Back with a bang! That was the verdict of the attendees after the prize distribution ceremony of The Telegraph Salt Lake Super Souvenir 2021 and Click your Township 2021 held on August 20.
Last year, the ceremony was held online but this time it returned to physical mode. This was the first time that a venue in New Town had been chosen — at Novotel Hotel and Residences.
The event awarded the best content in Durga puja souvenirs from Salt Lake, New Town and adjoining areas as well as the best photographs clicked by readers round the year.
Some new categories were added — Best Essay, Best Travelogue and Best Memoir. This was also the first time that a Kestopur puja participated. They won an award as well.
Here are the stars of the night —
Early Bird
BE (West)
“Much effort goes into preparing the souvenir and delivering it to the judges the day before Mahalaya, as we did last year. The team has to go door to door, asking residents to send in their contributions respecting deadlines,” said Shampa Aich, former president of the block’s puja committee. “Despite that, we are happy to have won this prize several times.”
Best cover
Animikha Apartments, New Town
“We’re proud of receiving an award from such a big brand,” said Neeta Patra, a painter and resident of the complex who had created the artwork for the cover. “I began wanting to paint the goddess but realised that Durga was but a version of the modern woman around us doing multiple tasks with 10 invisible hands. There is a Ganesha with her in my illustration too.”
Special Mention
Ganapati Park, Kestopur
“The USP of our cover this year was that it was created by four teenagers. We wanted to promote the talent and creativity of our children and are proud of their creation,” said Joydeep Banerjee, executive committee president. The four girls — Souravi and Soumya Pandey, Drishti Khemka and Tanvi Arora — went up on stage to receive the award with him.
CB Block
“The creator of our artwork is my grandson Riaan Saha, who lives in San Francisco,” said Roma Saha, who was receiving the prize along with committee members. “Riaan is seven now. He was fascinated by stories of Durga slaying Asura that I would tell him, and when the pandemic hit, he decided to depict the goddess slaying what he saw as the villain — coronavirus.”
Best Editorial
Winner
Kakoli Pal, souvenir editor, FE Block
“I grew up in Baghbazar where despite elaborate rituals, women were not allowed to contribute to the puja. We could only watch as silent spectators. Things are different at FE Block, where I moved after marriage. Here my father-in-law himself introduced me to the puja committee as “a talented lady who had much to offer”. I am grateful for this spirit of Salt Lake and also to The Telegraph Salt Lake, for honouring us,” said Pal.
Special mention
Arunava Das (right) receives the award from Dhruba Mukherjee, CEO, ABP
Arunava Das, president, BA Block
“The specialty of Salt Lake pujas is that everyone — young, old, male, female — works together to make it a truly community festival. Last year, our puja committee comprised entirely of women who did an excellent job,” Das said.
Ramen Roy (right) gets the award from Amitabha Dutta, director, Calcutta Media Institute, an ABP initiative
Ramen Roy, president, New Town CE Block
“When I moved to New Town from Delhi four years ago I feared that the essence of the Durga puja of my childhood had been diluted over time. But I am happy to see the same emotions and camaraderie alive in para pujas even today,” said Roy.
Best Fiction
Winner
Kakoli Bhattacharya, CE Block, New Town
“I am a homemaker without any professional experience in writing. Our souvenir is the first platform I started sending my work to, over the past few years. This time I was unwell but neighbours insisted that I write. So I reworked and submitted an old play I had written and the next thing I know I won this award!” smiled Bhattacharya.
Special mention
Godhuli Chattopadhyay, Uttara Housing Complex, Prathama & Dwitiya, New Town
“I am perhaps the first resident of our complex to be receiving an award from The Telegraph Salt Lake Super Souvenir and I am grateful for this platform to express myself,” said Chattopadhyay. “I dedicate the award to the downtrodden who live in dingy lanes that even the blinding lights of Durga puja pandals fail to brighten during the festival. One of them was the protagonist of my story.”
Saikat Pakrashi, BA Block
“I had written Dohai — Koruna korona corona, a dark comedy about the experiences we had during the pandemic. It recalled how circles were drawn on the ground outside shops for us to play hopscotch on before we could reach the counters, how we elbowed one another to lay our hands on vegetables and how we shelled out thousands but still ended up buying very little thanks to black market prices,” said Pakrashi.
(Clockwise from top) Guests sample the snacks spread and the hot beverages; the latest edition of The Telegraph Salt Lake on offer as a takeaway; the trophies waiting to be handed out. Pictures by Bhubaneswarananda Halder
click happy: Abhijit Dutta, one of the winners of the Click Your Township award, is so passionate about photography that even at the ceremony he started documenting the moments. Picture by Debasmita Bhattacharjee
Best Essay
Winner
Kumkum Samaddar, FE Block
“People are forgetting to laugh now-a-days. I have had two knee replacement surgeries but despite the pain I try to laugh,” said Samaddar, who won a prize for Obantar Katha on garrulous speakers that we see around us, in literature as well as films. “Such people talk too much but their trait can be a social necessity sometimes.”
Special mention
Arunava Dutta, Uttara Housing Complex Prathama & Dwitiya
Dutta being out of town, the award was received by his wife and daughter. He, however sent an acceptance note later —
“When my literature-minded friends and I were discussing ways to capture the pandemic, we toyed with topics like ‘Love in the times of corona’, ‘Pandemic in history’, ‘Domestic violence during lockdown’ etc,” Dutta wrote. “But I chose ‘Fashion in the times of corona’ as it would be light-hearted despite the otherwise gloomy subject. It allowed me to write about funny and weird experiences in the deceptively simple world of masks and how it is changing human and social interactions,” Dutta wrote.
Phuljhuri Chakraborti, East Enclave Housing Complex
“I love birds and being stuck at home during the pandemic, spent time clicking the feathered creatures that would flock around us. I started posting these on Facebook along with brief write-ups and they caught the eye of our souvenir editor, who insisted that I compile them into an article for our complex’s Puja souvenir,” said Chakraborty. “I don’t really write. A poem I had composed in Class VI had got published somewhere and now suddenly I have landed this honour!”
CLICK YOUR TOWNSHIP
Abhijit Dutta, DA Block
“The pandemic has been tough for photography enthusiasts as we could barely go out and shoot. But I spent time experimenting with my camera’s settings for various effects. I love that photography is becoming such a popular hobby,” said Dutta. “Even clicking selfies cannot be discounted.”
Arushi Dutta, Deshapriya Sarani (Duttabad Road)
It was after a two-year-long pandemic-induced gap that Dutta went out to play Holi this spring. And she didn’t go alone. “I took along my camera and clicked my friends having fun. I love the playful vibe my photograph exudes,” said the student waiting to start college.
Anuj Chatterjee, FD Block
“The winning photo — of an eagle — was clicked during the lockdown. We live opposite FD Park and I had spotted the bird in the park itself,” said Chatterjee, a student of Class X who was the youngest prize winner of the evening. “I love wildlife photography and want to pursue it further.”
Best Memoir
Winner
Rita Das, Animikha Apartments, New Town
Das was out of town but sent an acceptance message later-
“While I’m happy to know this event is taking place in offline mode after two years, I’m currently in Pune and hence unable to attend it,” she said. “I had written about the horrors of the Bangladesh Liberation War as seen through the eyes of a friend of mine. I dedicate this award to her mother, who, despite being a humble homemaker, managed to save her family in such a situation. I also salute their Muslim neighbour who sheltered them. It shows that the greatest religion is humanity.”
Special mention
Soumya Ray, CB Block
Ray was out of town but sent an acceptance message later —
“Hours of power cuts, swarms of mosquitoes, seas of white kash swaying under the blue autumn sky... I have been a resident of CB Block since 1976 and a lot has changed since then. My article Phire Dekha was an attempt to recollect those days,” Ray wrote. “When the memoir was published, many residents called up to say they enjoyed reading it. But of course the greatest honour has been this award from The Telegraph Salt Lake.”
Best Poetry
Winner
Sarbani Banerjee, East Enclave Housing Complex
Sarbani sent her acceptance message later as she was out of town-
“It’s a great privilege and honour to receive this award yet again! I am humbled, elated and inspired to write more. I congratulate The Telegraph Salt Lake for propelling us amateurs to produce creative work. My best wishes to all the participants of this competition. Together, we have once again made this a memorable event,” Banerjee said.
Special mention
Sabina Yesmin, East Enclave Housing Complex
“I am a published poet and author but even though I’ve been a part of poetry festivals and the like, the ambience here today is something special,” said Yesmin, who recited her winning poem Kholamkuchi for the audience. “This award is an impetus to residents to take time out of their daily lives and write if they love it.”
Purba Kar, CD Block, New Town
“Ours is a nascent block and while we may still have much to achieve in other departments, this award is proof that we are on the right track as far as our puja souvenir is concerned,” smiled Kar. “Despite being a new publication we have started winning The Telegraph Super Souvenir awards.”
Best Travelogue
Winner
Kaushik Chandra, BA Block
“I remember writing a travelogue in school for which I was awarded the princely score of zero!” began Chandra, as the audience broke into laughter. “Since then, I have travelled a lot and felt like writing about my experiences, but with a twist. I write about how the people of France and the UK walk and talk, how it must have felt for someone in Hiroshima to have watched the atom bomb drop... This is what sets my articles apart.”
Special mention
Saptarshi Chowdhury, CD Block, New Town
“The history of Calcutta has been widely documented but it is mostly from an academic perspective. The layman can neither follow the difficult language nor does he get absorbed in the subject. I wanted to write something for such people and so wove historical trivia into a tale of romance,” said Chowdhury.
Subhajit Basu, CE Block, New Town
“I like writing but never expected an award for it!” said Basu. “I try writing from a perspective other than the usual. For instance, when writing abut Ladakh, more than the obvious scenic beauty, I focus on the joys, trials and tribulations of the residents there.”
On the side
The Telegraph Salt Lake turned 17 on August 12 and Jyotibindu Choudhury, a resident of Alaktika Housing Estate, had used his paintbrush to wish us. “Everyone loves this paper — young and old. I wanted to convey this message in a light-hearted manner and chose to do so through a cartoon,” said the 76-year-old artist, who used to work in an advertising agency.
Aschhe bochhor abar hobe
To join this contest this year, look out for the The Telegraph Salt Lake Super Souvenir 2022 call for entries in this supplement from around the Pujas.