“Beauty is not limited to a certain skin color, body type, gender, sexuality, a certain class, caste, or religion. It is beyond that and cannot be put in a box,” says Rishab Dahiya, a Delhi-based fashion photographer and filmmaker, who recently launched ‘Oddity 2022’, a calendar that features people from diverse communities. It challenges the idea of beauty defined by a small privileged section of Indian society.

From the glamorous Kingfisher calendars of the early 2000s featuring supermodels to the local calendars featuring political figures and deities, calendars have been instrumental in promoting business giants, celebrities, politicians and select cultures. Similarly, the trend of featuring celebrity models in popular calendars has been dictating beauty and fashion standards which are not inclusive of a majority of communities and their realities.