Fact Check: Did British woman recite Sanskrit verses on Spanish radio channel?
A video of a woman reciting Sanskrit verses is widely being shared on social media.
By Tejal Sinha Published on 29 Dec 2021 4:23 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A video of a woman reciting Sanskrit verses is widely being shared on social media.
Users claim a British woman is reciting Sanskrit verses on a Spanish radio channel.
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Fact Check
The claim is False.
NewsMeter began its investigation by performing a Google Reverse Image Search, which led us to several tweets of 2020. Users had shared the video with a caption that read, "This is being sung in a radio channel in Spain every morning."
The tweets can be viewed here
On further investigation, the team found a Facebook page 'Gaiea Sanskrit', where we found many videos of the woman. She has posted many videos in Sanskrit and some are related to spirituality.
The team further found a video aired on the YouTube channel 'Gaiea Sanskrit' on November 10, 2019.
According to a report published on the website of Grin News on Jan 05, 2019, the name of the woman is Gabriella Burnel. The report stated that from the age of 16, Gabriella began to sing. She used to sing jazz songs at parties. After her university, she formed a band and wrote songs which they played in gigs across London. She also wrote and produced a few musicals and performed stand-up comedy for a while.
Meanwhile, according to her Twitter handles, she is living in London and not Spain.
We then found a tweet by The British High Commission in India on March 02, 2020. "& share a unique cultural #LivingBridge Listen to @gabriellaburnel who promotes the ancient Indian language of #Sanskrit in & earned the nickname 'the Cultural Ambassador of India in the UK' ā her work shows how much continues to value Indian culture," the Commission tweeted.
The team lastly found some details of Gabriella Burnel on the website 'Yoga London'. According to the information, "Gabriella first came into contact with Sanskrit as a little girl hearing it from her parents. She went on to study it at the University of Oxford and continues her learning to this day both in London and with yearly visits to her teachers in India. The study of Sanskrit enriches her life, through the wealth of its magnificent scriptural texts and the sounds of the language. Gabriella sounds Sanskrit daily and credits this with helping her navigate the vicissitudes of existence. Alongside Sanskrit, Gabriella sings, teaches Alexander Technique and Yoga, and leads monthly Vedic Chanting / Kirtan sessions in London and beyond (sic)."
It is therefore evident that the claim is False. Gabriella Burnel was not reciting Sanskrit verses for a radio channel in Spain.
