WINNER
Salt Lake CJ Block Welfare Association
Why: In its 39th year, the puja has got its souvenir act together. It is a sizeable volume with an original artwork on the cover. And true to the tone of protest that characterised the time, it starts with a tearful tribute in words and painting. There is adequate reading material in both Bengali and Hindi, and some English. A gallery of photographs rounds up the activities of the year while another, titled Flashback, compiles old photographs including one of waterlogging in 1997. The collection includes pictures from even the 1980s — a compilation that deserves applause for archiving the block’s past. A young block resident’s achievement has been shared as have been recipes of some dishes harking back to colonial Calcutta, with an engaging note on their genesis. Important contact numbers of various utilities as well as a telephone directory of block residents feature in the souvenir.
BEST COVER
Why: The illustration is excellent. The Devi’s expression is stern, perhaps to reflect the anger coursing through society last autumn in the wake of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital atrocity on the doctor lady. The choice of burnt sienna as top and bottom border combines well with the cream background of the illustration. The artwork bears the signature of the artist, Debleena, who has not been credited in the index.
Best Cover Special Mention
Salt Lake BF Block Residents Association and Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee, BE (West)
Early Bird
Winner: Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee, BE (West)
Why: Kudos to the block for getting its souvenir ready and off the block consistently earlier than any other puja committee in the twin townships year after year. The quality of content is high and varied, indicating that there was no compromise in this regard despite the early deadline.
Best Editorial
Winner: Amalabha Dutta, editor, CD Block Sarbajanin Durgotsab Committee, Action Area 1C, New Town
Why: The article speaks of the angst and anger that gripped society at large in the run-up to Durga puja last year in the wake of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital atrocity and captures the uncertainty it caused in every Puja-organising neighbourhood on whether to celebrate Bengal’s greatest festival or not. It also spoke of the irony of ushering in the Mother Goddess in a land where women are robbed of dignity and targeted for assault. Yet it was in an unceremonious worship of Durga and in the promise embedded in her myth of victory of good over evil that devotees found refuge in.
Special mention: Partha Ghosh, puja committee president, New Town CE Block Cultural Association, and Sanjoy Mitra, president, New Town AA-IB Sarbojonin Durgotsav Committee
Best Memoir
Winner: Susmita Bhaduri of Sanjeeva Town The Bungalow Estate, New Town for Smritir Jhapi
Why: An intimate account of growing up in a neighbourhood slightly unfamiliar to most readers — a sugarmill complex in rural Bihar.
It’s an idyllic life in a hilly terrain in bungalows under star-lit skies, surrounded outside the campus by simple-minded villagers who venerate Bengali doctors. The author recounts a night when a gang of dacoits seek the services of her father, a doctor, at the dead of night. The collage of memories also features movie-viewing experiences in a village without a movie hall, raiding fields ripe with green peas and of course of Durga puja. The language is lucid and thememories vivid in details.
Special mention: Ranjini Lahiri of BE (West) for Tar AkashbhoraKoley and Arun Kumar Mullick ofEast Enclave for Pujor Smriti
Best Travelogue
Winner: Rabindranath Mallick ofCB Block, for Mizoram-ey Koyekdin
Why: The author had occasion tovisit Mizoram in the early 80s whenseveral of the northeast states werenot as visited as they are now. It wasa troubled time with insurgency andviolence being rampant. The articleis hardly a run-of-the-mill traveloguewith a catalogue of places visited andsights seen. Rather, after figuring outhow to reach the state capital Aizawl— with an inner line permit and in asmall aircraft — the author realizesthe danger there was at every step ofthe way in the picturesque state.
Special mention: Jishnu Kar ofCD Block, New Town, for A fairytaleland and Suman Basu of BA Block forSada Hatir Deshe Koyekdin
Best Fiction
Winner: Kumkum Samaddar ofFE Block for Trikhondito, Tobuo
Why: The author is an accomplished hand with a solid grip on theBarishal dialect in which the characters speak. The dialect also acts asbridge between neighbours from erstwhile friendly communities that turnfoes in the backdrop of Partition.
Special mention: Jhuma Bandyopadhyay of CF Block for EkdinerGolpo and Bulu Basu of BL Block forPujo parikrama- sondhye 6tay.
Best Essay
Winner: Sisir Gangopadhyay ofBA Block for Jeebone Morone AchheGatha — Aa-mori gamchha katha
Why: The humble handwovencotton wipe gets a rare centrestage asthe focus of an article full of humourand faithful documentation. The author successfully mixes personal recollection with literary references anda bit of fashion trivia.
Special mention: Niloy BaranSom of CE Block, New Town forPorichoy porber saatkahon and DipaMitra of CJ Block for BorshoboronerItikatha
Best Poetry
Winner: Mitrabha Bandyopadhyay of CB Block for Cliche
Why: A profound and sharp attack into hypocritical certainties of entitlements: class, caste, religion and results thereof. The poem uses antitheses to good effect and wields the linguistic possibilities of poetic language with assurance. Overall a confident performance. And the title plays on the metaphors within the poem very cleverly.
Special mention: Purba Kar of CD Block, New Town for Robibarer Rojnamcha and Asim Das of East Enclave, New Town for Albatross, Kapila O Eagol Nari
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE (SENIOR): Ganendra Nayaran Roy of BE(West). At the age of 92, the poet has attempted a notoriously difficult form of poetry — acrostic. In this form, a poem is much like a word puzzle in which certain letters in each line combine to form a word or words. Here, Roy has chosen to base the form on his own name followed by possibly his place of birth or nurture.
Congratulations to all the winners. Results based on entries received.