Cornucopia of calendars marks new year<\/p>\n
By Amir Sidharta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): We are reminded of the new year by the various
\ncalendars that appear in the mail, included as give-aways when
\nyou make a purchase in shops, or are offered for sale in
\nbookstores.<\/p>\n
Last year many publishers adopted the use of compact disc
\nholders for monthly calendars. The first of this kind seems to
\nhave appeared a few years ago, featuring Annie Leibovitz's
\nstriking photographs. Since then there have been many more titles
\nfeaturing artists such as Cezanne, Dali, Klimt and Monet, to name
\nbut a few.<\/p>\n
Now you can even get calendars in the 3.5" diskette format.
\nOne that I received featured a series of works by Indonesian
\nphotographers. Indonesians on Indonesia, an exhibition which was
\ndisplayed in South Korea in commemoration of Indonesia's 50th
\nanniversary last year included a small 3.5" diskette calendar as
\na charming spin-off product.<\/p>\n
This calendar displays a selection of 12 photographic images
\nfrom the show, one on each of the 12 pages. Below each photograph
\nis a row of dates with the Sundays highlighted in bold type. On
\nthe flip side there is a table with seven columns and
\napproximately five rows, providing a small box for each day of
\nthe month. Unfortunately, the space provided in each box is
\nmerely 12mm by 14mm, barely large enough to write anything in it.<\/p>\n
The format of a calendar in the small diskette holder is so
\nhandy that I am sure it would make a great wedding souvenir.<\/p>\n
A popular favorite on the market is Former Points of View, a
\ncollection of 12 postcards of Old Indonesia, produced by the
\nLontar Foundation. This calendar uses the basic desk calendar
\nformat. The decorative side shows the postcard image, with a full
\nmonth calendar above its corresponding caption. The table of
\ndates is truly functional. Although the space allotted for each
\nday is still quite small, there is enough room to jot down the
\nmajor events or appointments of the day.<\/p>\n
The bigger, the more useful a calendar becomes. Therefore,
\nwall calendars seems to work best. One, which I don't expect to
\nsee on the market, is the calendar of the dormant Indonesian news
\nmagazine, Tempo. This calendar features the work of the
\ncartoonist Priyanto S., published in the Opini section of the
\nmagazine, making it not only practical, but also interesting.
\nThis section which first appeared towards the end of 1979,
\nfeatured the work of Priyanto S. and T. Sutanto. Since 1986,
\nPriyanto's work dominated Opini.<\/p>\n
Typically, Tempo's 1996 Opini was filled with sarcastic
\npolitical humor. For the month of October, for example, the
\ncalendar features a cartoon showing five persons, each holding a
\ndifferent newspapers entitled generically as Koran, Suratkabar,
\nHarian, Berita and News, all basically meaning newspaper. One of
\nthem looks over another's shoulder and comments, "Funny, the
\ncontent seems to be all the same in each one, why is that?"<\/p>\n
The distribution of this calendar is clearly an effort to
\nremind Tempo's sympathizers that the spirit of Tempo lives on.
\nAlthough the magazine is still banned, it is ready to awaken any
\nmoment their publication permit is reinstalled.<\/p>\n
A few years ago, weekly calendar cards placed in music
\ncassette boxes appeared on the market. The format cleverly uses
\nthe cassette boxes to display the cards. Flip the plastic cover,
\nand you get a ready-to-use display holder. The drawback with this
\nsystem is that the plastic cassette casing does not protect the
\ncalendar pages from dust.<\/p>\n
For the more pragmatic types who have little concern about
\nappearance, even better is the old Chinese calendar, which
\nfeatures a tin panel and a block of paper, one page for each of
\nthe 365 days of this year.<\/p>\n
Each page features the international date as well as the
\nJavanese, Chinese, and Arabic dates. Some also include the rows
\nof dates and days of the month on the bottom of the page. If you
\nneed to write notes, you can fill the entire 12.5 cm by 15.5 cm
\nspace of the page! As for the painting on the tin panel, I think
\nthat it is a question of taste. If you don't like it, you can
\nalways mount the date block on a different panel.<\/p>\n
One other calendar which appeared this year was made to be
\nused not only during 1996 but much further in the future. This
\ncalendar, entitled Remembrance is a birthday and anniversary
\nreminder which exhibits the artwork by a group of Indonesian
\nwomen who paint either as a hobby or professionally. While there
\nis nothing new about a birthday calendar, the publication of this
\ncalendar makes available a product which has previously been hard
\nto find in this part of the world.<\/p>\n
As the fasting month of Ramadhan draws nearer, I have noticed
\nthat many shops have started to use Islamic themes. The calendar
\nWriting Traditions of Indonesia features manuscripts in Arabic
\nfrom the National Library of Indonesia, mostly the holy Koran.
\nAnother Lontar product, this calendar appropriately caters to an
\naudience increasingly appreciative of Indonesia's rich cultural
\nheritage.<\/p>\n
Another line of calendars presenting Islamic themes has been
\npublished by Gema Insani Press. These calendars incorporate the
\nArabic and international dates in the daily block format. As you
\ntear away each page an excerpt from the holy Koran or a saying
\nbased on the Islamic teachings is displayed for the day. The
\nblock is appropriately mounted on an attractive panel embellished
\nwith decorative Arabic calligraphy.<\/p>\n
Again, while there is nothing new, the availability of this
\ncalendar offers many more choices to a market that is also
\nbecoming more and more diverse in tastes and interests. Can't
\nwait to see what will be in store for next year!<\/p>",
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