Jan 07, 2007 07:50 PM
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Wall calendars - a thing of past?
Incredible it may seem, but even in the computer age, people rely on a calendar as their source of information.
The popular Kalnirnay calendar is the largest selling calendar in the country with more than 11 million copies sold every year.
What makes this calendar special is the treasure trove of information that it provides on both its sides. The calendar gives complete information of Hindu festivals and other auspicious days of the year. It provides detailed information on each Hindu months - the Tithi i.e. the day according to Hindu panchang, all the festivals, days of fasting, muhurats, marriage dates among other things.
Every page's rear contains articles on spirituality, recipes, meditation, health, yoga by distinguished personalities.
Its publisher Jayant Salgaonkar is an astrologer whom people trust.
So its a good contender to competition in the form of:
FTV & Kingfisher models
Breath taking scenery.
Cute kids that brigthen any dull room.
Actors actresses et al
Marketed by the name of a Calmanac(Calendar+ Almanac!) it comes in languages like Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, and English.
The panchang measures time in lunar months whose names reveal the secret path of stars and constellations. However this is a lunisolar calendar.
The western calendar is based on the sun, in which a year is the time required for the earth to complete one orbit around the sun i.e. 365 days.
The Indian calendar is ingeniously based on both the sun and the moon; it uses a solar year but divides it into 12 lunar months. A lunar month is precisely 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes and 3 seconds long.
The western calendar is based on the sun, in which a year is the time required for the earth to complete one orbit around the sun. This precisely measures 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 46 seconds.
The Indian calendar is ingeniously based on both the sun and the moon; it uses a solar year but divides it into 12 lunar months. A lunar month is precisely 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes and 3 seconds long.
The day starts with the sunrise.
They five properties of a "Panchang" are:
the tithi active at sunrise
the vaasara or weekday
the nakshatra in which the moon resides at sunrise
the yoga active at sunrise
the karana active at sunrise.
Together these "five" angas in Sanskrit make a panhchanga.
The mathematics of this calendar system are alluring.
Kalnirnay is available in different sizes, the biggest size for offices costing Rs.30+ while the medium-size Kaal Nirnaya is bought for households. The calendar is also available for cars, tables and even pockets! The price for for household ones is Rs 18.