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EMRS National Cultural and Literary Fest and Kala Utsav — A National Cultural and Literary Fest for Residential School Students: Junior and Senior Groups, 39 Items, a Printed 100-Mark Sheet for Each

EMRS National Cultural and Literary Fest and Kala Utsav: India's national cultural and literary fest of the Eklavya Model Residential Schools (NESTS,...

e By Luke Justin October 29, 2026 4 min read

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

Kalotsavam · School Kalotsavam

India’s national cultural and literary fest of the Eklavya Model Residential Schools (NESTS, Ministry of Tribal Affairs): Junior and Senior student groups, tribal song, dance and painting, elocution, debate, quiz and the Kala Utsav arts items, plus teachers’ music, with the printed 100-mark division of marks (2024 guidelines).

Sets up a national-style cultural and literary fest for tribal residential schools: Junior (classes VI-VIII) and Senior (IX-XII) student groups plus a teachers’ group, with tribal song, dance and painting, elocution, debate, quiz and the Kala Utsav arts items, each judged on its own printed 100-mark sheet.

This template rebuilds the national cultural and literary fest of a residential school system for tribal students in India. Pupils compete first in state or union-territory rounds and then at a national round, and the same event also carries the Kala Utsav arts programme for the senior classes. A coordinator opens an event that already holds the age groups, all 39 items and a marking sheet for each judged item, instead of building the catalogue from a blank page.

There are two student levels. The Junior group is classes VI to VIII and the Senior group is classes IX to XII, and each is installed twice: a Solo group for one-student entries and a Group group for team entries, so every item has a real participant type. A fifth group is for teachers, who compete in four music events of their own. The printed rules give classes, not ages, so the age bands in the template (11-13, 14-17 and 22-60 for teachers) are placeholders that a coordinator should adjust to the actual entrants; the class restriction stays on the student groups.

The Junior programme is five cultural items (a patriotic group song, a tribal group dance, a semi-classical solo song, an on-the-spot tribal painting and a tribal instrumental piece) together with the literary items: elocution, tribal-folklore story telling, extempore, debate, creative writing, spell bee, a space-exploration quiz and recitations of a Sanskrit shloka, Kavya path and an English poem. The Senior programme follows the Kala Utsav pattern of vocal and instrumental music, dance, theatre, visual arts and local crafts, and traditional story telling. Hindi and English items are installed once per language, because the rules ask for one entrant in each.

Marks are printed for almost every judged item, always out of 100: group song 5 x 20, group dance, solo song and instrumental 4 x 25, elocution and extempore 30/30/40, story telling 30/30/30/10, debate 30/40/30, and separate Kala Utsav sheets for music, dance, visual arts, story telling and theatre. No criteria are printed for painting, spell bee, quiz or the folk teachers’ event, so none are invented here. Time limits run from 3 minutes for elocution to 8 for a group play, with painting and creative writing at 90 minutes. Prizes are cash, trophies and certificates with no points per place, so ranks and grades are not installed; add your own if you need them.

Where this event is run

India, in residential school systems for tribal students, at state and union-territory rounds and then the national round. The structure suits any organiser who wants one event that mixes cultural, literary and quiz items for two age bands and a teachers’ category, with every judge working from the same published 100-mark sheet. It is less suited to a festival that needs ranked points per place, or to one for primary pupils.

India (national fest for residential schools for tribal students, classes VI-XII)

Key facts

Five groups: Junior Solo and Junior Group (classes VI-VIII), Senior Solo and Senior Group (classes IX-XII), and Teachers
39 items: 15 Junior-level cultural and literary items, the Kala Utsav arts items for the Senior group, and four teachers’ music events
A printed 100-mark division of marks for every judged item, except painting, spell bee, quiz and the folk teachers’ event, where none is printed
Time limits from 3 minutes (elocution) to 8 (group play); tribal painting and creative writing run 90 minutes, visual arts run over three days
Ages are placeholders, because the rules print classes only; adjust them to your entrants
Places carry cash prizes, trophies and certificates but no points, so no ranks or grades are installed

Age groups: 5
Competition items: 39
Competitions: 47
Grade bands: 0
Rank awards: 0

Age groups

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

Junior Solo

11From

–

13To

Candidates aged 11 to 13 compete in this group

Junior Group

11From

–

13To

Candidates aged 11 to 13 compete in this group

Senior Solo

14From

–

17To

Candidates aged 14 to 17 compete in this group

Senior Group

14From

–

17To

Candidates aged 14 to 17 compete in this group

Teachers

22From

–

60To

Candidates aged 22 to 60 compete in this group

Competition items

The events themselves — each with the category it belongs to and how judges score it.

Show all 39 items

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
Junior Solo
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Solo Song - Semi-Classical	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Art
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Painting - Tribal (On the Spot)	Individual	—	—	100	90 min
Oral
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Elocution	Individual	—	Hindi	100	3 min
Elocution	Individual	—	English	100	3 min
Story Telling - Tribal Folklore	Individual	—	Hindi	100	3 min
Story Telling - Tribal Folklore	Individual	—	English	100	3 min
Recitation - Shloka	Individual	—	Samskritham	100	—
Recitation - Kavya Path	Individual	—	—	100	—
Recitation - Poem	Individual	—	English	100	—
Junior Group
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Group Song - Patriotic	Team	—	Hindi	100	5 min
Instrumental - Tribal	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Group Dance - Tribal	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Senior Solo
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Vocal Music - Classical (Solo)	Individual	—	—	100	6 min
Vocal Music - Folk (Solo)	Individual	—	—	100	6 min
Vocal Music - Tribal (Solo)	Individual	—	—	100	6 min
Instrumental Music - Classical Percussion (Solo)	Individual	—	—	100	6 min
Instrumental Music - Classical Melodic (Solo)	Individual	—	—	100	6 min
Art
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Visual Arts - 2 Dimensional	Individual	—	—	100	—
Visual Arts - 3 Dimensional	Individual	—	—	100	—
Visual Arts - Indigenous Toys and Games	Individual	—	—	100	—
Visual Arts - Local Crafts	Individual	—	—	100	—
Oral
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Elocution	Individual	—	Hindi	100	4 min
Elocution	Individual	—	English	100	4 min
Extempore	Individual	—	Hindi	100	3 min
Extempore	Individual	—	English	100	3 min
Debate	Individual	—	Hindi	100	5 min
Debate	Individual	—	English	100	5 min
Creative Writing
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Creative Writing	Individual	—	Hindi	100	90 min
Creative Writing	Individual	—	English	100	90 min
Classical Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Dance - Classical (Solo)	Individual	—	—	100	6 min
Literacy
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Traditional Story Telling	Individual	Male	—	100	5 min
Traditional Story Telling	Individual	Female	—	100	5 min
Drama
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Theatre - Mimicry (Solo)	Individual	—	—	100	—
Senior Group
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Vocal Music - Folk (Group)	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Vocal Music - Tribal (Group)	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Vocal Music - Patriotic (Group)	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Orchestra Ensemble - Classical (Group)	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Orchestra Ensemble - Folk (Group)	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Dance - Regional Folk Dance (Group)	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Dance - Regional Tribal Dance (Group)	Team	—	—	100	6 min
Literary
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Spell Bee	Team	—	English	100	—
Quiz - Space Exploration	Team	—	English	100	—
Drama
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Theatre - Play/Drama in Group	Team	—	—	100	8 min
Teachers
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Teachers Music - Vocal Semi-Classical	Individual	—	—	100	—
Teachers Music - Vocal Classical	Individual	—	—	100	—
Teachers Music - Instrumental	Individual	—	—	100	—
Teachers Music - Folk	Individual	—	—	100	—

Grades and ranks

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

Grade	For	Condition	Score	Points

Rank	For	Points

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.