“For heaven’s sake its just a [tag]calendar[/tag] !”, my friend yelled…

My heart raced. I wanted to reply, but I was choked with emotions and I simply couldn’t…

All the walls in my room are covered with pictures and maps. My friend got a picture of all of us and wanted to stick it in the place where the calendar was. I said no.

I look at the calendar everyday and it reminds me of home. It reminds me of the hundreds of little occasions and festivals that I’m missing. I look at the ‘red’ dates occurring on weekdays, and think about how the holiday used to excite me 10 years back.

In short, the calendar means a lot to me. It’s almost a part of who I am and part of my upbringing and culture. It makes me nostalgic, and in a place where everything is ‘foreign’, this is one of the few things that is not. (see, the week starts on Sunday!:) ) Indeed, the last thing I use it, is to see the dates! For most part of the day its just lying there on the wall doing nothing. Sounds silly?

The calendar-[tag]almanac[/tag] in talk is, Kalnirnay (कालनिर्णय).

Does anyone remember the old advertisement? It went in three languages on [tag]Mumbai[/tag] TV station:
[tag]Marathi[/tag]: कालनिर्णय द्या ना…. कालनिर्णय घ्या ना
Gujarati: कालनिर्णय आपो ने… कालनिर्णय लो ने
Hindi: कालनिर्णय दिजीए… कालनिर्णय लिजीए
(Customer: Can you give me a Kalnirnay?…. Shopkeeper: Here is the Kalnirnay)

Then, there was this signature jingle:
भविष्य मेनु आरोग्य ज्ञान, उपयुक्त साहित्य प्रत्येक पान ।
पंचांग शोभे सुमंगल असावे. भिंतीवरी कालनिर्णय असावे ॥
Astrology, Recipes, Health, Information,… Useful literature on every page
May you get an auspicious horoscope, let there be a Kalnirnay on your wall
(Ok the English translation sounds funny)

Today this calendar is India’s largest selling publication and is available in Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, English apart from Marathi language. The brand is so powerful in [tag]Maharashtra[/tag], that at the end of the year, people say “I have to buy a Kalnirnay” instead of saying “I have to buy a calendar.”

Quick question: What are the two objects you will find in all Maharashtrian homes?
Answer: A statue of Ganpati (Lord Ganesh) and a Kalnirnay calendar!

So,… No! Its not just any calendar. Its Kalnirnay…

¶ Blogged by Priyank Thatte | Tags: Canada, Home