KOZHIKODE: Though Malayalam calendar market is monopolised by those brought out by vernacular dailies, North Malabar has bucked the trend by riding piggyback on the legacy of PK Krishnan.
The tabloid-sized calendar-P K Krishnan Calendar- first brought out by PK Krishnan has sold a whopping 2,05,000 copies this year so far.
The area spanning from Korapuzha in Kozhikode to Kasaragod in the north is the fiefdom of the small calendar that is preferred in households as well as shops mostly by elderly persons.
As the name suggests, it was started by P K Krishnan, a trader of Thalasserry in 1931 with an aim to market his renovated textile and furniture shop.
In the first year, he sold 200 copies and soon gained acceptance as there was no competitor. Slowly, newspaper agencies began to book orders and the calendar established itself as a brand to publicise his shop.
“We had a newspaper agency at that time and the distribution of calendar was easy,” recalls P P Sooraj, Krishnan’s son and proprietor of P K Krishnan shop in Thalasserry.
A to Z rituals of temples
The USP of PK Krishnan Calendar is that it contains the A to Z of temple rituals across north Kerala. The festival at Madiyan Kuloth in Kanhangad and the Aandiyoot at Pallikkara Kovil find space in the calendar. “There may be some differences in the timings of the rituals from those given by calendars that depend on Guruvayur panchangam, owing to the sankramana time. We have a panel of experts who completely go by the sankramana time here,” said Sooraj.
“PK Krishnan is still the authentic name among calendars. It contains details of more local events and festivities than any other calendar. Though its significance has dwindled a little, Krishnan calendar still adorns households,” says writer N Prabhakaran. Though Krishnan died 55 years ago, and the number of shops came down from three to one, the calendar has never looked back. Priced at Rs 20, it had sold 1,93,000 copies last year and 1,75,000 copies in 2017-18.