Indian-American influencer Aparna Singh, who faced a huge backlash for calling the holy city of Varanasi the “scariest city” she had ever visited, recently apologised for her controversial remarks.
The influencer-entrepreneur uploaded another video in TikTok and claimed she was sorry if she came across as “disrespectful.”
“Like I said I would like to apologise because I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful. I was simply just saying my experience,” she explained.
However, the influencer was also miffed that apparently nobody cared about the “good videos” she shared about India but latched onto the one negative clip she uploaded. “Maybe it was the tone, the music. I have been traveling everywhere and I have been posting about Jaipur, I’ve been posting about Mumbai. Y’all don’t care about the good videos I post but as soon as I say the bad experience I had, it just blown up – TikTok, that’s how y’all are.”
She also added that she didn’t mean to disrespect any community, but the city of Varanasi didn’t “vibe” with her. She was aware that it is a sacred place, visited by many pilgrims but it was not to her taste. “It is a beautiful country but this specific area, it just wasn’t my vibe. I get the people who go there for a spiritual journey; it is a sacred city with a lot of history. I get it, but it just wasn’t my vibe.”
Singh was brutally trolled when she uploaded a TikTok video titled ‘Scariest city I ever visited: Varanasi’. In the video, she was seen criticising the city for its squalor and lack of hygiene. In the video, the influencer also said that she was disgusted by how the river Ganges was so polluted. “You see people are bathing in it. On the way to the hotel you see dead bodies being burned, and look at the hotel – how creepy does it look?” she said.
Another user tried to clear some of her misconceptions. They explained that the reason why the river Ganges is so crowded is because Hindu devotees believe that the water of the Ganges is holy and washes away all their ‘papam’ or sins. They also added that the city remains heavily crowded throughout the year as many people come to spend their last years in the city as Hindu scriptures claim that anyone who breathes their last in Varanasi will achieve moksha from the circle of birth-death Another user tried to clear some of her misconceptions. They explained that the reason why the river Ganges is so crowded is because Hindu devotees believe that the water of the Ganges is holy and washes away all their ‘papam’ or sins. They also added that the city remains heavily crowded throughout the year as many people come to spend their last years in the city as Hindu scriptures claim that anyone who breathes their last in Varanasi will achieve moksha from the circle of birth-death and reincarnation.
The Atlanta-based influencer was on a visit to India to meet manufacturers who make jewellery for her brand Indian Goddess Boutique.
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