2023 calendars by Indian illustrators to shop for 

The Great Indian Railway Desk Calendar by Bhavya Desai 

Food vendors, overflowing luggage trolleys, and bustling platforms. The inspiration behind this vibrant calendar dedicated to the Indian Railways “came from my train journeys, which is my preferred mode of commuting,” says Bhavya. “There are many stories that come out of a single journey as unlike airports, where people look a certain way and dress a certain way, the train is one place that allows you to be you.” Illustrated and designed to look like a piece of art for your desk, it also comes with journal stickers. ₹899 on happywagon.com

Tis the Sea-Son by Doodle-o-Drama

For her first book, Getting Ellie Home in 2019, Mounica Tata found herself drawing many sea creatures and thoroughly enjoying the process. “I always wanted to come back and experiment with the underwater world,” says the artist who got the opportunity with her 2023 calendar. It features some real creatures like the sea turtles, various kinds of fish, and a few animals “straight from her imagination with a hint of madness”. With 2022 being the year Mounica learnt to swim, this creating the calendar was all the more special. “I love how the layouts for May and March turned out — the colours, the madness and magic in the creatures — it comes together beautifully,” she says, adding that a few of the pages can be cut to use as bookmarks, and the paper can be utlised for sketching and doodling too. Coming up are sticker books, notebooks, cushion covers, and more. ₹700 on doodleodrama.com

Bird of the Month by Rohan Chakravarty

A selection of the cartoonist and wildlife enthusiast’s illustrations from his book Bird Business (2019) feature in this calendar. “I’m always drawn to birds more than any other clade of wildlife because they’re everywhere, and are the best gateways into nature for city-dwellers like me,” says Rohan, adding that the idea behind the compilation is to “familiarise birdwatchers as well as lay readers with what birds do all day, and what their respective roles are in the web of nature”. 

The 12 illustrations selected for the months in the calendar correspond with the months of the year that are of particular significance or relevance in the birds’ life cycles. Rohan’s favourite is the sequence of rosy starlings (chosen for display at the Singapore Book Illustrators’ Gallery in 2020, as part of the Asian Festival of Children’s Content) flying in a murmuration, “as it was the most difficult one to execute”. All the illustrated panels are printed as cut-out posters which can be used for display well after the utility of the calendar perishes, adds Rohan. ₹999 on happywagon.com

Elephant Therapy by Miss Compass Hands

Bringing cheer to your desk with some much-needed elephant therapy, Sangeeta Prayaga’s calendar for the next year features tiny, adorable jumbos on each page. There’s also a ‘reflections’ prompt on the back of each page, and stickers to mark birthdays, vacations, etc. “The prompt is to remind you to think about your learnings, achievements, and what you are grateful for. You can cut the quote and illustration and use it as a postcard, bookmark, greeting card, or a thank-you note and give it to someone. At the end of the year, as you spread joy by sharing all the 12 artworks, you have turned your calendar into a time capsule booklet for 2023,” says Sangeeta, who has also curated a A Big Box of Elephants comprising a journal, daily planner, tote bag, sticky notes, and more. ₹649 for the calendar on misscompasshands.in

World Tour by The Ink Bucket 

This year, designer Vidhi Khandelwal decided to go with separate themes for the wall and desk calendars. With the Overboard wall calendar (₹1,199), Vidhi says, “we wanted to put a spin on the notion of a packed calendar by packing it with a year’s worth of board games”. For instance, the concept for January (called Hit or Miss Gym) is a board game-meets-bootcamp with exercise prompts laid out along the spaces on the board. As for the 2023 World Tour desk calendar (₹799), she calls it a “product of personal motivation that turned into professional inspiration”. “Like everyone else over a year ago, we wanted to travel out of the country but COVID restrictions and then professional obligations conspired to keep us home, working away in our studio. So, we found our escape by channelling our imagination [and Google] to bring the many wonders of the world onto the calendar’s pages,” says the designer, adding that each month is dedicated to a different country, and its bucket list experiences. “The idea is to inspire stationery-style sightseeing during those daydreaming spells at the desk.” theinkbucket.in

Circle of Life by Rachita Sareen 

Over a period of six years (barring 2020), Rachita has added a new papercut calendar design to her collection. After the intricate designs of Palanpur House (an old haveli in the town of Palanpur), Tree of Life, The Enchanted Forest (an ode to the forests of India), and Wonders of the Ocean, her most recent design depicts the Circle of Life. “It was designed after the lockdowns, and is a metaphor for hope and the promise that the future holds,” she says, adding how each calendar took about 2-3 months to design, test and prototype before it was ready for production. The team calls the products ‘design collectibles’ as the pages can be framed and utilised as artworks as well. ₹1,120 on artisanscentre.com 

The Kindness Calendar by Alicia Souza

Alicia Souza’s hanging and desk calendars, planners, Christmas goodies and more are finally out. “The desk calendar (₹999) this year is different because it works as two products: a calendar that you can fold into a book. As for the hanging calendar (₹899), it is themed on kindness, because there’s never enough!” says the illustrator. Designed to be a reminder that “we can do a little kind deed ever so often”, Alicia is particularly excited about her planners that have launched with new accessories.  aliciasouza.com