This calendar man from Karnataka's Gadag never misses a date

These calendars are very popular in the village because they don’t just have the dates, but they have details about local festivals, fairs and other events as well.
This calendar man from Karnataka's Gadag never misses a date

GADAG: Come January and the villagers of Jakkali have something more to look forward to. Along with their paper, their newspaper distributor, Sangamesh Menasagi, also gives them a free calendar. He makes these calendars himself. These calendars are very popular in the village because they don’t just have the dates, but they have details about local festivals, fairs and other events as well.

Hailing from an agricultural background, the 49-year-old owns a small plot of land in the village and does not earn much, but that does not deter him from going about this task. He had tried to pursue his BA long ago, but had to drop out midway due to some personal problems. Every year, he distributes 4,000 calendars in and around the village. He has been going about this task for the past 14 years, which he considers his duty.

“I started making calendars from my childhood but I did not distribute them till 2006. Then, I got an idea of making calendars for school and college students so that they can check the dates for important local events,” says Menasagi. Inspired by the single-page calendars he would see in Kannada magazines, he decided to try and make his own calendars. 

The need for pocket calendars arose when he noticed how people had to rush home to look for a calendar in order to check a specific date. He chalked out a plan and made sure that his pocket calendar had the month, date and day in medium size font. He wanted to make sure that his calendars did not look like other calendars where the font is tiny and hard to read. This struck a chord with the students in the village.Jakkali village has 2,500 houses. Out of the total population, 1,300 are school or college students. Menasagi says that the calendar would come in handy when preparing a timetable to study for exams. So he makes trips to schools and colleges to distribute his calendars. He makes these calendars in both Kannada and English.

“We have to teach children how to look at calendars and mark important dates, especially if they have exams. They should not depend on mobile phone reminders only. It is good to have knowledge about the digital world, but they should also learn to use calendars,” says Menasagi. This has earned him some fans among the students.

Aruna Mukkannavar and Kanakambarir Rangannavar, who study at Jakkali Government School, say, “Every year we get a small calendar from Sangamesh sir. It is really helpful. If we want to check dates, either we have to go to the school office room or search at home. But now we can carry a calendar with us.”

His altruistic activity has not gone unnoticed as many in his village look forward to these calendars. Vidya Naregal and Devakka Palled, villagers of Jakkali, say, “Many people complain about familial or financial difficulties. Despite earning a limited income, Sangamesh distributes calendars without fail. He is extremely punctual and patient as he goes to every house in the first week of January to distribute calendars.” Along with a physical copy of his calendar, Menasagi has now started circulating e-calendars.  Menasagi has big dreams for his village. For the past 10 years, along with distributing calendars, he also gives away books for free to poor students.

“I want students from our village to be selected for IAS, KAS and other competitive exams. Whenever I go to to Hubballi or Gadag, I bring some books with me. I give these books to those who are talented yet don’t have the means. I want to see children from my village become deputy commissioners or SPs. I get satisfaction from this. This is a habit of mine like others,” says Menasagi.

The nitty-gritty
Sangamesh Menasagi draws the calendar first on a piece of paper. He writes down the dates and the months by hand and makes a rough design. Then he travels to Naregal which is 5.7 km away from Jakkali. There, he visits a printing shop where the calendar is designed on a computer. He gets them printed like photographs. He pays Rs 2,000 as he gets 4,000 copies printed in bulk. He earns Rs 3,000 from distributing newspapers, so he spends two-thirds of what he earns on this endeavour.

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