital age with affordable smart phones and cheap internet rates, it is still a luxury to be tech-savvy in Pakistan - especially for the female gender.
Social media websites like Twitter and Facebook are associated with the educated class.
It came as bewilderment and posed new challenges for the local social scientists why an ordinary looking man was promoted as Himeros.
Everyone has his/her own interpretation - some termed it as ‘reverse sexism,’ others tried to explain it on the basis of Sigmund Freud’s research on the opposite sex. While the modern literates tried to explain it through the newly formed law of attractions.
Many were taken by surprise how a poor tea boy, without any formal education, managed to hire a manager and personal assistant in a time span of 48 hours.
In spite of the criticism drawn by them, not only girls but also career women with significant exposure find Arshad Khan very attractive.
Maiza Hameed, a member of the National Assembly, ?referred him as a pleasant looking tea boy from Mardan with 17 siblings. “Time to give priority to family planning for better future instead of looks,” she remarked on her social media page.
Some raised questions about intentions and motives of the photographer who posted Arshad Khan’s picture on social media.
Commentators speculated why she chose Arshad Khan and then treated his picture to make an otherwise ordinary man seem handsome. And why the post went viral.
Some even went on the verge of calling it a ‘covert operation’ launched to gauge certain social responses, and the tea boy would be shortly relocated abroad.
On the other hand, many were convinced that the popularity saga is driven by local media. After the post was shared and re-tweeted thousands of times, the story was carried for its element of human interest and then picked by the international media.
Javeria Ali, 26, who shot the famous portrait, told The Nation that she routinely took photos of Arshad Khan. “There was no hidden motive as such since it was a candid street photograph,” she said in a rebuttal.
Ali, a graduate in media studies who introduced herself as a freelance wedding photographer, said it was the tea boy’s mesmerising eyes that compelled her to take the photo.
“On that particular day, I was on a photo walk to randomly capture different settings and people around me, and gather interesting images for my photography page on social media. I saw him while he was making tea with much concentration. The moment he looked towards me, I instantly pressed click,” Ali noted. She had posted the picture on Instagram. However, it was posted on Twitter and went viral within two days. She said it was hard to predict or control response on social media. “You can never tell what the people on social media would love or hate. A recent example is that of the red sweater guy in Trump’s debate. He became famous for wearing a red sweater. Besides, I think Arshad’s looks attracted the crowd, and people were mostly charmed by his blue eyes, she evaluated.
Ali assessed that another potential reason could be the India-Pakistan ‘Chaiwala war’, when citizens in both the countries began comparing their tea sellers. Narendra Modi being India’s tea seller while Arshad Khan being ours. Hence, Pakistanis picked it shortly to tease the Indians.
Another reason for the overwhelming response on social media was Arshad Khan’s poverty, she opined.
“Usually people do not help the less-fortunate but they appreciate when others do it and present it to them on social media. Helping others with a single click from the comfort of one’s home is easier,” Ali remarked.
After the death of a social media star, Qandeel Baloch, the ‘chaiwala’ is the second most discussed story on the internet, this year till now.