The situation
Picture a family where the parents follow the Jain calendar, one daughter-in-law grew up with the Parsi calendar, a son-in-law’s family keeps the Nanakshahi calendar, and close family friends celebrate Eid and Diwali with them every year. Each person’s important days come from a different calendar, but they’re one family.
Most apps make you choose one calendar for everyone, or show nothing but English dates.
How OIOA handles it
Each person chooses their own community in Settings: Hindu (with their regional profile), Islamic (with their method), Jain (with their sect), Parsi (Shahenshahi, Kadmi or Fasli) or Sikh/Punjabi (Original 2003 or SGPC). Their Home screen, calendar and timings follow that choice. They can change it any time.
The shared parts are the same for everyone:
- one Family contact list on every member’s phone,
- one list of Family events that rings for everyone, or for selected members,
- one Family Tree, where each person’s tithi, Hijri, Roj/Mah or Gregorian dates can be recorded.
Ideas for mixed families
- Wish each other on your own festivals. OIOA’s cards let you choose the community for the wording, so a Navroz greeting sounds like a Navroz greeting and an Eid card like an Eid card, in 13 languages.
- Learn each other’s days. The festival pages and Learn guides explain what each day marks, in plain words.
- Keep everyone’s dates properly. A Parsi grandmother’s Roj birthday and a Hindu grandfather’s tithi shraddh can both be kept as notes that repeat by their own calendar. See remember elders by tithi.
- Plan family gatherings around holidays with the long-weekend planner.
Why this matters to us
OIOA was started as a humble attempt to bring India’s communities under one roof, to show the shared belonging that is already part of everyday Indian life. Every community in OIOA gets its own Home screen with the same care and depth. None is primary, and none is an add-on. A family that spans communities is exactly what “One India, One App” is about. Read more about OIOA.
If your tradition is missing
Traditions differ from family to family. If your community, sect or calendar method isn’t in OIOA yet, please request it.