Mohammed Salih Cholakkalakath is a PhD student at the Institute of Fine Art, New York University. He previously pursued his studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Darul Huda Islamic University. His research interests lie at the intersection of Islamic and South Asian art, with a particular focus on manuscripts from the Malabar coast during the early modern period. His Ph.D. dissertation aims to explore the circulation, ontology, and temporality of talismanic materials originating from South India and the broader Indian Ocean world.

As part of the CallFront project, he contributes to the social and artistic aspects of calligraphic practices of the Malabari/Ponnani script in South India.