Journalism of Courage
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 vitality,usually lacking in Delhis nightlife (Thats been the main complaint of Mumbaiites when they compare the two cities.) There is nothing pretentious about the Village and youre unlikely to find the Chanel-bag,high heel-totting 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 at the Village. A couple of Sundays a month,TLR hosts an evening where two entertaining quiz masters test participants knowledge levels,with innovative and often hilarious questions.
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. hutkayfilms@gmail.com
