This is the fascinating story behind New York City’s manhole covers

Everyday objects often have stunning backstories. Luckily for us, certain creatives have an eye for the beauty that can be found in the mundane.

Visual anthropologist Natasha Rahej created“Cast in India,” a film that examines the fascinating story behind the manhole covers used in New York City.

Rahej guides the viewer from New York to Howrah, India — one of the world’s largest exporters of sanitary castings, and explores the working conditions of men who make manhole covers.

According to The Juggernaut, her interest in the objects began when she was walking through the streets of New York City’s East Village and noticed the words “Made in India” emblazoned on the cover.

She then began to question how they arrived in the big city, and tracked the production all the way to India, where she shed light on the hidden processes that bring the city’s infrastructure to life.

The process is dirty, intricate and physically intense. You can learn more about it by watching the full video here.

If you enjoyed this story, you might also like this video about Indian children dancing with each other while social distancing.

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