A photograph by Vishwanathan
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Ten-year-old Mani is much loved in his neighbourhood in Adyar, Chennai. Found as a puppy and cared for with with affection, the streetie shares a special bond with newspaper collector Pandian and is often seen hitching a ride on his tricycle. Mani’s one such joyful moment captured by amateur photographer Vishwanathan is one among the 12 heartwarming stories of The Indie Calendar 2026.
Prathima Pingali
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Pet photographer Prathima Pingali, founder of Pawparazzi, a pet photography company calls ‘The India Calendar 2026 – Awaara nahi, humara hain’ a heartfelt tribute to the bond shared with streeties including cats. Pratima has been working on a pet calendar for six years to create awareness for indies and their adoption. “This year’s calendar is different,” she says. “Many animal lovers have taken to the streets to protest against the recent Supreme Court verdict on stray dogs and the revolution was tagged as ‘Awara nahin, hamaara hai’ (‘They are not strays, they are ours’). We wanted to highlight it in this year’s calendar.
Like a family
A photograph by Manjusha Pillai
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The intent was to feature stories of people who do not have enough money, resources or even a home but they have opened their hearts to take care of streeties and treat them like their own family. “Apart from featuring stories, we also thank these individuals to highlight the fact that if they can be so loving and open, what is stopping us from doing so? Why are we running after breeds? Why aren’t we giving enough love to our Indies?”
Photographers who have contributed
Minal Kalekar, Prathima Pingali, Vishwanathan, Sameera Sindhu, Rishabh Sinha, Manjusha Pillai, Maitreyi Damugade, Purva Desai, Nupur Singh, and Diya Pais.
More than 50 people enrolled for the project in October and submitted the photos in early November 2025. “Whether they were selected or not, they still went out and brought us those beautiful stories.” Prathima also did photo walks to help members understand the nuances of photography.
A photograph by Rishabh Sinha
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The selection process was simple — a heartwarming story, photo with a human element and an indie stray dog being cared for by someone who provides food and shelter everyday. “We wanted the interaction between the individual and the stray dog to be highlighted. We have featured cats as well.”
Twelve stories were selected from Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Baindur in Karnataka, and Kochi. Speaking of the creative agency Homegrown which designed the calendar, Prathima says, “Homegrown’s owner Varsha Patra and I connected on our love for animals and this was the perfect start to our journey.”
The desk calendar is priced at ₹899; wall calendar is ₹1199. Available at www.pawparazzi .com.
Published – December 18, 2025 11:16 am IST