When the blue and black safari with the Diya Blog sticker passes by, the eyes of everyone from children to the elderly are fixed on the safari in the streets of Dharan. Some take out their mobile phones and take selfies, while others rush to make videos.

On the way, her supporters and fans rush to take photos. They approach her saying, ‘Sister! Let me make a video!’ There are few people in this city who do not know her. She is Dharan’s youngest female safari driver Diya. At first glance, Diya looks like a man but has a playful nature. The clothes and hairstyle she wears are also like those of a man.

Diya, 24, from Bajhogara, Dharan Sub-metropolitan City-15, is now known as ‘Viral Didi’. Her identity has changed because of the social media TikTok. She said that everyone calls her ‘Viral Didi’ more than Diya. Thinking that if there are bloggers, motor bloggers, food bloggers, why not a safari blogger, she started posting her TikTok ID ‘Diya Ho Ni’ as a safari blogger. She used to post her daily life on TikTok after going on safari, and after almost 2 years of using TikTok, she went viral. The video posted on her 'Diya Ho Ni' ID has reached 2 million views and she has 25,000 followers.

Diya has experienced that the way society looks at her before going viral on the social network TikTok has changed. 'Everyone has behaved well after going viral, the society that used to look down on her before, now I feel very happy when I sing her praises,' she said, 'Even those who used to say bad things about my mother before now give me confidence that your daughter will do something with respect.'

Diya's real life, who makes videos on TikTok while laughing and joking, is painful and pitiful. She used to be abused because of her physical deformity and the way she dressed.

Diya has a childhood experience of having to endure the scorn and hatred of relatives and society because her family and father could not speak. ‘My father should not have been able to speak.’ Taking advantage of that, people would scorn my father as disabled and dumb. Not only that, they would also call me their child,’ she said. ‘We were living in poverty at that time. I was working in someone else’s house and educating my four children.’

From a young age, Diya also used to work in someone else’s house to earn money for her education. After her father’s death, another storm hit her life. The grief over her father’s death could not be overcome, and the family was plunged into even more grief with the death of her elder sister. Diya said that at a young age, the burden of the family was added to her shoulders. ‘Since my elder sister got married, now the responsibility of my brother and mother fell on my shoulders,’ she said, ‘That’s why I worked at the Neutrala factory at the age of 13. I used to work in various places while going to school to earn money.’

From a young age, she was burdened by household responsibilities and felt that she was the eldest son of the family. That’s why she never felt the need to dress up like others. She always walked around wearing men’s clothes. Seeing her short hair and wearing men’s clothes, everyone initially called her brother. Because of this, she used to become a victim of jokes and abuse. She says, ‘People used to abuse me and make fun of me for my physical appearance.’

Since childhood, she made hard work and patience a part of her life. By working, she moved forward, facing various challenges in life. She worked in everything from grocery stores, cosmetics, chips factories, hotels to painting houses. Her journey did not stop here, she is now running safaris as the youngest safari driver in Dharan. While working, she passed 12th grade and took admission in the Faculty of Humanities at the graduation level. But she left her studies in the middle due to the rush to go abroad. Although she had planned to go to Japan, she stopped here due to financial situation.

The initial days of running safaris were not easy. She used to run safaris by paying 700 rupees a day. She would run safaris from 5 am to 10 pm, pay 700 rupees a day to the safari owner from the amount she earned during the day, and use the remaining money to buy groceries and vegetables at home. According to her, sometimes she would earn a thousand rupees a day, sometimes more, but sometimes when she did not earn 700 rupees a day, she would give it to the moneylender from her pocket.

She earns 15-20 thousand per month. Sometimes that also decreases. The money she earns in a day is spent in a day. She said that the money she earns is spent on vegetables and household expenses at home. ‘It has been two years since I started running safaris, but I have not been able to save a penny yet,’ she said. Struggling against social injustice from a young age, she also understood the social environment well. Growing up in poverty, she had endured social discrimination since she was young. That is why she was emotionally strong. She understood how to deal with people.

She said that women are more at risk as drivers than men, but she said that she runs safaris by observing people’s tendencies and being very careful at night.

She shared her experience of how society views her differently after working as a safari driver for two years. ‘One is the view of women and the other is the view of drivers, which is very shameful,’ she said with a smile, ‘People who run safaris are illiterate!’ Diya said that comparing someone on the basis of their clothes and profession is nothing but meanness.

Social media has made her story even wider. After going viral 7-8 months ago, Diya has started to feel that people have changed their negative view of her. Along with that, Diya said that she was very happy when she started sending messages of love, respect and how many people have inspired her.

‘I never imagined in my life that I could be someone’s inspiration today,’ she said, ‘I have always been a fan of Bebo Didi.’ Her story of hard work and struggle was almost in line with my life. That's why I was inspired by her biography. I was a 'big fan' of Bebo and Suraksha Didi and today I have gone viral because of them. Many people liked me in the video with her. They gave me love, support and companionship,' she said.

After she went viral, she started getting PR packages. Advertising opportunities started coming. Today she is also the brand ambassador of Safari Yatri. 'I was happy to see my big photo,' she said, 'I am very happy to take safari to digital travel. You can book safaris online on the Safari Yatri app.' She said that many safari drivers in Itahari are involved in this journey. According to her, it is also starting in Dharan.