This viral Photo of Rajasthani women carrying multiple pots on their heads is edited.
A photo (here, here and here) showing three women in sarees walking through a desert, carrying multiple pots stacked on their heads, arranged in a line with up to 12 pots, has gone viral on social media allegedly depicting women in Rajasthan. Let’s look into the truth behind this Photo.
Claim: The viral photo shows Rajasthani women carrying and balancing multiple pots on their heads.
Fact: The viral photo is edited; the original picture, sourced from a travel-related website, shows women carrying work tools on their heads. Three women from the front row of the original photo were cut out, the background was changed to a desert, and pots were added to their heads. Therefore, the claim is FALSE.
To uncover the truth behind this, we performed a reverse image search on Google and found that the image had previously gone viral with the same claim, as well as another one suggesting that the women were from Adyar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Additionally, a few tourism-related websites have used this image to promote tourism in Rajasthan, specifically claiming it depicts women from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
Our search revealed that the original image featuring these three women is from a travel-related website called cityshor.com, where the women appear to be either going to or returning from work carrying work tools. The full image shows multiple women, but the viral image has been cropped to focus on the three women in the front row. The background has been altered, and pots have been digitally added to their heads. The website originally claimed the photo was from Samod village in Rajasthan.
The comparison between the viral photo and the original image confirms that the three women are directly cut from the full image.
Dry villages and deserts are common in Rajasthan, where water scarcity and related issues are prevalent. In 2024, reports (here and here) highlighted the water shortage in the state, with people having to travel kilometres to collect water. In 2017, The Down To Earth YouTube channel produced a documentary about water conservation and life in Rajasthan’s desert regions. However, the viral image showing women carrying pots is not real; it has been altered.
To sum up, the photo of Rajasthani women multiple carrying pots on their heads is edited.