The Year of the Ox is here; now the anticipation for the big-name calendars begins. From the good old Kaal Nirnaya calendars that mothers and grandmothers would hang in the kitchen and dutifully consult, to the ultra glam Kingfisher almanacs, the demand for the date-book will never go away. These days, of course, calendars have graduated from mere date-keepers to effective marketing tools and beautiful wall-pieces.

The Kingfisher calendar is arguably the country’s most sought after almanac and for good reason. The high-quality shots, not to mention sexy, bikini-clad models, ensure the calendar is appreciated for being more than just a place to mark important dates. The pictures are shot by fashion photographer Atul Kasbekar who says, this year is going to be more of a treat than usual. “There’s recently been a trend to shoot photos that have nothing understated about them,” he says, “but we foresee a return to the minimalism of the 90s. So we’ve gone in for a real and soft look— using natural lighting in the Six Senses resort in Thailand.” The calendar, which was to have released on December 21, 2008, will now be launched on January 11.

Dabboo Ratnani’s special Bollywood calendars also feature high on the list of collectors. The photographer, who specialises in capturing Bollywood personalities in the most unusual of settings and poses, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his calendar this year, by trying out a different style. “You’ll see that it’s different,” he says of the calendar, which released on January 5. “The format is larger and unlike last year, where I shot an all-male calendar, this year there are some women featured as well.” Ratnani’s calendar this year will have all the usual suspects, from Hrithik Roshan to Sanjay Dutt to Amitabh Bachchan, and will also include actresses like Preity Zinta and Deepika Padukone.

However, those looking forward to the other celebrity shutterbug Subi Samuel’s annual calendar will be disappointed. Samuel has decided not to come out with his calendar this year “for personal reasons”. Dancer Terence Lewis too disappoints; he has come out with a 2009 calendar, the images used are those shot for the previous year.

Apart from calendars high on fame quotient, there are many others which are worth more than a look. One such is the Air India calendar, with reproductions of works by prominent, contemporary women artists of India such as Milburn Cherian, Prabha Shah and Aparna Caur. Another beautiful calendar is Club Med’s with pictures of its various properties around the world—from the Cherating Beach in Malaysia to the Charmonix in France.