Showcasing the once-vibrant calendar art of Sivakasi in Chennai

CHENNAI: During the 1950s, several big companies in India distributed calendars featuring portraits of Gods and Goddesses, drawn by popular artists of the time. In Tamil Nadu, the calendar art industry was thriving, thanks to the establishment of Devi Electrical Studio by the talented artist Kondiah Raju and his students, including TS Subbiah, TS Arunachalam, S Meenakshi Sundaram, Ramalingam, M Sreenivasan, and Shenbagaraman in the late 1940s. These artists initially created backdrops for studio photography, which they sold to studios across the country, up to Kashmir.

Later, these artists began painting portraits of deities, known as Sami Padam, for the printing industry of Sivakasi, which was used for marketing in textile and jewellery shops. “The printers of Sivakasi used an album showcasing the works of various artists to show to potential clients, and if the cover page had a painting by Ramalingam, it received better reception for placing orders. The first printed painting in the Sivakasi calendar industry was done by Ramalingam,” says KR Jayakumar, son of artist Ramalingam. To showcase the works of these calendar artists from the 1950s, the family members of Ramalingam opened an art gallery called Chithiraalayam Art Gallery in Alwarthirunagar.

Jayakumar points out that many in today’s generation are unaware of the calendar art industry, which was active until 1980 and played a significant role in the Indian art scene. “By exhibiting their works, we hope to create awareness about this art industry. The calendar art was not recorded anywhere, despite its 30 years of activity. Typically, people would remove the calendar pages at the year’s end and frame the pictures of Gods in their houses. In addition to pictures of deities, the calendars also featured landscapes and babies,” Jayakumar, who is also an artist, recollects.

Jayakumar spent ten years collecting and restoring all the pictures. “Some pictures were with my family, some with the print houses in Sivakasi. Sadly, calendar art is a thing of the past and I wanted to document and showcase them to the future generation of artists and art lovers,” he concludes.