Badalta Kashmir: 10-year-old influencer taking internet by storm

BARAMULLA: A ten-year-old girl from Kashmir's Sopore has taken the internet by storm with her social media videos.

Known as the youngest social media influencer from the Kashmir Valley, Aqsa Masrat has enthralled hundreds of thousands of people who watch her videos regularly.

The young girl puts videos not just about the scenic beauty of her home state but also about a handful of societal concerns. A student of Shah Rasool Memorial Welkin Sopore, Aqsa was just 6 years old when she made her first video.

Her first video was about 'Chillai Kallan' - the harshest forty days-long spell of winter in Kashmir. Speaking about the video, Aqsa said, "I wanted kids my age to enjoy it and be able to connect it to a real-life event, so I decided to produce a video about Chillai Kallan... It was my first random video that saw an unexpected response from the public. I was encouraged to make more such videos."

The young talent has made 50 videos so far and has received immense support and love from the viewers along her journey.

As mentioned above, Aqsa not only records videos about everyday problems but also uses her social media to draw attention to problems in her community.

She has also created videos that demonstrate how crops are grown and harvested. "I got views in lakhs on my videos like Sopore Fruit Mandi, Paddy harvesting, Kangri. In fact, I got one million plus views on one of my videos 'Mere Mamu ki Shaadi'.

People are showering praises for my videos," Aqsa said. The budding influencer is currently studying 5th standard and while many love her work, she did face some problems from people around.

Recalling how her family helped her in her journey, Aqsa said, "There are many people around me who have inspired me for my amelioration but when it comes to making videos, I got inspiration from my uncle (maamu) who is an Internationally acclaimed Photojournalist."

She has over 58 thousand followers on her Facebook page 'What Aqsa Says' and in the future, she aspires to be an IAS officer.