A machine doing mehendi on someone’s hands? That’s the unusual sight in a video shared by industrialist Harsh Goenka, and it has got people talking about what automation could mean for traditional jobs.The video shows a woman placing her hand inside a machine. Moments later, the machine starts creating a detailed mehendi design on her skin, apparently without much help from a person.Goenka shared the video on X with a blunt caption: “Some more jobs gone.”That one line was enough to start a debate.Mehendi artists have been part of weddings, festivals and family celebrations for years. For them, applying mehendi isn’t simply about drawing a design. It takes practice to get the lines right, work quickly when there are several clients waiting, and sometimes come up with designs based on what a customer wants.So, naturally, some people weren’t too worried about the machine.One user joked that the machine wasn’t going to put mehendi artists out of work anytime soon. “Women wouldn’t dare place their hand under that needle-like machine, especially before a wedding,” the person wrote. They even suggested the machine could stick to drawing rangoli instead.Another user said the machine could copy a design, but not the little imperfections that make handmade mehendi special.“The perfection and imperfections of handwork can’t be replaced by robotic designs,” they wrote, adding that the human touch and finer details are what make the craft stand out.There was also another side to the discussion.One user pointed out that if machines like this become more common, someone still has to design, build, program and repair them. “Plenty of engineering goes into such machines, and doesn’t that create job opportunities?” they asked.And that’s probably what makes the conversation around automation so complicated. A machine can take over one particular task, but the technology itself can create completely different kinds of work.As for mehendi, though, replacing the artist may not be as simple as replacing a repetitive factory task. For many people, especially at weddings, getting mehendi done is part of the experience. There’s a person sitting across from you, talking, adjusting the design and adding those small details that a machine may struggle to capture.Goenka’s video may have been meant as a quick comment on jobs and automation. But the reactions show why the subject continues to make people uneasy, and curious, at the same time.
