The Creator Who Planned for the Shelf Life

Long before Harshita Gupta became an influencer, entrepreneur, or author, she was finding her voice on radio. Her career began not on Instagram, but behind a microphone—hosting prime-time breakfast shows as a radio jockey after first working as a show producer. That early exposure to live audiences shaped her instinct for storytelling, timing, and connection. “Writing was always part of my career,” she says. “Even before RJing, I was writing content for radio. I just didn’t know yet where it would eventually take me.”

When her seniors nudged her toward digital content around 2017, Gupta was hesitant. She admits she wasn’t naturally comfortable on camera and didn’t initially enjoy the process. Instagram, however, was already gaining momentum, and she leaned in. The turning point came in November 2020, when one of her videos went viral. “Once that happens, there’s no coming back,” she says. What followed was scale, visibility, and an audience that skewed young—Gen Z viewers who resonated with her voice and candour.

But influence, for Gupta, was never meant to be the final destination. Entrepreneurship had always been part of the plan, shaped by the family she grew up in. “I come from a Baniya family. Everyone around me is doing business,” she says, recalling how her father often told her that a job could never offer the kind of financial independence business could. Still, she was clear she didn’t want to build just any business. “I wanted to do something where my soul is involved.”

That clarity arrived unexpectedly during her wedding shopping. Frustrated by the sameness and price inflation of bridal lehengas, Gupta chose to wear a chikankari lehenga instead—an unconventional decision rooted in her Lucknow heritage. What began as a personal choice turned into an obsession with the craft itself. Over six and a half months, she immersed herself in the details: thread counts, colours, fabrics, embellishments. “I fell in love with the process,” she says. “That’s when I realised chikankari wasn’t just embroidery—it’s a form of stitch, a language.”

Her brand, Chikankari Hues, was born from that insight. Instead of competing in crowded traditional categories like kurtas and saris, Gupta chose to reimagine the craft for a new generation. “Chikankari needs a revolution,” she says. Her collections focus on western silhouettes—shirts and dresses—designed deliberately for Gen Z consumers.

Authorship followed a more emotional path. Writing a book was never on her roadmap, but lived experience pushed her there. Watching friends—and herself—navigate heartbreak made her realise that people weren’t afraid of love; they were afraid of being hurt again. “This generation is known for broken hearts,” she says. “People are scared of vulnerability. But without vulnerability, what is life?” Her book became an “exit plan,” a roadmap for moving on when letting go feels impossible.

Underlying all her transitions—from radio to Instagram, creator to entrepreneur, influencer to author—is a restless appetite for growth. “If I don’t feel it, I don’t enjoy my work.” She’s candid about the idea of a creator’s shelf life, estimating it at seven years, and believes building beyond influence isn’t optional—it’s essential. “It’s smarter to build something while people know you,” she says, “so the transition is smooth.”

Now, as she looks ahead, Gupta is expanding on multiple fronts. She plans to scale Chikankari Hues globally, write another book, and move into live performance—developing a stand-up comedy set born from her love for writing and one-liners. “Instagram has been eight years,” she says. “I’m ready for the next medium.”