Hatibagan Sarbojonin Durgotsav Committee have been awarded ‘Sharod Srijoni Shiromani Samman’ by Sharod Srijoni Samman ’24, the only festival based award in India, instituted to salute the publicity, concept and style conceived by Durga Puja Committees to promote themselves.
Conceived by Krishna Charita Eco Homes, Sharod Srijoni Samman began in 2012 and for more than a decade, the brand has been honouring the promotion and publicity undertaken by the Durga Puja Committees to attract the pandal hoppers even before the first steps are taken for erecting a pandal.
The Winners:
Sharod Srijoni Shiromani Samman: Hatibagan Sarbojonin Durgotsav Committee
Sharod Srijoni Special Jury Samman: Pratapaditya Road Tricon Park Durgotsav Committee
Sharod Srijoni Rekha (Art) Samman: Ahiritola Yubakbrindo
Sharod Srijoni Barta (Message) Samman: Nalin Sarkar Street Sarbojonin Durgotsav
Sharod Srijoni Bhabna (Concept) Samman: Shyama Palli Shyama Sangha
Sharod Srijoni Chitrolekhon (Calligraphy) Samman: Behala Club Sarbojonin Durgotsav
Sharod Srijoni Samaj Bandhu (Social Message) Samman: Adarshapalli Sarbojonin Durgotsav Committee
This year over 350 entries were received from Puja Committees across Bengal and beyond. The first round of shortlisting was done to reduce the entries to 85 and then to top 25 and finally top seven.
Talking about the award, Founder of Krishna Charita Eco Homes Amitava Samanta said, “This is the only award that does not see whether a puja committee is spending lakhs or thousands after their puja. We only see how they have created the concept and the thought for the festival. What have they put on their publicity banners and leaflets to help people make up their mind about the Puja. We see the calligraphy, art and design of their publicity material. We see if there is any social message inbuilt with their Puja. A concept, thought or design does not cost a fortune, it is a matter of the mind. We celebrate these creative minds.”
“Our Sharod Shiromani Award is the crown of the awards. A publicity that has ticked all the boxes and this time Hatibagan won it hands down. The Special Jury Award is for the publicity concept that might have missed the crown by a whisker but has a thought and copy that is equally exciting,” he added.
“In the jazz and sheen of the puja, we often forget the graphic artists, the copywriters, the designers who sit in the backseat of and create the first buzz about the puja. These awards are to celebrate these artists. It is a battle of creativity where money does not matter. These awards are a great leveller where everyone fights it out on the same parameters and on the same pedestal. Its to give the artists their due creating a harmonious artwork that makes the puja goers talk,” said Ms Subarna Datta Mookherjee, Founder, Krishna Charita Eco Homes.
“As a developer we are not in the game of high-rises, we are different. We want to stay close to the ground, be eco-friendly, That is why we build row houses and bungalows, be it Kolkata, Bolpur or North Bengal. These awards are also close to the ground and different in concept, making it the only such award given in the festivals across the country. The winner list shows what we have talked about,” she added.
A panel of ten judges selected the awards. They are Mr. Sudipta Kundu, Mr. Bhaskar Rakshit, Mr. Kaushik Sil, Mr. Saugata Mookherjee, Mr. Subhendu Roy, Ms. Subarna Datta Mookherjee, Ms. Sonali Mondal Samanta, Ms. Madhuchhanda Sen, Ms. Sumita Karmakar and Mr. Arindam Basu.
