Junior brigade to judge Durga pujas

KOLKATA: A chrome-yellow brigade will invade 75 of the biggest Puja pandals this year to decide which is the most ‘child friendly’.
Judging them will be seven under-16 children accompanied by 200 of their friends, all dressed in specially designed yellow T-shirts.
The children would be a mix of those from the mainstream schools and the less privileged ones.The seven judges have been working on the parameters for over a month now, in between games and studies.
“We have decided the parameters ourselves. They have been clubbed under three heads — cleanliness, safety and amenities for children — that include most of the Kolkata Police directives and few of our own,� said one of the judges Arunava Hazra of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
The award was instituted last year by Prayasam, an NGO working with children. This year, the award — Najarkara Amader Para Shishubandhu Sharad Puraskar — is being sponsored by shoe major Khadim.
“Last year, people did not take us seriously. Instead, they would congratulate the Prayasam seniors on how well they had tutored us,� fumed judge Nivedita Bharadwaj, a student of La Martiniere School for Girls, adding, “we should be in a better position this year.�
A second-time judge, Shibashis Ghosh of the Manohar Academy recalled, “Precautions against fire and what the committees do for the children are among the primary parameters we are using for judging. Unfortunately, many big Pujas failed the test last year.�
On October 10, the ‘core team’ will shortlist the pandals to be judged. The next day, 200 children from the Rishi Aurobinda Colony, Prayasam’s primary project area, children of rickshaw pullers in Salt Lake and mainstream children will visit those pandals.
On October 13, the winners of the contest would be announced and next day the best pandal and the best puja committee would get the prizes.