Gupta Press Directory Panjika is a Bengali Panchang/Almanac which was first published in 1869 from Kolkata to cater to the growing necessity of having a codified book of ceremonies; something like a reference frame, a book of lists, an ephemeris rolled into one that would satisfy the entire cross-section of the populace. An almanac in the Bengali vernacular, it proved to be the first commercial venture in the area of operation. True there were others Bengali Panchang/Almanac, but none at such a refined or large scale.

  The history of this Bengali almanac stretches from a time when our country was reeling under the British rule. Religion & rituals which have always been an integral part of Bengali society, came under direct threat from a torrent of Western thoughts. Codified religious canons and tenets, correct procedure of rituals and ceremonies found it almost impossible to bear the onslaught of "modernism" and "pragmatism" preached by the western Indians there was a void which had to be filled by an authentic religious manual.