New Delhi: The queen of popular music, Lata Mangeshkar, and the doyenne of Carnatic classical music, Late M S Subbulakshmi, are among the 12 luminaries who figure in Government of India's official calendar for the year 2005, which pays tribute to Indian music.

The calendar, copies of which will be sent to Government offices, Ministries and Indian embassies, High commissions as well as foreign embassies in India, was released today (Dec 14, 2004) by Information and Broadcasting and Culture Minister S Jaipal Reddy.

The calendar features four Bharat Ratna musicians -- (Late) M S Subbulakshmi, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar and Lata Mangeshkar.

The other eight eminent musicians featured in the calendar are D V Paluskar, D Venkataswamy Naidu, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, T N Rajratnam Pillai, Begum Akhtar, Palaghat T S Mani Iyer, Chembai Vaidyanath Bhagavathar and Kumar Gandharva.

The flyleaf of the calendar has photographs of 54 other great musicians of the past with sketches of Tansen and Thyagaraja.

The department of advertising and visual publicity (DAVP) brings out the official calendar for the Government of India every year on a designated theme. As many as 3.5 lakh copies are being printed.