The Sunday morning saw three teams discussing in hushed tones the possible answers to a question thrown at them at a conference hall in Santacruz. Quiz master for the session,Abhinav Dasgupta, admits that it is a tough question. Nevertheless,think hard,he tells the teams. The question: If you were a resident of a New Zealand hostel,built using funds donated by the New Zealand government,in which area of Mumbai would you be and what would you be a student of? Aarey Milk Colony and student of dairy science and technology would be the answers,says 27-year-old Dasgupta. A senior consultant with a private firm,Dasgupta has been engaged with the Bombay Quiz Club comprising 120 members. The organisation,which was registered as a trust this year,hosts the Mumbai leg of a number of national quizzing contests. Mumbai did not have a single non-business quiz club when Bombay Quiz Club came into being,claims 37-year-old Vibhendu Tewari,who has been a part of the group since it first met in a mall at Malad. The idea to start one in Mumbai was conceived by four corporate professionals,none of whom stay in Mumbai anymore. While the idea was conceived in 2005,the first formal quiz meet was held in 2006. Tewari recollects how their first meeting was disrupted by the mall authorities as they thought the meet was some kind of business activity. They let us resume with the meet after we convinced them that it is a hobby group, says Tewari. Earlier,the quizzing culture was not common in Mumbai,says 42-year-old Rajiv Rai,a banking professional. Initially,finding an affordable venue was the biggest challenge. At times we used to end up meeting at food-courts or living rooms of members. After a few years,we got some corporate funding which eased things a little, says Rai. Having discovered the Santacruz venue,the club now hosts quizzes on alternate Sundays. On an average,25-35 members turn up for the event. The quiz master prepares a list of around 40 questions. The theme varies from the history of Mumbai to sports and wildlife,among others. The kind of quiz we do is based on problem solving and not just testing knowledge. The idea behind a question is to give facts and clues so that the contestants can work out the answer, says Rai. At the end of the session,the answers are e-mailed to the participants. For the last two years,the club has also been conducting a quizzing open which is attended by contestants from across the country. With members paying Rs 1,000 per year,the total prize money of Rs 80,000 is generated from the annual membership fees. There is also the aid of corporate funding . A league table is maintained for the bi-monthly quizzes round the year and at the end of the year,it is declared who the champion is. There is no prize money involved. However,maintaining a league table brings in a lot more seriousness to the whole process, says Rai.
