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Last Updated Wednesday November 25 2020 09:01 PM IST

This Keralite is on a mision to make quizzing a people's game

I Sreenath
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This Keralite is on a mision to make quizzing a people's game

Hundreds of schoolchildren wait impatiently in a stuffy hall on the campus. Some pour over current affairs publications while others chat away. The hall suddenly falls silent as a slender young man with sure strides takes the microphone. After a calm greeting, he moves to spell out the rules of the game, the first one being 'the quiz master is always right' and the second one, 'if anything goes wrong, rule one applies.'

All quizzes start with an air of apprehension. But as it progresses, it is an immersive affair where the participants, the audience, and the quiz master are on a singular quest - of the finest and the best answer, says Snehaj Sreenivas, passionate quiz master and South India director of the International Quizzing Association (IQA).

(IQA is regarded as the apex body of quizzing, like FIDE for chess and FIFA for football).

"Quizzing has changed over the years. The rote learning formats, which tested the memory aspects were in vogue earlier. There was no charm in it. Now, quiz questions are designed thematically. Its tests and hones many skills and the all-round mental and problem-solving capabilities of the participants," says Snehaj who is a postgraduate in Medical Biochemistry, IT & Sociology and holds the record for the highest number of documented on-stage quizzes by any quiz master in Kerala.

The abandoning of old-school quizzing brought in more appeal to the game and people started embracing it like never before. "This is probably because most questions turned answerable; like a puzzle which anybody could put together but with varying degrees of success," Snehaj says.

"Like, if the question is to find the link between Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, the answer is obvious. If you introduce Chhatrapathi Shivaji, it becomes puzzle-like and anybody would want to give it a try. Obviously, with little thought, all these are international airports in India," says Snehaj, detailing the tricks of the trade.

"Hundreds of such questions that tickle the grey matter can be seen in the 'Manorama Quiz book' compiled by our core team consisting of senior bureaucrats. The first edition of the book went out of print in just 12 days, says Snehaj, who is also a regular contributor to Manorama Year Book.

It was way back in 2000 that a group of friends started stump quizzing as a pass time. For questions, they depended on low-priced quiz books available in the market. As the group grew more serious, Snehaj said, he realized his true calling. Subsequently, Dreamz Infotainment, a not-for-profit society was registered for the promotion and propagation of quiz.

This Keralite is on a mision to make quizzing a people's game

Snehaj says Quiz Kerala, a subsidiary of Dreamz Infotainment, has a three-pronged strategy to promote quizzing. The first is quiz training workshops titled 'Making of Quizzers' for schoolchildren and enthusiasts. This is in the 11th year. With the aim to 'catch them young,' they conduct a two-step quiz training called Break the Shell & Quiz Chemistry in schools across the state.

The flagship event is Reverberate Quiz Festival, which is conducted in tandem with the annual World Quizzing Championship that determines the World Champion in this game. (The conduct of World Quizzing Championship (WQC) by IQA is a prestigious assignment handed over to trustworthy partner organisations. Quiz Kerala is the partner for its conduct in Kerala for the past 10 years.

Reverberate, which is now in its 12th edition, with 125 Quizzes (100 Online & 25 on-stage) is all set to take the official record for being the biggest quiz festival in the world.

The second strategy is the propagation of the concept of 'I Quiz Therefore I Am,' a play on French philosopher Rene Descarte's 'I think Therefore I Am' adage. Under this, there are informal quiz fraternities in many districts and institutions and over 30 active WhatsApp quiz groups with the name iQuiz which engage in regular quizzing. There are groups for greenhorns, veterans, professional quizzers, and even bureaucrats.

To promote informal quizzing and quiz clubs, Quiz Kerala launched the first ever Inter Quiz Club Championship last year. The next edition will be accompanied by the fist ever competition for these iQuiz WhatsApp groups.

Snehaj says the gist is to engage the audience in the most ingenious ways. For a story, he cites a quiz on heart, as part of World Heart Day observance.

"The first thought was that the quiz will be monotonous as the topic was very restrictive. But, we raked our brains and brought in all that was associated with the heart. As we thought, Kapil Dev's autobiography is called 'Straight from the Heart.' Journalist Daniel Pearl's wife's memoir is called 'A Mighty Heart.' Also, a prominent biscuit brand had the tag line 'Dil sabka actually sweet hai, (everyone's heart is sweet). We incorporated questions on all these and the many eminent cardiologists present at the venue were all praise for the quiz," Snehaj says.

Snehaj says many corporates are turning to quizzing to generate business and competitor awareness and increase product familiarity. "After a quiz for SBI employees, the management is seriously considering quizzing as a tool to improve employee engagement & industrial awareness," Snehaj says.

The team has also conceived a programme called Q-Positive, meant for the employees of various companies and organizations. It is designed in accordance with the list of essential 21st century skills listed by the World Economic Forum. The team is all set to launch this in selected cities across South India as well as the Middle East & Far East.

Snehaj hopes to broaden the base of quizzers. He feels quizzing is yet to catch up as a cerebral game and an academic and vocational activity. He thinks events like Making of Quizzers & Q-Positive could give it the much-needed impetus.

Also, there is the Quiz Master's majestic halo, one which proclaims that he is always right - rule number one.  

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