Day 11: After I found the video from yesterday, I came upon the trailer for the documentary Cast In India. I have seen the covers stamped with Made In India in NYC and was curious about them.
After seeing how the foundries in the US manufacture covers, it is very interesting to get a glimpse of production in India. No automated machinery - each piece is a collaboration among workers. Man made vs. machine - portions of the stamping pressed into place with skill. I was thrilled to have found my way to Natasha Raheja who has documented the process in her short film Cast In India. She is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker and is currently pursuing a PhD in Sociocultural Anthropology at New York University with a Certificate in Culture and Media. Natasha agreed to participate in today's post by allowing me to share about her film - educating us about the activity a world away that shows up underfoot here. Visit her site to learn more - there are several wonderful reviews/interviews linked on her PRESS page. Thanks Natasha!
Cast in India Trailer from Natasha Raheja on Vimeo.
I learned from listening to one of the interviews with Natasha that manhole covers in the US are produced here at home, in India, China and Romania. I really love seeing how things are made don't you?
