CHENNAI: Every time a new year arrives, we seem to teem with a renewed sense of life, lists of ambitious resolutions, and glossy new calendars. While the resolutions and rejuvenation may wax and wane, our days are marked by crossing off dates in calendars, waiting for the gratitude and new resolves of next year.
Since 2010, Sahodaran, a city-based organisation working for the LGBTQIA+ community, has been crafting calendars, breaking stereotypes, spotlighting models in an array of Indian drapes, and raising funds for welfare activities. Every calendar has a story and a strand punctuated by intricately designed snapshots, from a Theyyam-inspired click on the cover to a model surrounded with orange flowers.
This year, Sahodaran’s founder Sunil Menon and his team including photographers Kapil Ganesh, Kabilan, and Arnold, launched their special limited edition calendar. For Sunil, the pages of this collector’s edition are filled with memories, and gratitude, celebrating 14 years. “This is more like an homage to everyone who’s collaborated with me on this 14-year journey. I have taken one image out of every year from 2010. This edition is like in retrospect with archival images,” he explains, adding that owing to health issues, he was unable to work on this calendar earlier.
Most runways, photographs, or calendars feature female models but Sahodaran has always looked towards models off the beaten track, points out Sunil. “I wanted to go beyond that format and look at very South Indian, dusky, brown-skinned boys. I want to break the stereotype that this is what modelling is all about.”
Over the years, the calendar has crossed borders and reached international buyers. The roots of this product whimsically began in a plan for a catalouge for a swimwear line, in 2009. “I had a buyer in New York who bought all the pieces and asked how to market it. He asked for images and what should have been a catalogue for a product to be sold, became the product,” explains the 58-year-old.
Since then, each year, the calendar has delved into themes including animals, nature, headgear, and culture. “The calendar endeavour has served as a platform for a lot of artistes to showcase what they have, whether it’s a stylist, a designer or a model,” says Sunil. However, each year was not without its challenges such as dealing with animals or coordinating over a few days. In 2020, the founder recalls shooting with a minimal set-up amid the lockdown. Now, Sunil is back at the drawing board, charting out agendas to shoot for next year’s glossy calendar.
Since 1998, Sahodaran has worked with people from the LGBTQIA+ community from low-income backgrounds, combining HIV/AIDS prevention and care services with social support, counseling, and crisis intervention.
The calendar is available in three formats: the hanging one is priced at Rs 3,000, the desktop at Rs 4,000 and easel stands at Rs 5,000. For details, call: 9444966000.