The award comes with 1,50,000 rupees, a citation and a statuette. It is awarded as part of the Nishagandhi Dance and Music Festival, which is held in January every year. This is a cultural annual programme of the Tourism department of Kerala. The award ceremony takes place at the Nishagandhi theatre in the Kanakakkunnu Palace ground in Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala. The award was introduced to make the festival more popular on a national and international level. 