Passion 2025 Rules and Regulations

Passion is a Competition for Hindustani Classical Music organised by Suranjan. After an overwhelming response from across the globe over the years, Passion is here again, in 2025, in a Hybrid mode.

This year, while the first round will be conducted online, the grand finale will be held in Thane, as an in-person concert.

This sixth edition of Passion is bigger than ever, and focuses on Vocal category across three age groups.
Passion 2025 will be governed by the following Rules and Regulations. .

Performance Category - Vocal

This year, Passion 2025 will focus only on the Classical Vocal category. Instrumental and other Percussion instrumentalists such as Pakhwaj, Mrudungam, etc., are not included this year.
The Vocal Category includes Hindustani Classical Vocal Khayal performance. Semi-classical, thumri, natya-sangeet, folk music, ghazal, light music, tappa, etc. are not included. Karnatak Classical vocal is also not included at this stage. Any form of Khayal Gayaki is included - Vilambit Khayal, Bandish, Tarana. Drupad will be accepted.

Eligibility

The competition is being conducted for three age groups as indicated below. Here are the eligibility criteria for each of these groups based on the date of birth.

  • Group I: Date of Birth after 1st January 2012

  • Group II: Date of Birth between 1st January 2007 and 31st December 2011

  • Group III: Date of Birth between 1st January 1995 and 31st December 2006

Competition Rounds

The competition will take place in the following two rounds.

  • First Round will involve screening of videos from participants received on Google Drive, via the link sent by Suranjan.

  • Final Round of selected participants will be held as an in-person concert at Thane.

Prizes


Here are the prizes that will be awarded to the winners of each group, in Vocal as well as Instrumental.

Group I

First Prize:
Rs. 5,000/-

Second Prize:
Rs. 3,000/-

Third Prize:
Rs. 2,000/-

Group II

First Prize:
Rs. 10,000/-

Second Prize:
Rs. 7,500/-

Third Prize:
Rs. 5,000/-

Group III

First Prize:
Rs. 25,000/-

Second Prize:
Rs. 15,000/-

Third Prize:
Rs. 7,500/-

Registration

Below are the guidelines for registering for the competition.

  • Last date for Registration is 23rd May, 2025. Note that no registrations will be accepted after this date.

  • Registration Fee is Rs 500 for participants from India and USD 10 for participants from outside of India. It needs to be paid online while registering using one of the many options available including UPI, Net Banking, etc.

  • Specify your Date of Birth correctly. The appropriate Group will be auto-selected. An Incorrect Date of Birth will result in rejection of the entry. See the Eligibility section above for more details.

  • Please upload your Age Proof while registering. Any government-issued document that has the name and Date of Birth is acceptable. This includes Passport, Aadhar, PAN, Birth Certificate, SSC/HSC Certificate, School or College Leaving Certificate, etc.

  • Your mobile number and email ID are very important. All communication will be sent via these channels via WhatsApp.

  • Young children can provide the mobile phone numbers of their parents.

  • Registration Fee is non-refundable

  • Registration will be valid only if Suranjan can verify the Date of Birth via the proof uploaded during registration. Any discrepancy found in the Date of Birth will result in cancellation of your entry.

Performance Guidelines - Vocal

The following is a set of performance guidelines to be kept in mind by the participants performing in the Classical Vocal category.

  • Acceptable Performance: The performance must be purely of Hindustani Classical Music. Any form of Khayal, like Bandish, Vilambit Khayal, Tarana are accepted. Only for Group III, Vilambit Khayal is mandatory. For other groups, there is no restriction. Drupad performance is also accepted.

  • Unacceptable Performance: Any form of vocal performance apart from pure khayal and Drupad is not accepted. Natyasangeet/ Film Music/ Semi-classical Music is strictly not permitted. Karnatak Classical is also not included.

  • Tanpura and Tabla are a must. Participants can use an electronic Tabla/Tanpura machine. Apps facilitating the use of a Tabla and Tanpura, such as iTablaPro, are also permitted. You can use accompanists from outside.

  • Harmonium accompaniment is allowed only for Group I. Harmonium Accompaniment is not allowed for Group II and Group III. Please make a note of this.

  • Even for the first group, while harmonium is allowed as an accompaniment, the participant should not play harmonium herself/himself and perform.

  • Participants tuning and using a manual Tanpura could be given grace marks, according to the decision made by the judges.

  • Performance specifications:
    • Group I: Any form of khayal - Bandish, Tarana, etc.
    • Group II: Any form of khayal - Bandish, Tarana, etc.
    • Group III: Vilambit Khayal is compulsory, followed by any khayal. This is applicable to Vocal and Instrumental categories.
  • Apart from the compulsion of Vilambit khayal for Group III, there are no restrictions as such. We encourage you to perform whatever has been taught to you by your Guru and what you are most comfortable with. It has to be pure classical khayaal and must be within the stipulated time.

  • Time Limit:
    • Group I: Maximum 6 minutes
    • Group II: Maximum 10 minutes
    • Group III: Maximum 15 minutes
  • While recording, ensure that the background arrangement should be proper, be seated on a carpet or "satranji" with some presentable background. Avoid sitting on a bed for example.
  • Please give a thought to the dress code (you and accompanists) so that it is in line with the art you are performing. Casual wear like T-shirts may be avoided.
  • You can perform the same Raag for all rounds. There is no special consideration, marks for different Raag for various rounds.

First Round

Once the registration form has been filled, Suranjan will send the Google Drive Link to the participants.
The participants are expected to record a video of their performance and upload it to this link.
The last date for submission of video entry is 28th May 2025 end of the day - Mid night India Time.

  • The video should be made exclusively for Passion 2025. Older/ already existing videos will not be considered.

  • The participants should declare their name, age, group and Raag in the video itself. Declare this information before you start your performance. A video without this information may get disqualified.

  • You should also declare at the beginning that you are recording this video for Suranjan's Passion 2025 competition.

  • Ensure adequate light while shooting the video.

  • The video must be Unedited. Any form of editing is not allowed. Even adding names/titles of accompanist, raag name in the video through editing is not acceptable. Send us the file as recorded. Your entry may get disqualified if there is a trace of editing of the video.

  • If you are using accompanists, make sure they are visible in the frame. We highly encourage you to introduce their names before you start your performance.

  • The time limit specified above starts from the time you start your performance and does not include time spent in mentioning your name and raag, etc.

  • Upload your video to the Google Drive link sent to you. Do not send video via WhatsApp, since the quality of the video gets severely compromised while sending via WhatsApp. Suranjan volunteers can help you if you face any technical challenges.

Judgement and Evaluation

Passion 2025 will be judged by a panel of eminent judges.


  • The decision of the judges will be final and will not be subject to change once declared.

  • The participants will be evaluated on a predefined list of criteria, including Sur, Taal, Voice Quality and many others as decided by Suranjan's judges.

Contact Us

Here are the phone numbers on which you can reach out to us with regards to any query.

  • Suranjan Trust - +91 74001 63969

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