Early Bird

Winner: BE (West)

Why: No surprises in the choice as the puja has been consistently laying claim to the award year after year. But what is surprising is how close the competition was this year. A matter of two hours is what separated the winner from the next in line. The editorial board deserves praise not only for printing their souvenir before the Puja, rather than months later, but also for packing its pages with
readable content.

Best Editorial

Winner: Arunava Das of BA Block

Why: The block president harks back to his childhood years spent in north Calcutta and to a couple of events in history that shaped the course of development of the nascent township, namely the Congress session in Salt Lake in 1972 and the influx of refugees from across the border, turning the length of Jessore Road from Dum Dum to Bongaon, as well as BD Market closer home, into a refugee camp. The article looks back to the initial years of the township and of BA Block, when residents would take turns to act as nightwatchmen. Such recollections are of immense value in archiving the township’s history. The account is up to date with an equal amount of space dedicated to detailing the year’s puja theme.

Special mention: Sisir Gangopadhyay of BA Block and Tarak Baran Mukherjee of CE Block, New Town

Best Poetry

Winner: Meena Bhattacharya of FE Block for Akashbhora

Why: A poem celebrating the abstract patterns made by disjointed images: a collage of memories, aspirations and disillusionment. The poet has managed to successfully communicate disparate emotions warring within the feminine survival matrix. An assured performance overall.

Special mention: Sabina Yasmin of East Enclave, New Town for Behula and Gopal Lahiri of East Enclave, New Town for Jhoro Somoy

Best Memoir

Winner: Siuli Jana of FE Block for Goto Shotoker Ponchasher Doshok- Amar Chhelebela

Why: The account of life in the aftermath of Independence straddles Palta, Kalyani and Santiniketan. The writer places each location in contemporary historical context — the cotton mills of the Hooghly banks and the US Army Air Force base at Roosevelt Nagar during World War II and subsequently a Congress session in 1954 in a township that would be born as Kalyani. Such details are interspersed with personal recollections that would paint a living picture of the place in the reader’s mind, laced with the peace of Santhal Palli or the fun of Poush Mela at Santiniketan or the tragedy of displacement at Sealdah station where refugees took shelter after Partition.

Special mention: Sibaji Roy Chowdhury of DA Block for Moner Janla Khule Bare Bare Dekhi and Ranjini Lahiri of BE West for Abar Ashibo Phire.

Best Essay

Winner: Sonali Ray of BE (West) for Basanti Rong Basan Khani

Why: The author has chosen a topic that is linked to Puja — the sixyard garment that is a mandatory buy for Bengali women for the festive days. She traces its use right from Ma Durga’s wear, touching upon the sartorial experiments that some artists have done in dressing her. The evolution of the drape is chronicled with regard to its use and the place in society of women of the time, drawing from accounts of visitors down the ages like Francois Bernier, the French physician who spent 12 years in 17th century India, and Fanny Parkes, the wife of an East India Company official, as well as later-day writings of Bankim Chandra and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. She speaks of the modernising influence of Gnanadanandini Devi of the Tagore family, the women freedom fighters as also actress on screen and models in advertisements A sketch of different sari styles further enriches her account.

Special mention: Saptarshi Chowdhury of CD Block, New Town, for Muslin ar Biryani: Jekhane Knatatarer Bera Thakena and Susmita Mukherjee of CJ Block for Chhaw Gajer Golpo

Best Travelogue

Winner: Susmita Bhaduri of Sanjeeva Town the Bungalow Estate, New Town for Teenjora Buroburir Golpo

Why: Many travelogues suffer by becoming a dry impersonal read, burdened with an excess of facts and figures, unredeemed by touches that can connect with the reader. This account is quite the contrary, engaging with the readers from the start and taking them along even as the preparations for the tour start. And every step is laced with self-deprecating humour and personal comments that characterise the fellow travellers as well. The energy and liveliness of description make each stop read like an adventure, the thrill of which the reader gets to feel.

Special mention: Debjani Ray of CB Block for Bangladesher Hridoy Hotey

Best Fiction

Winner: Jhuma Bandyopadhyay of CF Block for Aurora Borealis

Why: A story that takes off in a lively way with three college-mate senior citizens, who are planning a trip to Lapland to watch a marvel of nature, takes an unexpectedly poignant turn. The reader is introduced to the three through a rewind and then travels along with them, as they land at the Helsinki airport and then drive to Saariselka, the Northern Lights village, listening to the local fables related to the phenomenon. The lucidity of language and the richness of detail in the narrative make it a joyous read till there is a twist in the tale.

Special mention: Suchandra Ghoshal of CD Block, New Town, for Sharadanjali and Kaushik Basu of CB Block for Chitta Knape- Mulyayoner Chapey

*Awards based on entries received.

Salt Lake FE Block Residents Association

Why: This category of overall excellence makes a comeback this year after a break during which no souvenir stood out distinctly from among the rest of the submissions. But this time, FE Block has improved upon its already impressive showing that had won the block this crown multiple times in the past. In a souvenir, rich with content, they have added leisure sections like quiz, spot the difference and riddles. The writings are carefully. categorised into memoirs, stories, poems and essays. There is content in English and Hindi, other than Bengali. Achievements of residents' children have been applauded. Despite all this, they have managed to bring forward the publication date of the souvenir.Well done!

Winner: BF Block

Why: A rural Bengal woman's face with her hair let loose, painted by Chandrani Bhattacharya, symbolises the goddess who is also the daughter of the land. Her eyes are striking, full of a poignancy wrought by life. There is an innocence in her timeless look, which vibes well with the essence of Puja. The use of colour is judiciously monochromatic, on which the red of the vermillion looks dramatic. The halo surrounding the face also looks natural. The font underneath is light and elegant that matches with the colour scheme of the painting.

CLICK YOUR TOWNSHIP

We have selected the three best pictures among those published in the “Click Your Township” column in the months since last year’s result. The snaps are a testimony to the wealth of photographic talent in the neighbourhood.

Debopriyo Shome, Meghamala Co-opt New Town

Pallabi Chatterjee, Rabindrapally, Kestopur

Mahendra Nayak, CJ Block

BRUSH STROKES

Here’s a new contest for our column on paintings by readers. The three best artworks selected from the entries published so far are —

Sanchi Gupta, 20 years, CA Block

Banhisikha Banerjee, 25 years, CJ Block

Ratul Banerjee, 49 years, Purbachal Cluster I