Veena is a solo melodic-instrument item at the Kerala school kalolsavam, judged on a verified five-criterion, 100-mark scheme of its own. This guide gives the exact criteria, a printable judgement sheet, the category and time rules as published, and how to run it fairly on eTalenter.
What is Veena?
Veena is an Individual, On Stage instrumental item, open to both genders, catalogued at Category III and Category IV (the Category IV entry is listed jointly as "Veena / Vichithraveena"). Every entry carries a 10-minute time limit (warning bell at 9 minutes) and a maximum score of 100. It sits alongside the festival's other melodic-solo instrument items — Violin (Paschathyam) among them, which the template actually scores on the exact same five-criterion rubric as Veena (see below), not a separate violin-specific one.
The verified judging criteria (100 marks)
The scheme below is cited directly from the festival's own template data — nothing here is inferred or invented:
| Criterion | Marks |
|---|---|
| Tone (Nadam) | 20 |
| Raga expression (Ragabhavam) | 20 |
| Rhythm (Thalam) | 20 |
| Bowing | 20 |
| Plucking (Meettu) | 20 |
| Total | 100 |
How it differs from Violin (Paschathyam)
Readers searching for melodic-instrument judging criteria often land on a page built for a different instrument item, so it is worth being explicit, and worth correcting a claim an earlier version of this page made: Veena and Violin (Paschathyam) are catalogued in the same template with the exact same five-criterion, 100-mark scheme — tone (nadam), raga expression (ragabhavam), rhythm (thalam), bowing and plucking (meettu) are byte-identical in both, criterion name for criterion name, including "bowing" and "plucking" carried over as-is for the violin entry. There is no instrument-specific wording difference to point to; the two items share one rubric with no distinct heads at all. If your event wants a judging scheme that actually reflects violin technique (e.g. bow control instead of plucking), you will need to edit the criteria yourself when setting up the item — eTalenter lets a coordinator rename or re-weight any criterion per item. Until then, treat this page and the Violin (Paschathyam) item as sharing one rubric, not two distinct ones.
Printable judgement sheet
Hand judges a sheet with these five columns, chest number down the left, and a totals row:
| Chest No. | Tone /20 | Raga Expr. /20 | Rhythm /20 | Bowing /20 | Plucking /20 | Total /100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Category, gender and time rules
| Category | Gender | Time limit | Max score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category III | Both (mixed) | 10 min (9 min warning) | 100 |
| Category IV (as Veena / Vichithraveena) | Both (mixed) | 10 min (9 min warning) | 100 |
Deductions typically apply for overrunning the 10-minute limit, an untuned or faulty instrument brought on stage, or arriving without any accompaniment declared at registration — publish these rules alongside the criteria before entries open so every unit knows the standard in advance.
Running Veena on eTalenter
Set Veena up as an Individual competition item under Category III and IV, Both-gender participation, a 10-minute time limit with a 9-minute warning, and the five-criterion, 100-mark scheme entered once in the judging panel. Judges score each of the five heads independently on their own device; eTalenter totals, ranks and publishes results the moment all judges submit, with the printable sheet above available as a backup for paper scoring. Open a live demo and log in as a judge to see the scoring screen, or as a coordinator to see how the item, categories and criteria are configured.
FAQ
What are the judging criteria for Veena?
Five criteria worth 20 marks each: tone (nadam), raga expression (ragabhavam), rhythm (thalam), bowing and plucking (meettu), totalling 100.
Is it an individual or group item?
Individual — a solo performer, not a team.
Which categories compete in Veena?
Category III and Category IV, both open to boys and girls competing together. The Category IV entry is catalogued jointly as "Veena / Vichithraveena".
What is the time limit?
10 minutes, with a warning bell at 9 minutes, in both categories.
How is Veena different from Violin (Paschathyam)?
It isn't, on paper — both are 20-mark, five-criterion schemes with identical criteria names (tone, raga expression, rhythm, bowing, plucking). The staticDb template carries the same five heads for both items rather than a violin-specific set. If you want the violin item judged on different technique, edit that item's criteria names when you set it up on eTalenter.
Related guides: Instrumental Music Judging Criteria · Madhalam Judging Criteria · Judge Scoring & Tabulation Software
Need help setting up Veena or any other competition item on eTalenter? Message us on WhatsApp or email support@etalenter.com — we help with the software, not with entries.
