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UUKMA National Kalamela — A UK Malayalee Arts Kalamela: 17 Items, Five Age Categories

UUKMA National Kalamela: UUKMA (Union of UK Malayalee Associations)'s Regional and National Kalamela: 18 real items across 5 official age categories...

e By Luke Justin October 25, 2026 4 min read

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

Kalotsavam · Malayalee Association

UUKMA (Union of UK Malayalee Associations)’s Regional and National Kalamela: 18 real items across 5 official age categories (Kids/Sub Juniors/Juniors/Seniors/Common), built from the union’s own published Kalamela Manual with real age cutoffs, language rules and points scheme.

A ready-made Malayalee arts kalamela for the UK: 17 items covering singing, speech, storytelling, recitation, classical, folk and cinematic dance, and traditional group forms, across Kids, Sub Juniors, Juniors, Seniors and a Common team category, with language rules and the printed points scheme built in.

This template models a regional and national kalamela run by a union of Malayalee associations in the United Kingdom: a performing-arts competition for the Malayalee community, with local associations sending their members to compete first at regional level and then nationally. The source is the organisers’ own published manual, which describes more than a thousand participants competing in 43 item-and-age-category combinations. The template carries those 43 combinations across 17 distinct items.

Entrants fall into five age categories with exact cut-offs: Kids (8 and under), Sub Juniors (above 8 to 12), Juniors (above 12 to 17), Seniors (above 17) and Common, which has no age bar and is used for the traditional group items. Singing is open to Kids only, Story Telling to Sub Juniors, and Katha Prasangam to Juniors and Seniors. Fancy Dress, Cinematic Dance and Group Dance (Cinematic or Non-Classical) run in all four age bands, while Elocution, Solo Song, Poem Recitation, Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Folk Dance and Classical Dance (Group) start at Sub Juniors.

Language and eligibility rules are item-specific and are installed as they are printed. Solo Song, Group Song, Story Telling, Poem Recitation and Katha Prasangam are Malayalam only. Elocution runs as separate Malayalam and English competitions, with English offered to Sub Juniors and Juniors but not to Seniors. Thiruvathira, Oppana and Margam Kali are Common-category team items restricted to all-female teams of up to ten. Time limits range from two minutes for Fancy Dress to ten minutes for Katha Prasangam, the classical dance items and the three traditional group forms.

Every item is scored out of 100: the manual specifies five criteria of 20 marks each, with two points deducted per judge for overrunning the time limit. The individual placings table awards 5, 3 and 1 points for first, second and third in single items and 1, half a point and a quarter of a point in group items; those points feed the overall champion awards. The criteria themselves are not printed per item in the source we worked from, so none are installed. Coordinators should add the organiser’s own criteria and publish the language and eligibility rules for entrants.

Where this event comes from

The structure, age cut-offs, language rules and points scheme come directly from the organisers’ own published kalamela manual, including its list of items by age category and its judgement-criteria annexure.

Where this event is run

The shape – arts items split by age category, with language-restricted literary items, classical and folk dance, and a Common category for traditional group forms – suits diaspora kalamelas and community arts festivals anywhere that run a regional round feeding a national final and award champions from a points table.

United Kingdom

Key facts

17 items and 43 item-and-age-category combinations across five categories: Kids, Sub Juniors, Juniors, Seniors and Common
Age cut-offs: Kids 8 and under, Sub Juniors above 8 to 12, Juniors above 12 to 17, Seniors above 17; Common has no age bar
Individual items: 11 solo items from Singing and Fancy Dress to Bharathanatyam and Katha Prasangam; team items: Group Dance, Classical Dance (Group), Group Song, Thiruvathira, Oppana and Margam Kali
Malayalam-only items: Solo Song, Group Song, Story Telling, Poem Recitation and Katha Prasangam; Elocution runs in Malayalam and English
Thiruvathira, Oppana and Margam Kali are all-female teams of up to ten in the Common category
Time limits run from 2 minutes (Fancy Dress) to 10 minutes (Katha Prasangam, classical dance and traditional group items); every item is scored out of 100
Placing points: 5/3/1 for single items and 1/0.5/0.25 for group items

Age groups: 5
Competition items: 17
Competitions: 43
Grade bands: 0
Rank awards: 6

Age groups

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

Kids

0From

–

8To

Candidates aged 0 to 8 compete in this group

Sub Juniors

9From

–

12To

Candidates aged 9 to 12 compete in this group

Juniors

13From

–

17To

Candidates aged 13 to 17 compete in this group

Seniors

18From

–

99To

Candidates aged 18 to 99 compete in this group

Common

0From

–

99To

Candidates aged 0 to 99 compete in this group

Competition items

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

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
Kids
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Singing	Individual	—	—	100	5 min
Action
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Fancy Dress	Individual	—	—	100	2 min
Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Cinematic Dance	Individual	—	—	100	7 min
Group Dance (Cinematic or Non-Classical)	Team	—	—	100	7 min
Sub Juniors
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Solo Song	Individual	—	Malayalam	100	5 min
Action
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Fancy Dress	Individual	—	—	100	2 min
Literary
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Story Telling	Individual	—	Malayalam	100	5 min
Elocution	Individual	—	Malayalam	100	5 min
Elocution	Individual	—	English	100	5 min
Poem Recitation	Individual	—	Malayalam	100	5 min
Classical Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Bharathanatyam	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Mohiniyattam	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Classical Dance (Group)	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Folk Dance	Individual	—	—	100	7 min
Cinematic Dance	Individual	—	—	100	7 min
Group Dance (Cinematic or Non-Classical)	Team	—	—	100	7 min
Juniors
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Solo Song	Individual	—	Malayalam	100	5 min
Action
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Fancy Dress	Individual	—	—	100	2 min
Literary
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Elocution	Individual	—	Malayalam	100	5 min
Elocution	Individual	—	English	100	5 min
Poem Recitation	Individual	—	Malayalam	100	5 min
Katha Prasangam	Individual	—	Malayalam	100	10 min
Classical Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Bharathanatyam	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Mohiniyattam	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Classical Dance (Group)	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Folk Dance	Individual	—	—	100	7 min
Cinematic Dance	Individual	—	—	100	7 min
Group Dance (Cinematic or Non-Classical)	Team	—	—	100	7 min
Seniors
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Solo Song	Individual	—	Malayalam	100	5 min
Action
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Fancy Dress	Individual	—	—	100	2 min
Literary
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Elocution	Individual	—	Malayalam	100	5 min
Poem Recitation	Individual	—	Malayalam	100	5 min
Katha Prasangam	Individual	—	Malayalam	100	10 min
Classical Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Bharathanatyam	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Mohiniyattam	Individual	—	—	100	10 min
Classical Dance (Group)	Team	—	—	100	10 min
Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Folk Dance	Individual	—	—	100	7 min
Cinematic Dance	Individual	—	—	100	7 min
Group Dance (Cinematic or Non-Classical)	Team	—	—	100	7 min
Common
Music
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Group Song	Team	—	Malayalam	100	5 min
Classical Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Thiruvathira	Team	Female	—	100	10 min
Margam Kali	Team	Female	—	100	10 min
Dance
Item	Type	Gender	Language	Max score	Time limit
Oppana	Team	Female	—	100	10 min

Grades and ranks

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

Rank	For	Points
First	Individual	5
Second	Individual	3
Third	Individual	1
First	Team	1
Second	Team	0.5
Third	Team	0.25

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.