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Q is for 'quizzes'

For some, participating in quizzes or watching them on TV/online is a hobby—and a good hobby that increases their General Knowledge. I remember taking part in quizzes back in classes 7 and 8 when I was a student in a convent in suburban West Bengal. A group of four of us (if I remember right) from our school went for a quiz conducted by the famous Derek ‘O Brien. We were awarded a copy of the Pear’s cyclopedia of that year for our performance. I still remember one of the questions. We were asked to provide the spelling of supercilious!

Some popular quiz competitions for school children include The Cadbury's Bournvita Quiz competition, which was marked by the publication of a Q&A book every year.

I used to watch Siddharta Basu on Mastermind India quizzes when we moved to Chennai. It was a real coincidence that I went to college for a year later with his niece!



The quiz format became a huge hit with every household in India through KBC or 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' hosted by the inimitable Amitabh Bachchan, which was modelled on its US counterpart ‘Who wants to be a millionaire.’ With the stakes being high, crowd participation increased.

Since then, I’ve not watched too many quizzes on TV or participated in them either. I know that several colleges conduct quizzes for their students, as do corporates for their employees. It’s a great way to keep track of the happenings around the world although these days quizzes have become a bit outdated what with information being made available on social media and on the internet. These days, online learning has taken over. See my post on O is for Online Learning.

A quiz sometimes has questions belonging to a theme that ties the questions together. The ability to recall information, trivia and facts instantly is of the essence. (Unless you are on the KBC show and have the ‘phone a friend’ option.)  Some people are just blessed with a photographic memory and such people will be able to take great delight in participating in quizzes.
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