‘BBA Paanwali’ Of Chandrapur Breaks Into A Male Bastion

Nagpur: At Girnar Chowk in Chandrapur, where evening crowds thicken and e-rickshaws thread through traffic, 23-year-old Nupur Tapali is a familiar figure. Locals call her Nupur Didi — the young woman who drives an e-rickshaw through the day and runs a paan kiosk at night, holding her ground in a trade still dominated by men.A BBA graduate, Nupur left a store manager's job for her passion, which she calls tougher and more meaningful. Her routine begins with ‘Nilpari', the e-rickshaw she drives to ferry schoolchildren and deliver parcels. By 7pm, she is behind her stall at the chowk, serving a steady line of customers until 11pm. On a typical night, she sells up to 250 paans — sweet, masala, chocolate and customised orders — priced between Rs20 and Rs50.
Nupur is the fifth of six daughters of the late Ashok Tapali, an auto-rickshaw driver who also ran a grocery shop. After her father died in 2013, the family's responsibilities shifted. Three sisters were married, the eldest returned widowed with two children, and Nupur stepped in to stabilise the household. She took on the costs of her nephews' education, supported her youngest sister Rupali through polytechnic, and kept her own plans alive. She has cleared CET and wants to pursue an MBA.Her first attempt at business was a ‘paanipuri' shop which she quietly started near Ramala Lake with help of a Rs 30,000 loan from a friend. After the venture ran into losses, she switched to paan, a product she enjoyed and understood.The attention that comes with being a woman in the paan trade has not been easy to ignore, but she meets it directly. "Why should men look at women differently and repeatedly? Women are equal. We can do any business. If women can fly fighter jets, why can't we sell paan? There's no ‘men's job'— only jobs," she said.One early moment still stays with her. A woman customer, seeing a woman vendor, bought paan for the first time herself. "She said it felt empowering to gift a paan to her husband from me," Nupur said.At home, she credits her mother's resolve. She continues to run the grocery shop and has managed the family through years of upheaval. Nupur calls her a fighter.Online, Nupur has built a following through Instagram (@nupurdidi_official), posting upbeat videos of her daily grind, awkward encounters, and messages about independence. Barely five feet tall, she is unmistakable in the way she occupies space — and in the boundaries she sets. She says she has turned down partnerships that could limit her choices. "Why compromise? Women should make their own decisions. I will not make anyone a partner from whom I would have to seek permissions," she said.On International Women's Day, Chandrapur's "BBA panwali" is being celebrated not for novelty, but for persistence — a young entrepreneur keeping her family afloat, funding education, and building a future, one shift at a time.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Women's day wishes, messages and quotes !