Ranchi, Sept. 26: The old-world, modest barowari puja is passé. It’s time to celebrate big. And this year, Durga Puja in the capital will be like never before, courtesy the Reliance Mobile The Telegraph Puja Awards being set up for the first time in Ranchi.

Put together in association with Jindal Steel and Power, Big 92.7 FM and Hotel Green Horizon, Sahara Bihar/Jharkhand will be the television partners of the mega event.

The award has been divided into three categories — best pandal, best protima (idol) and best lighting with more than Rs 1.5 lakh in prizes to be won. There will be two panels of judges, including artists, writers, business moguls, bureaucrats, politicians, social workers and sportspersons (see box).

As many as 14 puja committees in the capital will vie for the honours: on offer is a cash award of Rs 51,000, a trophy and a citation for each of the three categories.

“Durga Puja is an occasion when we forget all our worries and celebrate. We lie in eager wait of the festive season — we wait for the kash phul to bloom, for the dhak to roll, for the scent of dhunuchi to waft along in the breeze. And all this might just get better if there is a healthy competition,” said Mahua Majee, a writer and member of the judges’ panel.

The judges will visit all the 14 pandals before they decide on the winner. Theme and aesthetics are expected to be two of the parameters based on which the pandals and idols will be judged.

“Modern themes are welcome, but we will certainly look for grace when it comes to the idol of the goddess. The protima must have the power to evoke devotion,” said Amitabh Mukherjee, a sculptor and another member of the panel.

With barely two weeks to go for the auspicious hour of Sasthi, puja organisers across the capital are racing against time to wrap up arrangements. So, are artisans, who swamp the capital from the villages of Bengal.

While the Kokar Puja Samiti is adding final touches to its radium idol, RR Sporting Club at Ratu Road is banking on artificial pearls for Shiv, Ganesh and Radha-Krishna, who will also flank the goddess.

Terracotta is the choice of the Netaji Subhas Bose Puja Samiti, the Satya Amar Lok Puja Samiti of Harmu is going the wildlife way with images of animals and birds and bronze plates will add lustre to the Bharatiya Nav Yuvak Sangh pandal at Bakri Bazaar.

“Most of the pandals will be ready by October 3,” said Kumar S. Chakraborty, the secretary of Netaji Subhas Bose Puja Samiti in Kantatoli. The judges will tour the pandals on Saptami (October 6) and the winners will be declared the following day.

Majee sums it up best: “The city’s creative potential cannot be ignored. Awards have a positive side. They make Pujas more conscientious.”