Quiz Quotient

An update on Facebook says that Hauz Khas Village,the uber cool happening area in Delhi,hasnt had electricity for 48 hours at a stretch over the weekend.

Written by Leher Kala

June 4, 2012 02:55 AM IST

4 min read

An update on Facebook says that Hauz Khas Village,the uber cool happening area in Delhi,hasnt had electricity for 48 hours at a stretch over the weekend. It speaks volumes for the popularity of the Village that in 46 degrees and climbing,and with no guarantee of an AC,restaurants in the area are packed on a Sunday evening. The mostly young 25 to 30-something crowd seems oblivious to generator fumes,honking and general chaos,preferring to glance upwards,where,with the evening lights twinkling,you can almost imagine yourself to be on a slightly seedy but charming cobbled street in Europe.

Though there are no cobbled streets and youre more likely to trip on exposed wire or rubble,the Village has a quaint air and a vitality,usually so lacking in Delhis nightlife. (Thats been the main complaint of Mumbaikars when they compare the two cities.) There is nothing pretentious about the Village and youre unlikely to find the Chanel bag and high heel-toting crowd here; its more for people who are into live bands,good food and new interesting events like the Quiz Night at The Living Room (TLR),one of the most sought-after hangouts in the Village. A couple of Sundays every month,TLR hosts an evening where two entertaining quiz masters test participants knowledge levels with innovative and often hilarious questions.

Chugh and Chanty,the 40-something quiz masters,are well-known in quizzing circles across India. Vikram Achanta is the co-founder of http://www.tulleeho.com,a pretty cool website on the alcohol and beverage industry in India. He has co-authored a book on cocktails that caters to the Indian palate and one of his creations is the Jamuntini,a cocktail that combines jamuns and plums with gin,an interestingly flavoured summer drink. Chugh is Dr. Sanjay Chugh,a well-known psychiatrist in Delhi. Both have been avid quizzers since their school and college days and on Sundays at TLR,they draw in a significant crowd. In a year,they host over 25 quizzes here. Ive hosted some corporate quizzes even in Kerala. Many companies are using quizzes as a launch platform for new products now, says Achanta,quoting Glaxo Smithkline Beecham and The Tata Group as examples. Mumbai has an active quizzing scene as well,with the Bombay Quiz Club hosting the Indian leg of the World Quizzing Championship 2012 held on June 2,parallel with 84 other cities in 34 countries.

Five to six teams of five people each are equipped with pen and paper at TLR. The quizzing crowd is eclectic,not just young brainy students,but also people from advertising,academia and journalism. The ratio of men to women is 60:40. Chugh and Chantys quizzes are cleverly designed,involving every participant by making them feel theyve heard or read the answer somewhere before. A typical question at their quizzes is something like this: which famous persons name was a result of an SMS glitch? Lady Gaga.

Teams choose their own names,the memorable ones being Five Find Outers and Mamata Di. The atmosphere is full of smart repartee,with participants answering more recklessly as the evening progresses. C & C keep it going by throwing in free beers for particularly tough questions. Nobody needs to worry about appearing like a brainless twit because every team is doing its own guesswork with answers way off the mark. Prizes are books sponsored by publishers,Asset India. To catch one of their quizzes,you can follow the TLR pop quiz page on Facebook or send a mail to vikram_chanty@yahoo.com. Its a good change on a Sunday evening.

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