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Arabic Sahityotsavam (Kerala Schools) — The Arabic Stream of the Kerala School Festival

Arabic Sahityotsavam (Kerala Schools): The Arabic literary stream of the Kerala school festival: 24 items across the LP, UP and HS levels, 38 entries in...

e By Luke Justin October 24, 2026 4 min read

New here? Start with the basicsAge groups, competition categories and how to set up your event.

Kalotsavam · School Kalotsavam

The Arabic literary stream of the Kerala school festival: 24 items across the LP, UP and HS levels, 38 entries in all.

Sets up the Arabic literary stream on its own – three class-based groups from lower primary to high school, 24 items from Arabic song and speech to dictionary-making and poster design, each scored out of 100 with A/B/C grading – so a school or sub-district can run it without the main arts programme.

The Arabic Sahityotsavam is the Arabic-language literary and arts stream of the Kerala School Kalolsavam, the state’s annual school festival. It sits beside the main arts programme and the Sanskrit stream, and it has its own items, its own age groups and its own results. This template lets you run it by itself: install it alone for a school, cluster or sub-district that holds only the Arabic section, or add it next to the main Kalolsavam category when the same pupils compete in both.

Groups follow school class, not date of birth. Arabic LP covers classes 1 to 4 with 8 entries, Arabic UP covers classes 5 to 7 with 12 entries, and Arabic HS covers classes 8 to 10 with 18 entries. The official programme has no higher secondary Arabic section, so none is modelled. Across the three groups there are 24 distinct items and 38 item-and-group entries; 32 are individual and 6 are team entries (group song in every group, conversation in UP and HS, and the drama in HS).

The younger groups lean towards recitation and expression: Quiz, Padyam Chollal (verse recitation), Kadha Parayal (story telling), Arabi Ganam (Arabic song), Abhinaya Ganam and Sangha Ganam, with Kaiyyezhuthu (handwriting) and Pada Nirmanam at lower primary. Upper primary adds Gadhya Vayana (prose reading), Prasangam (speech), Mono Act, Tharjama (translation), Pada Payattu, Pada Keli and Sambhashanam (conversation). High school is the widest group: Upanyasam (essay), Katharachana (story writing), Caption Rachana, Poster Nirmanam, Kathaprasangam, Prasnothari, Musharah, Nikhandu Nirmanam (dictionary-making) and Nadakam (drama), with verse recitation and Arabic song split into boys and girls entries. Time limits run from 5 minutes for most stage items to 2 hours for the essay and story, and a few items such as Quiz, Prasnothari and Musharah carry no time limit.

Every entry is scored out of 100. Judging criteria are installed for all 24 items, 95 criteria rows in total, exactly as the source manual prints them. Results use the festival’s A/B/C grading: 80 per cent or more earns an A grade worth 5 points, 70 to 79 per cent a B grade worth 3, and 60 to 69 per cent a C grade worth 1, with nothing below 60. No First/Second/Third rank rows are installed; add them in the event if your round announces places. The event levels are School, House, Class and Division, with classes 1 to 12 and the Blue, Green, Red and Yellow houses pre-filled so points can roll up as results are entered. Trim any group, item or time limit to match your round.

Where this event comes from

The Arabic Sahityotsavam is the Arabic stream of the Kerala School Kalolsavam, held alongside the main arts programme and the Sanskrit stream. This template follows the official Kerala school Kalolsavam schedule and the evaluation criteria printed in the Kerala School Kalolsavam Manual.

Where this event is run

Primarily Kerala, India, where the Arabic stream is run each year within the school Kalolsavam rounds, from school level up through sub-district, district and state. The same item list suits any school or cluster elsewhere that wants a stand-alone Arabic literary festival with class-based groups.

Kerala, India (school Kalolsavam rounds)
Schools and clusters elsewhere that run festivals on the Kerala Arabic item list

Key facts

24 items across 3 class-based groups: Arabic LP (classes 1-4), Arabic UP (classes 5-7) and Arabic HS (classes 8-10)
38 item-and-group entries: 32 individual and 6 team
No higher secondary Arabic group exists in the official programme
Every entry is scored out of 100; time limits run from 5 minutes to 2 hours for the written items
Judging criteria installed for all 24 items (95 rows) as the manual prints them
Grades: A at 80% and above (5 points), B at 70-79% (3), C at 60-69% (1); nothing below 60%
High school verse recitation and Arabic song are split into boys and girls entries

Age groups: 3
Competition items: 24
Competitions: 38
Grade bands: 3
Rank awards: 0

Age groups

Every candidate is placed into one of these groups by age, and competitions are run per group.

Arabic LP

6From

–

9To

Candidates aged 6 to 9 compete in this group

Arabic UP

10From

–

12To

Candidates aged 10 to 12 compete in this group

Arabic HS

13From

–

15To

Candidates aged 13 to 15 compete in this group

Competitions by group

The full schedule matrix, sectioned by age group then category — which item runs for whom, and for how long.

Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Arabic LP
On Stage
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Kaiyyezhuthu	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Pada Nirmanam	Individual	—	—	100	15 min
Padyam Chollal	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Kadha Parayal	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Arabi Ganam	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Abhinaya Ganam	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Sangha Ganam	Team	—	—	100	5 min
Off Stage
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Quiz	Individual	—	—	100	—
Arabic UP
On Stage
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Gadhya Vayana	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Padyam Chollal	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Kadha Parayal	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Arabi Ganam	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Prasangam	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Mono Act	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Tharjama	Individual	—	Arabic	100	15 min
Pada Payattu	Individual	—	—	100	—
Pada Keli	Individual	—	—	100	15 min
Sangha Ganam	Team	—	—	100	5 min
Sambhashanam	Team	—	—	100	5 min
Off Stage
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Quiz	Individual	—	—	100	—
Arabic HS
On Stage
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Tharjama	Individual	—	Arabic	100	30 min
Poster Nirmanam	Individual	—	—	100	30 min
Padyam Chollal	Individual	Male	—	100	5 min
Padyam Chollal	Individual	Female	—	100	5 min
Arabi Ganam	Individual	Male	—	100	5 min
Arabi Ganam	Individual	Female	—	100	5 min
Kathaprasangam	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Mono Act	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Prasangam	Individual	—	Arabic	100	5 min
Prasnothari	Individual	—	—	100	—
Musharah	Individual	—	—	100	—
Nikhandu Nirmanam	Individual	—	—	100	15 min
Sambhashanam	Team	—	—	100	5 min
Sangha Ganam	Team	—	—	100	5 min
Nadakam	Team	—	—	100	30 min
Off Stage
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Upanyasam	Individual	—	Arabic	100	120 min
Katharachana	Individual	—	—	100	120 min
Caption Rachana	Individual	—	—	100	15 min

Grades and ranks

How scores turn into grade bands, and how many points each placing is worth.

Grade	Condition	Score	Points
A Grade (80% and above)	Greater than or equal to	80	5
B Grade (70 to 79%)	Greater than or equal to	70	3
C Grade (60 to 69%)	Greater than or equal to	60	1

Frequently asked questions

Can I change this template after installing it?

Yes — installing it creates a fully configured, live event, not a locked package. Every age group, competition item, rule and scoring setting can be edited afterwards to match exactly what your event actually needs.