In its 21st year, CESC The Telegraph True Spirit Puja (TSP) crowned not one but three Model Pujas on Friday, taking a pioneering step in Puja award evaluation.
The movement towards making Durga Puja a safe, happy and meaningful celebration, powered by Indian Institute of Hotel Management, in association with Kutchina and Chemtex, had 300-odd participants in this edition.
Three teams of celebrity judges — Rituparna Sengupta, Nussrat Jahan, Yash Daasguptaa, Richa Sharma, Shiboprosad Mukherjee, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Tota Roy Choudhury, Melinda Pavek, Barbara Voss, Koichi Nakagawa and others — criss-crossed Calcutta and Howrah, after which the results were declared at The Lalit Great Eastern.
Tollywood superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee announced Hatibagan Sarbojanin and Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra as the Hall of Fame entrants for consistent show of excellence over the last five years.
Hazra Udayan Sangha, Aswininagar Bandhumahal Club and Suruchi Sangha were voted the Model Pujas, ticking all the boxes in traffic and crowd management, eco-friendliness, adherence to safety regulations and contribution to society.
An emotional Sandip Mazumdar, a member of Hazra Udayan Sangha, received the news of being crowned. “There is no way a Rs 12-lakh puja like us can compete with the big-budget ones on the award scale unless the parameters pit like against like, just as TSP has. We organise this puja on the strength of subscriptions collected locally, but we are no less in terms of community involvement, be it in holding the puja or in organising the health camp and the eye check-up camp or the marathon run.... This is the fairest possible way of evaluation,” said the member of the club, which is organising the 78-year-old puja, which was a TSP Two Star Puja last year.
Aswininagar Bandhumahal Club has restructured its fire-fighting arrangement this year. “Till last year, we only had a pipe attached to a tap, along with safety gloves and fire-proof shoes. This time we added a water pump attached to a hose reel stored in a hose drum, which can easily reach water to the tip of our 28ft-high pandal. We knew that our theme of zoomorphism, showcasing human-like animals in mythology, would pull a big crowd. So we wanted to strengthen our security features. We also promoted the Santanan Dehi movement, urging the chanting of the gender-neutral mantra in place of putran dehi, seeking a son, during anjali, putting up a banner on the wall of our baby-feeding room,” said Swarup Nag, treasurer of the 43-year-old Baguiati puja, which had won Three Star Puja in 2019 and 2022.
“The video recordings screened at the TSP prize distribution ceremony of the measures taken by the winners of those years were a benchmark for us that we took lessons from.”
Suruchi Sangha, a TSP veteran, is the third Model Puja. The Gauranga Kuilya-crafted pandal is made of eco-friendly materials available locally such as jute, cane, reeds, grass and straw. “We have a recycling arrangement in place, with the pandal being already booked by a Chandernagore Jagaddhatri puja,” said Debashis Das, general secretary of the New Alipore crowd-puller.
Olabibitola Sarbojanin of Howrah, another TSP veteran, which impressed the judges with its underlying message of communal harmony through the use of eco-friendly materials like palm leaf handfans and wooden dolls, was named a Five Star Puja, as was Ahiritola Jubak Brindo and Tridhara Akalbodhan.
The north Calcutta puja was a homely affair in a dilapidated mansion and saluted women achievers, from Waheeda Rahman to Medha Patkar, in the outer courtyard through portraits on the wall. At Tridhara, another multiple-year TSP awardee, the organisers wanted to spread joy after the Covid-hit years. This they are doing round the year, too, by holding a free medical check-up daily.
The others which made it to the finals — Haridevpur New Sporting Club, Barabagan Cultural Association, Barisha Club, Naktala Udayan Sangha, Thakurpukur State Bank Park Sarbojanin and Mudiali Club — were named Four Star Pujas.
Three other pujas — Tala Prattoy, Santoshpur Trikon Park Sarbojanin and Lalabagan Nabankur — were named the Voiceworx Truly Managed Puja for their efficiency in over-all organisation.