A passion for the thirsty mind

Its here finally!

Well, its been almost a year since we started Quench and I daresay its been going well. The spirit of quizzing has been almost inculcated within everyone(at the forum at least). So what exactly do we do on March 12 when one of the most active clubs in the hub of inactivity(read our college, courtesy Anand) turns one year old?

That's right… a quiz! A hardcore one at that too. And for the icing on the cake, I present to you this blog filled with trivia and the 'sojourns' of the members to all the various competitions we've been to(including our personal views and candid comments on each quizmaster!)

Why quiz?

This has been a big surprise to me ever since I got gripped with the fad. I really don't know what attracted me to an activity where in blunt reality people have to just spurt out an answer buried deep within some unknown corner of the brain. Many tout it as just a good way to improve memorisation. Some say it helps you keep up with the present, past and the near future in a unique and fun manner. There are those who claim that its just another event which makes learning a tad more interesting for kids. And then there are people who do it just because they love it! To be the first to raise their hand or voice and shout out the answer; whether its identifying an infamous personality from a rare photo or sheer brilliant reasoning, its made sure that a mere question-answer session does not go unnoticed. At the end of it all, there are two reactions one might encounter: "There's so much more to know!" versus " Crap. Who on earth would know such stupid answers?"(assuming that questions were not a page long asking you to identify X, Y,Z and theta and connect them all together to get another answer in the middle of the night hosted by four quiz masters who kept themselves awake with weed and booze-a brief experience at Saarang). Its what you choose that defines you.

A small flashback

My first brush with quizzing began way back during primary school itself. Nowadays every Sunday morning always means some extra bit of sleep(just a little past 10 am maybe) probably due to that new movie your friend brought in a thumb drive from the neighbouring hostel last night. But back then when we used to get up on time for much needed breakfast for our little tummies, remember that guy with the light beard who used to appear on a channel called Zee TV? Yeah the very same bespectacled man who used to walk in from behind those prop doors that opened automatically to a well known background tune and a narration that used to go "Welcome to the Cadbury's Bournvita Quiz contest. And here's your quizmaster Derek O' Brien". Sure we all loved that guy with his brilliant wit and humour who used to keep our butts tagged to our seats till the end. "Nice. I have to get up early next Sunday too. I know some of the answers too!",so would have formed an intense connection at a young stage for every passionate quizzer today.

As the 90's approached their end, the show had stopped airing. "Oh no! No more Derek! And just when it was getting all the more interesting". Of course many guys and girls in my age category would agree that our chances of getting to be on TV by the time we reached 10th grade to participate were to be forgotten. By then I'm sure most of the enthusiasts would have been 'preparing', buying the show's official quiz books at Landmark which sold like hot cakes. But then, what do we have moms for? " Sriram kanna! Derek is hosting the annual Landmark quiz do you know that??". Magic words. Music to my ears. I immediately stop with my intense playing of FIFA on the poor battered computer which would have silently heaved a sigh of relief as I raise my fingers off its worn out keyboard. Milan 0-1 down to Real Madrid! --Esc-->Game put on pause with 3 minutes to spare! Shevchenko can handle it, I assure myself. There are bigger things happening in this city!

As I collect the details from Amma, who is busy preparing something special for Sunday, I collect these inferences which register to my mind permanently:

• The annual Landmark quiz is held every August 15 at the Music Academy
  
• Anyone can participate in teams of three
  
• Derek's the host!!
  

Great! We get to watch him live in our very own city. Maybe a chance to get on stage too! Full of excitement and spirits sky high!

It was soon to be realised by every first timer(in 2005) there that they were not alone. You had to get through 600+ teams, each as confident as your own that they would somehow magically manage to get through to the finals in an auditorium that boasted a great history of its own. Right ,then. 'Now when is it going to start?'. And sure enough there he was. Same guy with the glasses minus the facial hair but same personality and flawless English added with the usual tinge of arrogant humour. As the prelims started and drew to a close, my very first teammates(Appa and Amma ) were happy that 8/40 for a debut appearance was not bad. No chance of qualification though. Who cared? We've got a guy on stage keeping you entertained for the next 2 hours usefully. Audience prizes included to make it all the more better! And you would never have thought of people coming up with the most comical names for their teams!

Take for instance :

Sonia yet so far- (when Sonia Gandhi almost became prime minister)

Intel inside mental outside

Gold'ku Hallmark, Wine'ku TASMAC, Quiz'ku Landmark(local mokkai)

Joker's enemy is Dark knight, mosquito's enemy is good knight( classic mokkai)

Immaculate Misconception(technical mokkai)

Materazzi to Zidane- "Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna"(yes, after the headbutting incident)

It was undoubtedly a huge success that would be a crowd puller for many years to come.

And the rest is as they say history. Quizzing got all the more bigger as the years rolled by. 600 teams became 800 and more. It was a craze and sure enough, a passion that the city shared. Add to it a national final with the top 2 teams from 3 regional cities in the Music Academy for the first time in 2008 with CNBC tv18 coverage! Not bad, eh? Another quizmaster taking his turn at hosting too- Navin Jayakumar. To bring to notice such original forms of entertainment is not an easy effort. And it does not go unrecognised every single time. To have completed 15 years in this kind of field most certainly deserves an ovation especially for the painstaking effort that's been happening backstage(believe me its tough!!).

This blog is dedicated to all such quiz freaks out there(yes ,you are one if wikipedia is one of your favourite websites!) and remember the golden rule: " Thou shall not quit if thy does not make it onstage every time."(sorry Shakespeare)

Of course, there are millions of us out there who curse V.V. Ramanan, QED and all such professionals who make our IQ seem negative. And as Navjot Sidhu would put it you would have even missed a seat in the finals just like a Bollywood kiss! ( yepdi da yosikranga!).

But hang in there fellow quizzards. Keep that passion burning and try to enjoy every single event you attend. Try following this blog too ;) .

Signing off...