‘Dolly Chaiwalla’ on viral video with Bill Gates: ‘Didn’t know who he was’

Gates, who is visiting India, on Wednesday shared a video on Instagram with Patil, a popular tea seller in Nagpur,

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates with a tea seller famously known as Dolly Chaiwala at his tea stall. (PTI Photo)

Nagpur resident Sunil Patil, popularly known as ‘Dolly Chaiwalla’, whose video with Microsoft founder Bill Gates went viral, on Thursday said he did not recognise the billionaire businessman initially and came to know who he was only after their meeting took the Internet by storm.

Gates, who is visiting India, on Wednesday shared a video on Instagram with Patil, a popular tea seller in Nagpur, and praised India’s innovation culture. The video was shot in Hyderabad. “In India, you can find innovation everywhere you turn, even in preparation of a simple cup of tea,” the tech titan and philanthropist said in a post shared along with the video.

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A post shared by Bill Gates (@thisisbillgates)

Talking to the media at his roadside tea stall near the old VCA stadium in the Sadar area, Patil said he was not aware who the gentleman (Gates) in the video was and just made tea for “a person from abroad”. “Only the next day when I returned to Nagpur (from Hyderabad) that I realised to whom I had served the tea,” he said, adding Gates liked the aromatic beverage prepared by him.

VIDEO | Here’s what popular tea vendor Dolly Chaiwala said on his recent video collaboration with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

“It was shot three days ago. His team contacted me and flew me to Hyderabad for the project. Earlier, I was not aware about him (Bill Gates) and… pic.twitter.com/Se8YHYaaAj

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 29, 2024