Just four days into the 57th Kerala School Kalolsavam, 854 appeals were officially registered when the day’s competition wound up on Wednesday night.
With another four days left to go, officials believe that the number could easily surpass last year’s record of 860. 281 appeals were filed on the first day with the count rising to 610 at the end of day 2.
Of the 232 events, organizers say that the maximum number of appeals was filed in the Bharatnatyam segment, followed by the group dance competition as well as certain individual ones.
Appeals can first be filed by participants, if they fail to make the cut at the district-level competition. Accommodating those who qualify in this way at the state-level competition has always proved to be a challenge for the organizers.
Appeals can be filed at the state-level too, if the participant feels he/she has been subject to unfair judgement. With the number of appeals increasing every year, the organizers find it difficult to wrap up events on time. According to official figures, more than 190 higher appeals have been filed till now.
The fee for filing of appeals was hiked from Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 a couple of years ago to act as a sort of deterrent to prevent frivolous use of this inbuilt mechanism for a fair judgement.
However, even this steep hike in fees has not stopped parents of participants from appealing against the judges’ ‘not so fair’ decision in award of grades to their wards.