An inter-school quiz based on built and cultural heritage was held in the city November 21.
In its sixth year, the Calcutta Heritage Collective (CHC) Quiz saw 20 teams from 14 schools participate at Vidya Mandir.
Students from Classes VIII and IX vied for the top slot with questions about the city and the state.
Sample this:
Q: In the 1880s, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Nilratan Sircar and Prafulla Chandra Roy were all members of a club in the Botanical Gardens. What was it?
A: The Cycle Club
Q: In Bengal’s Jatra heritage, who was the last great male actor playing female roles?
A: Chapal Bhaduri
“We started this quiz to raise awareness about our built and cultural heritage among students. We are a city and a country with so much heritage, and the younger people should get involved with the heritage,” said Oindrilla Dutt, one of the quizmasters and an organiser of the contest.
Two other quizmasters were Supriya Newar and Rajiv Soni.
La Martiniere for Boys won the quiz, The Heritage School came second, and Birla High School, Moira Street, came third.
“The questions are mostly on Calcutta and Bengal, and on two other states of India. Every year, we
focus on two states,” said Dutt.
This year, the focus was on Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh,” said Dutt.
One of the top attractions of the CHC Quiz is the live round.
This year, all participants were served kahwah. The question was “what are the ingredients?”.
Two CHC members walked on stage, one of them wearing a dejhoor and Kullu topi.
Dejhoor are earrings worn by married women of Kashmiri Pandit families, while a Kullu topi is a woollen cap from Himachal Pradesh. It has vibrant colours and often has motifs inspired by local flora and fauna.
The other member was wearing a pheran, which is a long and loose outfit worn by Kashmiri men
and women.
The participants had to identify the earrings, the garment and the cap.
“We do not let out our auditorium for any events, but we make an exception for the CHC Quiz. It connects the students with the heritage of our country. It is a learning experience for all the participants as well as students of our school who are in the audience,” said Loveleen Saigal, the principal of Birla High School, Moira Street.