Respected Sir/ Madam,

At the outset let me wish you and all your staff a Happy New Year. In fact, my New Year has not begun on a happy note. It has started with a problem that has been caused by the New Year.

For that I will have to share the short conversation I had with my wife Mangalam (MB) this morning.

MB : Old man, we are already on to the sixth day in the New Year.

JB : Yes, what about that. For retired people like me, what difference does the new year make.

MB : It may not make for you. But it does for me. We have to remove all the calendars hanging all over the house. We are well into 2022 and they are still showing 2021.

JB : Remove them, what is your problem ? Are you worried that what we will do with all the old calendars. Now that we have no school going children in our house to put covers on books and note books.

MB : That is least of my worries. You may have put covers from old calendars when you were in school but even when our son was in school also we never put covers using old calendars. The school insisted on their monogrammed brown covers only. Good business for them.

JB : Then what is your problem ?

MB: We do not have a single 2022 calendar yet. If you remember last year also we got very few. In fact, in the guest room and even in your study room, 2020 calendars are still hanging.

JB : Yes I know. But why do you need calendars ?

MB : You may have no use for it. Anyway, you live in the past only. But I need calendars to mark so many things. Milk, newspaper, gas cyclinder, our maharani maid's dumma etc etc.

JB : There was a time when I used to be incharge for all the calendars in the bank. Big big customers used to come to my office to wish me New Year and quietly ask me before leaving for a Calendar. Depending on their importance I used to decide who gets a single sheet one, a monthly one or a glossy special edition desktop one.

MB : I know how you used to bring a large number of undistributed extra calendars and I had to find a way of offloading them before it was too late. One year, I gave calendars to all my ladies club members. Another year, I asked our son to distribute it to all his school teachers.

JB : Yes , those were the days. Our LIC agent Sambaiah used to come with calendar every year with the hope that I will buy a new policy. I used to give him our bank calendar and embarrass him. Even he will not give a calendar now,

MB : Why ?

JB : Our policies have all matured ...Now he has no business from us. What about our neighbourhood Nadar's maligai stores ? Along with January provisions he used to send one calendar with some Hindu God's picture on it. That you would usually pass on to our watchman or maid.

MB : He knows we are buying all the monthly provisions online from Big Basket. We are only buying urgent items from him. Why will he give us ? This Big Basket types don't give out calendars.

JB : Looks like people dont use calendars anymore. Everything is on their mobile. I can't even ask from my younger friends who are still in service.

MB : Why ? Ego ?

JB : No no.. Just the other day one of them was cribbing that due to pandemic cost cutting no new year gifts from their company. Due to Work From Home even employees are not getting their diaries.

MB : Yes, that is my next thing. I need a diary.

JB : Why do you need a diary ? All you need is a notebook. For noting all those vannan items, provision list and all the sundry lists that you make. I can't ask anyone for a diary. Maybe I will buy one. for you . Though paying cash for a diary hurts.

MB : My calendar problem remains.

As always our conversations ended abruptly. But it set me thinking.

Now here is a humble request from me. I may agree or disagree with your editorials but I have always valued the quality of your printing. In fact, I used to collect the glossily printed posters of sportspersons from your Sportstar magazine. Your Frontline magazine photographs were a treat.

Please publish a nice Calendar of 2022 with good photographs printed in a glossy paper and give it as a pullout in your Sunday newspaper. This will solve MB's problem and maybe your circulation will also increase.

Yours in full anticipation,

J Bhoothalingam