Some of the city’s top quizzers gathered at Calcutta Club recently for IIM Calcutta Alumni Association’s Biz Quiz, in association with The Telegraph. What used to be a quiz for corporate teams was resurrected after a hiatus of about a decade as an open quiz, thus allowing more teams to take part. The quizmaster for the evening was IIM Calcutta alumna Jayashree Mohanka, an ace quizzer herself, who kicked off proceedings for the two-member teams with a 25-question written preliminary round. Eight teams made it to the onstage rounds.
Midway through the quiz, three teams had pulled away from the rest — Shouvik-Soumyadip and Rishin-Rajeev were tied on 70, with Anil-Samanway close behind on 65. By the end of the penultimate round, Anil-Samanway had their noses in front, and they did just about enough in the last round to win the quiz by five points.
.jpg)
Quizmaster speak: “I kept the questions fairly general, not strictly business,” said Jayashree Mohanka. “A thumb rule I follow when framing a question: The audience should’ve heard of the question, should’ve heard of the answer, or should go back with something interesting.”
Organiser speak: “It was a very good standard of quizzing,” said G.M. Kapur, who is also a Calcutta Club member. “This quiz used to be held till about 10 years back, and was a regular feature on Calcutta’s quizzing calendar, but somehow it stopped. This time we made a determined effort to revive it, and that’s why we could make a success out of it. It was in large measure to Jayashree organising the quiz that we could take it forward.”
t2 picked a few questions...
1. Which two states advertise themselves as the Heart and the Soul of Incredible India?
2. GD Pharmaceuticals, the Boroline people, have launched a mosquito repellent brand. The name please.
3. The last volume of Asterix comics published before Rene Goscinny’s death is a parody on capitalism, starring Caius Preposterus, who buys menhirs for increasing amounts, creating a bubble. What’s the name of the book.
4. Identify this city, with communications/ TV towers by Santiago Calatrava and Norman Foster (see images).
5. A city in the northwest United States is trying to reduce consumption of single-use plastic items. The campaign has a movie-based slogan, three words. What is the slogan?
6. Between 1840 and 1930, whalers in Eden, Australia, were helped by which animals, displaying unique mutual cooperation?
7. Who sued photographer David Slater over rights to the ‘monkey selfie’ (selfies taken by monkeys with his camera — see image)?
8. Che brought this plant from India to Cuba in the 1960s and Fidel Castro was an enthusiast, crediting it for curing his stomach ailments. Which plant?
9. Chinese troops in the Tang empire were paid salaries in what form?
10. Factoid: “Ten per cent of Europeans alive today were conceived in an ---- ---.” Fill in the blanks.
Answers:
1. Madhya Pradesh and Odisha respectively
2. No Prix
3. Obelix & Co.
4. Barcelona
5. Strawless in Seattle
6. Killer whales (orcas)
7. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
8. Moringa (drumsticks/sajna)
9. Silk
10. IKEA bed
Text: Sunny Lyngdoh. Pictures: Gopal Senapati
