Sholapith

Kanchan Malakar

Call: 9563200730

Kanchan Malakar of Surul, Birbhum is the son of Kamal Malakar. He is an young artist working with Shola. Kanchan Malakar is a pass out of Silpa Sadana, Visva Bharati.

Kamal Malakar

Call: 9474009311

Kamal Malakar is an artist from Surul Village, Birbhum. After his education in design from Kalabhavan, he started to develop the tradition in to different Shola crafts. Kamal Malakar is a master trainer and runs a small workshop where varied ranges of gift items are developed. He is also related with the export promotional council of India and sends his crafts to various countries such as New York, Italy Oman and Germany. He has taken various training programs in Silpa Sadana at Sriniketan under Visva Bharati University. Kamal Malakar went to Trondheim in Norway to showcase his work.

Parthanath Malakar

Call: 6296397519

Parthanath has a family heritage of Shola craft. Now he is the only brother left among the four brothers who worked with Shola.

Ashish Malakar

Call: 9434360513

Ashish an eminent Sholapith artist from Bonkapasi, Bardhaman district, has been practising this craft since childhood. His family is associated with Shola craft for almost three generations. He has learnt this craft from his grandparents and his father Aditya Malakar who won the prestigious President’s Award in 1974. His grandmother Katyayani Malakar also won the Presidents’ Award in the year 1979. He makes traditional items of Shola as well contemporary products which include figure of eminent personalities like Mahatma Gandhi. Ashish Malakar won the President’s Award as a recognition of his craftsmanship in 1990. He widely participated in many fairs and craft exhibitions in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata. He was invited in many countries like Singapore, Italy, Guyana, Scotland and Zimbabwe to showcase his skill. In October he visited to the craft exhibition in Norway to show his traditional skill. He has made a name for himself in sholapith.

Kashinath Pal

Call: 9748949548

Kashinath Pal is in this craft for more than 20 years. He is a resident of Bonkapasi village of Bardhaman district. Pal has learnt from his father Shaktipada Pal who is his guru. He makes idols of deities. He decorates puja pandal during the festive season.

Abhijit Malakar

Call: 9733393398

Abhijit belongs to the young generation of sholapith artists of Bankapasi, Bardhaman. He is the son of eminent sholapith artist Ashish Malakar who is his guru. He makes traditional items like birds, peacock and animals. He is still learning the finer nuances of the craft and at present he has won a scholarship from Centre for Cultural Resources& Training. He has participated in fairs in Kolkata and Goa.

Mallika Haldar

Call: 6294315703

Mallika Haldar of Mathurapur in South 24 Parganas works with Shola from a very young age. She is an expert of making different types of shola flowers. Her father being the primary inspiration, she has explored making of diversified products with the material. She has a unit of her own and is a well-known artist of her community, showcasing her works across India.