There was once a time when calendars were a part of every household’s decorative items. No matter which part of the country you are, your house always had one or may two calendars in some cases.
The Era Of Kingfisher Calendars
And when we think of calendars how can one not remember the famous Kingfisher Calendars. Vijay Mallya‘s venture apart from many was to publish the country’s most glamorous calendars featuring models swimsuits. Every year it featured many bikini-clad models. These models were either industry’s most loved faces or new entrants in the industry.
Kingfisher Calendars were a big hype of their time. People would wait for every year’s new edition eagerly. And to add up to the excitement Kingfisher would telecast its shoot reel. These calendars would be the usual and most desired give away gifts by Kingfisher.
Soon Mallya‘s concept of depicting minimally dressed models in his calendars was criticized by many. Women were pictured merely as beautiful objects at expensive locations which clearly was not going to last for long.
Hindu Mythology Calendars
But calendars were not always glamorous. Before Vijay Mallya jazzed up the concept calendars came as simple as they could be. In the late 1800s, calendars were considered as the best means of marketing in the form of gifts. Corporates would give them away to their clients and to their employees. These calendars would consist of beautiful pictures of landscape or flowers at times.
The most important calendars from Indian merchants would be those featuring Hindu gods. In recent years several studies have analyzed how these images helped fashion modern Indian visual culture. Their depictions of the gods, reverentially displayed across the country, helped form our mental images of the deities, especially since the style has been replicated in films, TV serials, and the Amar Chitra Katha comics.
The End Of Decorative Calendars
Calendars today have become merely functional. Offices now have desk calendars which come in the simplest prints. Also with the growing technology, every cell now has a pre-installed app of a calendar that helps you mark your important dates digitally.
