Bengaluru gets creative with calendars

Poetry, food, baby animals and churches are providing the inspiration for 2023 calendars

Freelance writer and artist Sanchari Bhattacharya (right) has created a calendar for food lovers.

As we put the pandemic years behind us, Bengalureans are coming up with unusual calendar ideas for 2023.

While the red-border Bangalore Press calendar remains a regular favourite, this year’s special calendars feature food, poetry, heritage buildings, and baby animals.

Native Kannada

Pisumathu Enterprises, a Rajajinagar-based web design company, is publishing its ‘Kannada Naalutoruge’ for the second year. Launched in 2021, the calendar is part of a linguistic movement seeking to restore Kannada words derived from Dravidian roots.

“There are no English or Sanskrit words in the calendar’s content. Kannada calendars tend to have a Sanskrit influence, but we have tried to eliminate that by using a more native Kannada. Even the numerals are in Kannada,” says Shreepathi Gogadige, proprietor.

The lack of a calendar in a Kannada drawing on its proto-Dravidian roots pushed Shreepathi to take up the calendar project. “I went looking across the city three years ago, but couldn’t find a single calendar in a Kannada free of English and Sanskrit overtones. I noticed some languages like Marathi and Rajasthani were sticking to their roots, and I thought why not in Kannada,” he says. The calendar has notes about Kannada literary giants such as Kuvempu, Shivarama Karanth and B M Srikantaiah. “This way, people get to remember them and their birth anniversaries,” he says. The calendar is priced at Rs 70. It is available on pisumathu.com

Churches of Bengaluru

A digital calendar is bringing to life old churches from across the city using high-quality photographs.

Babu Ajaz, a provision store owner from Whitefield, has conceptualised the calendar, keeping in mind the architecture of old Bengaluru. “Many churches have maintained the old Bengaluru charm. They haven’t fallen prey to modern renovations,” says Ajaz. The churches covered include St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral, Pulikeshi Nagar, St Patrick’s Church, Ashok Nagar, and St John’s Church, Pulikeshi Nagar.

“I have taken all the pictures. I also give some basic information about each church,” says the 41-year-old. The calendar is set for release on December 25 and is available for free.

Ajaz has been creating digital calendars since 2016 with Bengaluru-centric themes such as old cinema theatres, hospitals and schools. For details, contact [e-mail]

Food galore

Freelance writer and artist Sanchari Bhattacharya has designed a special calendar for food lovers. “The theme is the joy we feel when we eat,” says Sanchari.

A foodie herself, she has compiled pictures of meals she has had over the years and turned them into watercolour paintings. “To go with the paintings, I have added notes about each dish featured, what it pairs well with, and its origins,” says the Budigere resident. From Bengaluru’s beloved dosa to West Bengal’s hilsa fish, the calendar covers a wide range of eats. It is priced at Rs 1,000 plus shipping. Order it from Little joys of life on Facebook and ljol.blog on Instagram.

Puppy love

Charlie’s Animal Rescue Centre (CARE) has come out with a calendar dedicated to baby animals. “We have a neonatal care centre and we often get orphaned baby animals which don’t survive for long. This calendar is dedicated to them,” says Sudha Narayanan, founder.

The calendar is filled with pictures of baby animals of all kinds. “There are pups, kittens, ducks and even rabbits, just to name a few. We recreated new-born baby photoshoots with these animals,” Sudha tells Metrolife. Photographed by Pragalbh Vashishth, the 2023 calendar is priced at Rs 600. All proceeds will be used to treat animals at the neonatal centre, says Sudha.

For details, visit Charlies Animal Rescue Centre on Facebook.

Poetry corner

Freelance journalist and wildlife photographer Lokesh Mosale has come up with a wall-hanging calendar and a table calendar for 2023, and they go in for poetry-related themes.

For the wall-hanging calendar, Lokesh uses rhymes he loved as a child. “These are poems people have forgotten over the years. It is what our grandparents would sing or read to us. I have researched and compiled them for the calendar,” says Lokesh. While the poetry is in Kannada, the rest of the calendar is in English. Accompanying the poetry is wildlife photography shot by Lokesh.

The theme of the second calendar is ‘Kannu Mattu Banna’ (eye and colours). “In this table calendar, I have used pictures of the eyes of various animals and birds, and also played with colour a bit. I chose this theme because in today’s world, we often fail to look each other in the eye,” says Lokesh. This calendar also includes the poetry of P Lankesh.”Each month has a small poem by Lankesh which he wrote under the pseudonym of ‘Neelu’. These are philosophical in nature,” he says.

The calendars are available at Rs 260 each at Sapna book stores across the city. For details, contact 94484 34448.