Shri Mantu Chandra Das
Basketry and bamboo crafts of Assam: case study of Shilp Guru Shri Mantu Chandra Das
Shri Mantu Chandra Das is the receipient of the award of Shilp Guru in bamboo and cane crafts in the year 2008.
Mantu Chandra took up his first employment at the Bamboo and Cane Development Institute (BCDI), Agartala, as a craftsman working on a daily wage of Rs.10 per day. He assisted in conducting craft training programs offered at the BCDI. For his contribution towards training of skilled people and the uplift of the craft, Das received the National Award as Master Craftsman in Bamboo and Cane Craft, instituted by the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles in 1979.
The product ranges he designs and develops today have its share of labeled takers like Anokhee of Jaipur, FabIndia and Goodearth of New Delhi not to mention the various chains of emporia amongst all the leading state owned craft enterprises supported by the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts).
Das was selected for the Festival of India in London in 1981 followed by the Ghent International Festival at Belgium later during the same year. Back home when the Government organized the World Bamboo Congress in Delhi in 2003, Das was again selected as the Master Craftsman - Designer for developing prototypes for a new range of bamboo products to be displayed in an exhibition. He was invited to participate in the international workshop on product development of environmental friendly products to commemorate the UNESCO- Seal of Excellence Award Ceremony in October 2004.
He won the UNESCO Crafts Prize in the year 2005 for Bamboo and Cane Weaving.
