Moving from Sujangarh in Churu district, when you go towards Chariya village, the road gradually becomes shorter.
The sandy trail in front and the same familiar silence of the villages of Rajasthan around it. But amidst this silence, there is a house with three rooms, where people are coming from far and wide these days.
When we reached there, there were many people present outside the house. Someone is waiting to take a selfie and someone has come from far away just to see the child whose video they have seen on social media.
Actually, all this crowd is for Moti Meghwal, whom the social media world knows as 'Alien Star'.
After hearing about Moti, perhaps the first question that comes to your mind is what is so special about this child that people are coming to meet him.
The answer starts with their face and ends with their story. Village people and school children used to tease Moti by calling him 'alien' because of his eyebrows.
Moti Meghwal says while talking to BBC that earlier he used to feel bad about it, but today the story has changed. Now people wait to take a picture with the same 'alien star'.
Moti says, "Earlier when we used to call him alien, I used to feel bad, now when we affectionately call him alien star, I feel very good."
One of his videos has been viewed approximately 186 million times on social media. Another one of his videos has got about 10 crore views, while almost every one of his videos has several million views.
He has around 19 lakh followers on Instagram and around 11 lakh followers on Facebook.
Moti made fun his identity
But Moti's story is not just a story of crores of views and lakhs of followers. Rather, it is the story of a child who made the joke played on him his identity.
Earlier there were no friends in class, now everyone takes selfies.
Twelve year old Moti Meghwal studies in seventh class. His parents do farming and the financial condition of the family is very normal.
Moti has been making videos for almost a year.
Initially people did not pay much attention to his video. Then a dialogue spoken in a video started attracting people's attention.
Moti speaks his first famous dialogue, "People used to say that you will not be able to do anything, now the same people say that you will go far ahead."
A video that changed life
Moti tells that at that time he had around 2.5 lakh followers. Then a video made on the occasion of 15th August changed his life.
In the video, the school teacher says that the child who comes dressed well will get two laddus. Next day Moti reached school wearing sherwani.
This video went viral within no time and according to Moti, it has received 18.6 crore views so far.
Most of the videos made after this have several million views.
Moti says that today there are 19 lakh followers on Instagram and 11 lakh followers on Facebook. Have also started work on YouTube.
But the biggest change for Moti is not the number of followers.
He says, "Earlier I had no friends in my class, no one would talk to me. Everyone used to tease me, but now I have become friends and everyone takes selfies together."
When asked why he was named 'Alien Star'? Moti says smilingly, "I feel like an alien."
Moti says that every day around 100-200 people come to meet him from different places.
On the question of what he wants to do when he grows up, he says, "I want to study, make videos and become a hero."
Full support of family for making video
With Moti's popularity, her family's thinking has also changed. Moti tells that earlier his family members used to tell him to study, but now his family members tell him to make videos.
Earlier Moti had a normal phone but after coming in the news, his father Nimbaram Meghwal got a new phone about six months ago.
When he was asked that generally parents try to keep children away from mobile phones, but why did you get the phone yourself?
Nimbaram says, "If he is doing good work then there is no problem."
He says that Moti is good in studies, he studies and also makes videos.
According to Nimbaram, people from many places including Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Indore come to meet Moti. He says that the villagers are also very happy.
Regarding the income from social media, Nimbaram says that at present it covers the expenses. The entire family and the entire village support Moti.
People come to our village from Kanyakumari to Srinagar
Moti also says that some earning has started from social media and people have also started coming for promotions. After becoming popular on social media, when he goes to other cities, people recognize him.
Moti's popularity has now gone far beyond the boundaries of Chariya village. Pawan Kumar is sitting outside his house. Talking to BBC, he says, "I have come from Bhiwadi, Haryana, about 250 kilometers away."
He says that wherever and whenever he looks, only 'alien stars' are visible on the phone screen. Pawan tells that he had seen Moti's first video and has been following her since then.
Pawan says, "I also felt happy to see that such a small child is earning so much fame across the country."
For Rajkumar Sharma, a resident of Chariya village, the popularity of Moti has now become the identity of the entire village.
He says that it is a matter of pride for him that people from different parts of the country reach here.
Rajkumar tells that the population of Chariya village is about seven hundred houses, it itself is the Gram Panchayat headquarters.
Tau's son helps in shooting the video
Moti's uncle's son Mukesh helps him in shooting the video and telling him the script.
Mukesh tells that earlier his elder brother used to make videos, but his videos did not work. After this he started making videos with Moti.
Mukesh says, "We never thought that we would become so viral. It feels good that we are getting so much love from people. People come from far and wide to meet us."
Account named 'Alien Star'
Moti does not have a big studio or very expensive resources to make videos.
Mukesh says, "We don't have a lot of resources. We shoot at home and nearby. Even after that, each of our videos has millions of views."
But according to Mukesh, the real reason for Moti's success is something else.
Regarding the change in his life after Moti went viral, Mukesh says, "A lot has changed after coming into the limelight. Earlier Moti had no friends and now people from far and wide come to meet him, take selfies and now his whole life has changed."
Now people often come and go outside Moti's house in Chariya village.
Sometimes someone comes here after watching his videos, sometimes someone brings his child to meet him and sometimes someone wants to return with a picture with him.
The word 'alien' for pearl is no longer a joke
Moti has now created a new identity, but the comments made about children's faces can also have a negative impact on them.
We talked to Dr. Ganesh Kumar Meena, psychiatrist of Delhi AIIMS about this. He says that due to bullying, mental health problems like anxiety can arise in children.
He says that due to this, children sometimes reduce their interaction with people, they have fewer friends and they also get less social support. In such a situation many children may need counselling. If such symptoms are seen in children, parents should definitely consult a doctor or mental health expert.
