A calendar is typically accompanied by an image or motif, also referred to as calendar art.

There
is a varied body of literature on the trajectory of calendar art in India and how it varied into
different epochs. For instance, Tapati Guha Thakurta (1991) in her work, “Women as Calendar
Art Icons” highlights on how the parameters of defining ‘high’ and ‘low’ art are constantly
changing and how the quality and type of feminine images portrayed in the calendars define
those gradations. In tracing the history of calendar art, Guha Thakurta narrates the metamorphic
evolution of calendar art from monolithic representation of Kalighat to Calcutta Art Studio’s
‘fleshing out’ of Gods and Goddess, depiction of their animated gestures, and elaborate
representation of mythological scenes at the backdrop of ornate palaces and green landscape.
There was also the accompanying trend of domestication of divinity as depicted in various
calendar prints such as Durga’s wedding, home coming with children, and leaving for husband’s
abode. However, there was also sensual portrayal of women as calendar art motifs and Raja
Ravi Varma’s paintings of ‘Hamsa-Damayanti’ and ‘Shakuntala’ are illustrations of such a trend.

In Patricia Uberoi's work, “‘Unity in diversity?’ Dilemma of nationhood in Indian Calendar Art”,
Patricia Uberoi (2002a) discusses how calendar art contributed to the Nehruvian vision of nation
building. She narrates the reorganization of various images and icons in calendar art so as to
valourise the theme of secularism. Thus, calendar art in adherence to the Nehruvian vision of
nation building tried to reconcile
the dialectical forces of industry and agriculture, urban and rural, tradition and
modernity.

Likewise, her another work, “Chicks, Kids, and Couples: The nation in Calendar
Art”, Patricia Uberoi (2002b) highlights how calendar art helps to form a nation of
‘imagined community’ of fellow Indians and how such creation is simultaneously
inclusionary and exclusionary. Drawing on calendar archive of half a century,
Uberoi explores how the Indian nation is represented through the prints of lady,
kids, and couples.

In India, calendar art gained popularity with the initiative of Raja Ravi Verma, the father of
modern art (also calendar art) in India. He pioneered the setting up of one of the earliest
lithographic presses in India. Verma perfected the western models of representation and
popularised the images of Gods and Goddesses which he rendered so real. As calendars
became affordable for the general population, the printers diversified their themes over the
period of time accordingly to maintain relevance in society. With the invention of lithography,
there was a rapid proliferation of calendars and with them images of the deities and the divine.
Thus, the credit of bringing the deities out of the temples to the drawing rooms of the
households goes to calendar art. As Devdutt Pattanaik (2009), the mythology expert and the
author of “7 Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art” elucidated, “If you lived in a remote village you
knew your local deity, and perhaps had access to folk art, but you wouldn’t have seen the
images in big temples
As the freedom movement gained momentum, allegory and imagery related to freedom symbols
and the idea of an independent Indian nation was universalised all over the country through
calendars. This significantly impacted in bringing a sense of nationalism and cultural integrity.

Calendars also became a social symbol and marker of a person’s/family’s religious affiliation or
faith and belief system. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century saw a sudden surge in
the culture of popular images like those of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, mythological tales,
portraits of nationalist leaders and landscapes being created by the artists. As the country
became independent and the path of unity in diversity was being paved, calendar printing
presses further expanded their scope. Besides the Hindus, all kinds of myths, folk culture and
stories pertaining to various religions were represented. This also contributed in familiarising the
umbrella structure of a religious faith in the far corners of the country, as a certain kind of
representation gained acceptance in people’s minds.

Also, in colonial and post-colonial India, devotional aesthetics rapidly dominated the political
level so that the nation was first and foremost evoked in allegory. This became a prominent
political tool to gather masses. The boundaries between the sacred and political merged into
each other as the nation was represented in religious terms. The calendars etched the
symbolism of Mother India, cow as representation of nation, etc. into the minds of masses.

However, as India advanced and stepped into the globalised world, new calendar themes were
introduced. On one hand was the attempt to preserve the culture and therefore types of folk
dances, folk festivals, popular places, sceneries gathered from across India were printed on
calendars. On the other end, there were huge companies which introduced calendars promoting
and advertising their own products. Models were employed by companies like Kingfisher,
Suzuki, etc. to make them more appealing to the public. Calendars were distributed to
employees by both private and public sector institutions, and thus still making its way into
almost every household.

Calendars had another crucial utilitarian role to play. The holidays, festivals, etc. were
determined by these. This was an immensely difficult task in light of the existence of such a
large number of different dating systems and eras. In 1928, Times of India reported ‘A war of
calendars’ between Maharashtrian Hindus. Such incidents occurred because traditional
calendars used locally no longer correspond to seasons or predicted events easily. Even a
Calendar Reform Committee set up by the government of India in 1953 wasn’t able to provide a
solution which would appeal to all groups. Ultimately, the public resorted to various alternatives
like purchasing hybrid calendars showing traditional information laid out in the structure of
Gregorian calendar.

Calendars are still visible sometimes, though only with a functional use in limited households
that too mostly in kitchens or in offices as a few desk calendars, but that’s almost all extent of
their use these days. Problematic themes like objectifying women (once the most popular tool of
big companies) or even Gods (one can purchase a poster for display) are now mostly avoided.
Animals or landscapes are common on desk calendars bought from charities along with quotes
or personalised theme based ones as a thoughtful gift.

With the increasing trend of flats as preferred form of house combined with new structures and
interior designing like glass windows, lack of space, etc. and also the technological
advancement which has made all the information available on the tips of fingers at all times,
digital calendars, constrained marketing budgets, etc. has rendered calendars a thing of the
past. They have lost their functional use and are also no longer needed to decorate or signal our
allegiances.

Thus, calendars, once a fundamental item in every household and also a tool of mass
appeasing in ways of framing and changing public opinion, a social symbol, a company’s
integrative gift to its employees. In just two decades, are almost on the verge of being lost in
oblivion and becoming a thing of the past, like many others which met a swift end due the rapid
wave of technological advancement. Calendars now mostly find their way mostly in the house of
prominent art collectors, exhibitions and auction houses as they lose the battle against
modernity.