Kerala School Kalolsavam’s judging-criteria tables get all the attention, but a separate chapter of the manual – the “general bindings” – sets out something organisers run into first: exactly how each item has to be performed, not just how it’s scored. Team sizes, which instruments are allowed, who has to sing live versus who can play a backing track, and even which props the organising committee is required to supply rather than the competing school. Get these wrong and a team can be disqualified on a technicality that has nothing to do with talent.
The rule that splits the whole item catalogue in two: live singing vs. recorded backing
The single most important execution rule in the manual is also the easiest to miss, because it applies differently to different item families. Classical solo dance items – Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi – are explicitly allowed a recorded CD backing track for the music, since the dancer’s job is the choreography, not the singing. But Kerala’s folk and devotional group items run on the opposite rule: Oppana, Kolkali, Duffmuttu and Arabana Muttu all explicitly forbid a backing track or outside rhythm-calling – the performers themselves have to sing and keep the beat live, in real time, with no recorded assistance at all. An organiser who assumes “it’s just music in the background either way” and lets a folk-item team cue a CD risks a straightforward rule violation, not a judging dispute.
Team sizes the manual fixes exactly
Several group items have a precise headcount and internal split that isn’t negotiable:
| Item | Team size | Internal split |
|---|---|---|
| Oppana | 10 (girls) | 7 dance, 3 sing – plus one lead singer and two chorus voices who must join in |
| Kolkali | 12 | Performers sing and keep the stick-rhythm themselves; no outside backing |
| Duffmuttu | 10 | At least 4 distinct rhythm patterns across the performance |
| Arabana Muttu | 10 | Full eight-pattern (Ashta Prayogam) rhythm cycle expected across the piece |
| Thiruvathirakkali | 10 dancers + 2 backing singers | Backing singers must be students, not teachers or hired musicians |
A team that shows up a member short, or with a non-student backing singer, isn’t just under-rehearsed – it’s outside what the item is defined to be.
Props the committee owes the performers, not the other way round
A detail that genuinely surprises first-time organisers: a handful of items require specific ritual objects on stage, and the manual puts the job of supplying them on the organising committee, not the competing school. Thiruvathirakkali needs a lit traditional oil lamp (nilavilakku) and a decorated rice-measure (nirapara) at the centre of the circle. Margamkali needs a five- or seven-branched ceremonial oil lamp. Both are listed as something the host committee arranges in advance – not something a visiting team packs and brings with them. Missing either one on the day is an organiser failure, not a participant one.
Timing rules that are easy to get backwards
Speech topics are handed out on very different timelines depending on category, and it’s a rule organisers sometimes apply the wrong way round: Category I (primary-level) speech topics are given out two full days in advance, giving young children time to prepare, while Category II through IV speech topics are handed to the speaker only five minutes before they go on stage – the whole point being spontaneous, unprepared speaking at the older levels. Running primary-level speech on the five-minute rule (or the reverse) changes what the item is actually testing.
A few more rules worth knowing before the stage manager asks
- Drama (Nadakam) – a one-act play or an excerpt of a larger one, best actor/actress is awarded but there is no award category for the director, and stage set-up is capped at 15 minutes regardless of how elaborate the production is.
- Ghazal Aalapanam – sung in Urdu itself, shruti (tanpura/drone) is mandatory, and the number of shers (couplets) performed must be an odd number – 3, 5 or 7, never an even count. At least one judge on the panel must be proficient in Urdu specifically.
- Kathakali Group – up to four characters can share the stage at once, but the manual expects roughly equal stage-time and dramatic action for each of the four, not one lead character carrying the scene.
- Nadodi Nritham (folk dance) – costume and theme have to genuinely suit the folk form being performed; excess ornamentation that drifts away from the form’s own authenticity is marked down, not rewarded.
Setting this up on eTalenter
These are performance-format rules, not scoring criteria – the kind of thing a stage manager or team coach needs to know before the item starts, not something a judge marks on a rubric. eTalenter doesn’t enforce these automatically (they’re genuinely a briefing-and-preparation job, not a software one), but the platform keeps the structural side consistent with them: set exact team-size limits and participant-type rules per competition item in Assign Competitions to Groups, so an Oppana entry of 9 or 11 doesn’t get registered against the item’s own 10-person definition in the first place.
You can see how item-level rules and team limits are configured for yourself. Open a live demo and log in as a demo coordinator or judge – no sign-up required. For the wider festival setup, see our kalolsavam management software page, and for the committee structure these rules sit inside, our 16-committee organising guide.
FAQ
Can any folk item use a recorded backing track?
No – Oppana, Kolkali, Duffmuttu and Arabana Muttu all specifically require the performers to sing and keep rhythm live, with no CD or outside backing. This is the opposite rule from classical solo dance items like Bharatanatyam, which are allowed a recorded track.
Who provides the oil lamp for Thiruvathirakkali and Margamkali?
The organising committee, not the competing school – both items are listed in the manual as requiring the host committee to arrange the lamp in advance.
Why do Category I speech topics go out two days early while older categories get five minutes?
Because the items are testing different things – prepared, rehearsed speaking at primary level versus genuinely spontaneous speaking at the older categories. Swapping the timing changes what the competition measures.
മലയാളത്തിൽ വായിക്കുക (Read this in Malayalam)
Running a Kalolsavam round on eTalenter? Message us on WhatsApp at +91 96056 56508 or email support@etalenter.com for help with the software. We can’t help with individual item rule disputes at the official festival – for those, please contact your school or your education office.
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