8/10/2019 Iftikhar-ul-Awwal (2002) 'Investigating metal casting: A new book focuses light on metal casting industry, threaten…

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Investigating metal casting: A new book focuses light on metal casting industry, threatened withextinction (Book Review: Bangladesh Metal asting: !ive "echni#ues$ By Matthew %$ !riedman$&haka, ' ), *++ , -* ..$ "/$ 0++$12 .ublished in "he &aily %tar (Bangladesh1, ulture &esk, 3une 4,*++*, age 5, olumn: 678

by rofessor &r$ A$ 9$ M$ Iftikhar7ul7Awwal

rofessor of istory, 'niversity of &haka2 ; &irector <eneral, Bangladesh =ational Museum

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Some seventy years ago, A.E. Porter in the Census Report of Bengal (1931 !rote "#otes on thepro$esses of %e$aying in%ustries&. 'n his intro%u$tion, he mentione% that the notes !ere eing !ritten "topla$e on re$or%... pro$esses of those in%ustries !hi$h have %e$aye% or are threatene% !ith e)tin$tiono!ing to the $ompetition of mass pro%u$tion*. +ne of the t!enty three in%igenous in%ustries that ha%

een "seriously affe$te% y the importation of $heap enamel, aluminum an% por$elain vessels" !asrass an% ell metal in%ustry. After seven %e$a%es, -atthe! rie%man has foun% the in%ustry still in the

%ol%rums. /his has inspire% him to !rite a out the te$hni0ues use% in the manufa$turing of metal

$asting efore the in%ustry "fa%es a!ay* or is "lost*. As regar%s the fo$us of his stu%y, the !riter haspreferre% to go for a $ase stu%y of hamrai $raft $lusters. 2ere it may e mentione% that hamrai isa out 39 ilometers north!est of ha a.

/he 45 page monograph is rather a report on the five %ifferent pro$esses or $asting te$hni0ues that areeing use% in $reating various types of metal o 6e$ts. Before pro$ee%ing to %eal !ith the intri$ate

%etails of the various te$hni0ues, the author has very rie7y mentione% a out the o$$upational $astesengage% in the tra%e, its organi8ational setup, an% a out the metals use% in the a$tual ma ing of theo 6e$ts.

/he most important $ontri ution of rie%man, to my min%, is un%ou te%ly his in nite patien$e an% een

o servation po!er in noting %o!n to the minutest %etail the steps of ea$h te$hni0ue use% in ma ing theo 6e$ts. + servations su$h as "the $olor of $aste% o 6e$ts often varies %epen%ing upon the 0uality of the metals use%& (p. 51 : "the %ar er the sha%e, the more e)pensive the pri$e" (p. 51 : "not all o 6e$tsthat have a %ar $olor are ne$essarily ol%" (p. 51 : an% "anti0ue pie$es ten% to have smooth features" (p.55 are fe! e)amples of his $arefully re$or%e% o servations. ;e are please% to learn from the author that !or ers engage% in the art of "lost !a) metho%* of hamrai $an pro%u$e almost anything that one$oul% fin% in other $ountries, an% that the $raftsmen are masters at $opying gures of 2in%u an%Bu%%hist statues from simple photographs. 2e $autions us, ho!ever, that "some of the statues loo soauthenti$ !ith their ri$h patinas, they are sometimes sol% as ol% pie$es" (p. 3< . /he !riter then goes onto %es$ri e the other four te$hni0ues use% in metal $asting $lay $asting metho%, san% $asting metho%,

spoon ma ing, an% plate ma ing. 2e remin%s us that "the s ill in no!ing !hat is re0uire% to have 6ustthe right $onsisten$y $omes from years of e)perien$e&.

/he author %eserves $re%it for his la orious fiel%!or . /he little oo has a%%e% to our e)istingno!le%ge on the su 6e$t, even if on a mo%est s$ale. /he e)$ellent photographs ta en y =ay

An%erson have un%ou te%ly enri$he% the 0uality of the !or .

/he author, ho!ever, nee%s to %elve on aspe$ts li e la our, $apital, organi8ation, mar eting, et$.esi%es !i%ening the $anvas of his investigation to in$lu%e other metal o 6e$t manufa$turing areas of

the $ountry. /his !ill un%ou te%ly ma e the oo mu$h more !orthier. /he oo is remar a ly free fromprinting errors.

/o $reate pu li$ a!areness a out the languishing state of the in%ustry, the oo nee%s to e translate%into Bangla, an% its pri$e ept !ithin the pur$hasing $apa$ity of the people.