A black and white photograph of a man and a woman is being circulated on social media with the claim that it is an old, original photograph of Sai Baba grinding wheat beside a woman. The text with the photo claims that it is a rare picture of the saint and his devotee.
#OmSaiRam Rare photo of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba… Received via WA .. @BesuraTaansane @TandonRaveena @MahimaShastri pic.twitter.com/Zm5M5VYcxr
— Dinesh Joshi. (@dineshjoshi70) September 8, 2020
The Logical Indian received a request to verify the claim.
Claim:
Black and white photo is a real picture of Sai Baba with his devotee.
Fact Check:
The claim is false. The image was cropped out and a reverse image search was done. This led to a larger version of the viral photo.
A reverse search of this photo led to a blog post on rgyan.com.
Based on the information in the blog a keyword search was done which led to the original version of the photograph which is actually a coloured painting by artist Sunil Shegaonkar.
According to his Twitter bio, he makes paintings in a realistic style and has made ‘100 paintings on Sri Sai Charitra on big canvases.’
Below is a comparison of the viral photo (left) and the original painting (real):
Below are some of his other paintings:
नेकी कर और दरिया में डाल ! Good Solution…ॐ साई pic.twitter.com/5XOEWu49aC
— SUNIL SHEGAONKAR (@SUNILSHEG) October 26, 2017
What you do daily little things for others ? It’s HAPPINESS ! pic.twitter.com/3xSOLPsdOQ
— SUNIL SHEGAONKAR (@SUNILSHEG) October 21, 2017
साई आते है यदि आप दिल से पुकारोगे ! pic.twitter.com/IwfCDnKiqw
— SUNIL SHEGAONKAR (@SUNILSHEG) November 9, 2017
गगन की आभा बदलती रहती है ..स्वयं समय के साथ बदले पर स्वयं नही !! pic.twitter.com/eFYQgsC95v
— SUNIL SHEGAONKAR (@SUNILSHEG) November 16, 2017
जीवन में बहोत आनंद है जब हम साई के भजन गाते है ! pic.twitter.com/XGM9TkyuJ8
— SUNIL SHEGAONKAR (@SUNILSHEG) November 23, 2017
Om Sai…LOKMANYA TILAK TAKES DARSHAN OF SHRI SAIBABA. HISTORICALPAINTING BY ME. pic.twitter.com/fsQyjftFvf
— SUNIL SHEGAONKAR (@SUNILSHEG) January 17, 2018
ॐ साई . pic.twitter.com/csVh6NR1SF
— SUNIL SHEGAONKAR (@SUNILSHEG) January 25, 2018
ॐ साई … pic.twitter.com/KXqTX66nfE
— SUNIL SHEGAONKAR (@SUNILSHEG) March 8, 2018
Therefore, a black and white version of a realistic painting is being circulated with a false claim.
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