Scheme of Giving Awards to Eminent Artists - Kalai Valarmani Award

What is the Kalai Valarmani award?

Kalai Valarmani is one of the five District Art Awards given by the Department of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu through the District Art Societies. It carries Rs 6,000 in cash and a certificate of appreciation, and it is reserved for artists aged 19 to 35.

The District Art Awards were started in 2002-03. Their design is unusual and worth understanding, because it explains who wins them. Rather than a single open competition in which a young performer would always lose to a veteran, the department splits the awards into five age bands, each with its own award name and its own cash value. An artist can therefore be recognised at every stage of a working life, and the same person may win a different District Art Award in each decade.

The five District Art Awards

Taken together the five awards distribute Rs 55,000 per set across the age bands. From 2021-22 the number of awardees was increased from 5 to 15 in each category, which roughly tripled the reach of the programme across the state's districts.

Kalai Valarmani sits at the stage of an artist's life where recognition matters most in practical terms. An artist between 19 and 35 is usually past training, performing regularly, and deciding whether the art can support a household. A district award with a citation from the Collector is a credential that opens teaching work, sabha bookings and government cultural programmes.

Who is eligible for the Kalai Valarmani award, and who is not?

You can be considered if:

• You are aged between 19 and 35 years on the relevant date.
• You are an artist practising a Tamil art form; vocal music, instrumental music, Bharathanatyam and other classical dance, drama, and the folk and traditional arts of the state.
• You belong to the district where the application is made. The award is district-based and administered by the District Art Society.
• You can produce evidence of sustained artistic practice: performances, programme notices, press coverage, recordings or institutional certificates.
• You apply in response to the District Collector's press release inviting applications for the year.

You are not eligible if:

• You are 18 or below, in which case the correct award to apply for is Kalai Ilamani at Rs 4,000, or 36 or above, in which case it is Kalai Sudarmani at Rs 10,000. Applying in the wrong band is the commonest reason a file is set aside.
• You do not belong to the district where you have applied.
• You cannot evidence artistic practice. An interest in an art form is not enough; the committee is selecting practising artists.
• You apply outside the window opened by the District Collector's notice.

How the selection works

Selection is done at district level by a nine-member committee chaired by the District Collector. The committee reviews the applications received against the press release and selects the qualified candidates in each of the five age categories, with 15 awardees per category since 2021-22.

Because the committee is district-level and the notice is published locally, the practical determinant of whether a good artist wins is whether they saw the notice in time. There is no statewide portal that announces the opening of applications; the announcement is a press release in the newspapers issued by the Collector.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Kalai Valarmani award

1. Watch the local Tamil newspapers for the District Collector's press release inviting applications for the District Art Awards. This is the only announcement route, and it appears once a year.
2. Collect the application form from the District Art Society, which functions through the District Collectorate.
3. Confirm your age band. Kalai Valarmani is for 19 to 35 years. Check the date on which age is reckoned as stated in the notice, and apply in the correct category.
4. Assemble your evidence of practice. Programme notices with your name, photographs of performances, press cuttings, recordings, certificates from sabhas or institutions and any earlier awards. Arrange them in date order with a one-page covering list.
5. Fill the form completely, affix your passport-size photograph and sign where indicated.
6. Submit the application to the District Art Society before the last date in the press release, and take an acknowledgement.
7. Wait for the selection committee's decision. The nine-member committee chaired by the District Collector meets to select the awardees, who are informed by the District Art Society.
8. Attend the award function to receive the certificate; the Rs 6,000 is credited to the bank account given in the application.

How to check the status of your application

There is no online tracking for District Art Awards. The route is:

1. Keep the acknowledgement given by the District Art Society.
2. Follow up at the District Art Society through the District Collectorate.
3. Ask when the selection committee is scheduled to meet — the decision is taken there, not at the counter.

Why applications fail, and how to avoid it

• Applied in the wrong age category. Check the band before filling the form.
• Missed the press release. Ask the District Art Society in advance to note your contact details, and ask fellow artists to alert you.
• Thin evidence of practice. A list of performances with dates, venues and supporting notices does far more than a self-description.
• Applied in a district you do not belong to. Apply where you reside and perform.
• Incomplete form or missing photograph, which is a routine reason for a file to be set aside at scrutiny.

Other Art and Culture Department support for artists

The department runs several parallel schemes an artist in this age band should know about:

• Encouragement of Young Artists; grants of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000, with about 1,993 budding performers supported in vocal music, Bharathanatyam and instrumental music.
• Financial assistance to folk artists and troupes for the purchase of musical instruments and costumes, Rs 2,000 for an individual folk artiste and Rs 6,000 for a troupe.
• Monthly assistance of Rs 3,000 to indigent artists.
• Family maintenance grant for bereaved families of renowned artists, increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000, with 496 families assisted.
• Kalaimamani state honours, with 1,924 recipients, and the Kalaichemmal award in fine arts carrying Rs 1,00,000.
• Tamil Nadu Folk Artistes Welfare Board membership, which brings marriage assistance of Rs 5,000, spectacles support of Rs 1,500, natural death assistance of Rs 25,000 and accidental death cover of Rs 1,00,000.

Where to raise a grievance

• The District Art Society, through your District Collectorate.
• The Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai.
• The department website, artandculture.tn.gov.in.

The application form is free and no fee is payable to anyone for a District Art Award. Selection is by a committee chaired by the District Collector, and no agent can influence it.