The Indian Independence Act was passed by the British Parliament on July 5, 1947 and received assent of the King Emperor on July 18, 1947. By that time Calendars for 1947 had already been printed in British India, unaware of the great event that would take place on August 15, 1947. And this is the last Calendar where August 15 is not a holiday.This of course was quite natural as the calendar was printed prior to the beginning of the year at which time nothing was known about the epoch-making events which were to follow during the year. What struck me however was that the calendar was of Mr PC Mathew of Ettumannoor, Kottayam and that he was a Jaggery Merchant.   In those days besides the Malayala Manorama newspaper only a few rich businessmen printed calendars.  So one can surmise that Mr. Mathew had a flourishing Jaggery business in Kottayam.