Shahjahanabad is a conversation that is vivid and alive, that can take sudden turns, that is absorbing even when uncomfortable and sometimes difficult to comprehend. Despite its seeming chaos and crowds, the city has structured spaces to pause, gather, listen to, and be heard...
https://anishashekharmukherji.substack.com/p/talking-about-shahar-shahjahanabad
Crafted objects that I use on a daily basis, which are beautiful, functional and sustainable.
Today’s object is -- something you have to guess!
If you find that difficult, then here's the link for further clues: https://anishashekharmukherji.substack.com/p/an-exercise-in-perception-and-inference
DAY 4 in the Series on A Handcrafted Object Of Daily Use
Crafted objects that I use on a daily basis, which are beautiful, functional and sustainable.
Today’s object is a Sil Batta
(or Shil Noda in Bangla)
'If you pause to think about what the sil-batta does for and to you, it seems that it may actually be far more progressive and modern to use it rather than the mixie. The energy and resources consumed in its design and production are minimal – the design is well-disseminated, familiar to both maker and user, does not require fancy 3D mock-ups or scale-models, and contains no high energy parts such as steel or plastic. The stone may require high-energy resources in quarrying but further shaping is primarily by hand tools wielded by skilled stone-workers, and causes practically no pollution in production.
The stone for the sil-batta in my family must have been quarried half a century ago. Unless I drop it on the floor and break it, there is no reason why it will not give service for another half a century more and be used by my daughter to pass on to whoever she wishes. Whenever my cook or I use it, the only energy we expend is ours. The taste is fresher, I believe the nutrients are retained, and I do not need to go to a gym to get exercise for my arms!'
DAY 3 A Handcrafted Object of Daily Use
This is a series on crafted objects that I use on a daily basis, which are beautiful, functional and sustainable.
This clay cooking vessel works well to roast brinjal and sweet potatoes, and as a mini 'tandoor'. I bought it some years ago at the Dastkar Nature Bazaar at Andheria More.
DAY 2 in the Series on A Handcrafted Object of Daily Use
Craft is not just about souvenirs or artefacts for display.
Today’s object is a Bamboo Strainer.
This was bought from a seller of Darjeeling and Assam Tea at the Kashmiri Gate Durga Puja, Delhi on MahaSaptami, 30 September 2025
Craft is not just about souvenirs or artefacts for display.
 |
Lieutenant General Chandra Shekhar, PVSM, AVSM Former Vice Chief of Indian Army Staff |
The other day, just out of curiosity, when I had a few spare minutes, I googled my father’s name to see what information would emerge. I put in his full name and designation: Lieutenant General Chandra Shekhar.
(I initially searched for General Chandra Shekhar, and it showed the biography of Shri Chandra Shekhar, former Prime Minister of India!)
Inevitably, the AI Overview popped up on top.
This is what it had to say.
Generally all correct.
But there was a catch.
The photograph accompanying my father’s description and career — was not of my father’s! Indeed, it bore no resemblance to him at all.
 |
The AI Overview |
When I shared the image on our family group, my father, naturally, spotted the error immediately.
“This is somebody else’s photograph,” he said. “What can we do about this?”
“Well, nothing that I know of,”, I answered.
And that is the problem.
The fact that the AI Overview is what you see first when you search for something on the internet — and the fact that this first view that surfaces is generally a mix of some correct and some incorrect information. There is of course, the inevitable disclaimer, if you scroll till the end: “AI responses may include mistakes”. To sort out which parts are mistakes, we need to be equipped with some preliminary information before we search — and certainly before we focus on the AI Overview.
This is why, I advise everyone, especially my students when they are researching on something, to certainly not depend on AI.
Who knows what strange concoction of fact and fiction it will throw up?
