A calendar that works at child height.

What works, by kind of event

Festivals are the family heart of this calendar: Diwali's lights and sweets, the pandal-hopping of Durga Puja, kite mornings in Ahmedabad and Jaipur, Holi for the brave and the washable. Cricket is the national family day out: a T20 or an ODI at Eden Gardens, the Wankhede or the Chinnaswamy is noise, colour and food in a bowl built for it, and the day fixtures suit younger children best. Museums and science cities carry the hot middays: the science cities of Kolkata, Delhi, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, the natural history and transport museums, and Mumbai's museum quarter around the old Prince of Wales Museum. The monuments are the uniquely Indian days: the Gateway and Elephanta by boat, India Gate's lawns, the forts of Jaipur, best taken early before the heat and the crowds.

The logistics that help

Heat is the governing fact from March to June: plan the outdoor events for the mornings and evenings, carry water everywhere, and let the air-conditioned museums and malls hold the middle of the day. The metros beat traffic with a stroller and the big stations have lifts. Festival crowds are dense and joyful: agree a meeting point, keep small children in sight at the pandals and the fireworks, and book event-night hotels you can walk back to. Dress children for temples as you would yourselves, covered shoulders and knees, and the welcome everywhere is genuine.