The Bangalore Press releases its 100th edition of its iconic calendar that marks a glorious run of its illustrious past and contemporary present.
Growing up in Hyderabad, the one thing that I remember almost as a ritual at home in the beginning of the year was the arrival of ‘The Bangalore Press’ calendar. As a child I was fascinated by the details it had, going beyond the conventional festivals and holidays. A small section on the left had a plethora of information on chariot festivals, special dates and of course holidays. When I moved to Bangalore, the tradition of the calendar continued and this year when I bought my copy, I was surprised to see that it was the 100th edition.
Royal Repast
Intrigued that the calendar I patronized was so old, I made my way to The Bangalore Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd., that houses the office and press of The Bangalore Press at Mysore Road. Catching up with Ananth H.R., Managing Director was an eyeopener as he took me through the history of the company and the calendar. The story is that when the erstwhile ruler of Mysore H.H. Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar visited England to have his son’s wedding invitation cards printed, the then Diwan of Mysore, Sir M. Visvesvaraya advised him that the cost was so high that the same money could instead be used to set up a printing press in the state. This led to them meeting with the London Royal Company to have a printing unit installed in the state of Mysore. The printing unit however faced a hurdle as the British rule was skeptical to allow printing as it could lead to propaganda against them. Sir M.V. then decided to have a managing committee with K.P. Puttana Chetty as founder chairman and Rao Bahadur C. Hayavadana Rao as secretary and The Bangalore Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd. finally started on 5th August 1916 by printing documents for the Mysore province.
Read the full story that first appeared in The Hindu Business Line dated May 23, 2020 here: