I think even Robert Clive would have become tired if he has to make so many attempts. I am in the corporate biz quizzing scene for the past 4 years. I was a decent biz Quizzer in college days and even won a few quizzes. But to be true, the reality hit me when I saw the corporate quizzing scene in Chennai.

Chennai would be the toughest place on earth to qualify in to the finals of a Biz Quiz. I am not exaggerating and all the quizzers will agree. I never made it to a single corporate quiz finals in these 4 years. May be I was bad, may be I didn’t put the right effort or may be it was not written ( Slumdog he he he). .. But I never gave up.

My quiz partner Aparna, is a very good Quizzer. And I think my bad luck stuck on her too and we were so close in all the prelims we wrote in the past one year. One point here and there. I am not kidding even in Landmark we were so close that she is unable to forgive Karthik Narayan ( our other partner) for the Grand Prix – Roland Garros mistake. But the worst came in September when we were reserved team in the Tata Crucible Chennai Round. It took me a day to come out of it. It all changed yesterday but with a anti-climax.

BIM Quest has always been a tough quiz over the years. Hosted by Bharathidasan Institute of Management and presented by Giri ‘Pick Brain’ Balasubramaniam, BIM Quest has been regular fixture for most of the Biz Quizzers in the city. With a host of quizzers from Chennai moving to Landmark Bangalore, we thought we stand good chance of qualification. Although only 25 odd teams were there, all the teams had a equal chance of qualifying (yeah we know a few teams will qualify for sure).

Greycaps tried a unique prelim format this time around. A 26 questions prelim with answers in alphabetical order, the first question will have an answer starting with A and second question will have an answer starting with B etc., It was different and it helped the quizzers narrow down the guesses, even then it was not easy. It was really tricky. Giri explained that they would be trying it a lot with campus versions and I thought I could give a try for the next college quiz that I am doing.

If Absinthe was easy, Yardley was the best of the lot. I never thought James Hadley Chase started his life as a salesman. We were very nervous after the prelim and we thought we gonna end up as a reserve team another time. I felt relieved rather than happy when our names were called out.

I just thought we have broken the jinx at last and it was different to be on stage than sitting in the audience. I thought I should try and do better in the finals. The other finalists were Sanmar ( Ramkumar and Deepesh), Nokia ( Anish Raju and Arvind), CTS ( Krishna Pillai and Shubam Roy), Onmobile ( Guna and Team Mate) and Dell ( Rohit Nair and Lloyd)

If I say that the finals was great, it would be an understatement. Starting from Davey Brown index of calculating the impact of celebrity endorsements to Rawl’s plug the quiz was enriching. After a few passes, the reality struck me, We are sandwiched between two of the best teams in India and they were answering left right and centre. The answers We knew never came to us and for the direct ones we were clueless.

I used to tease my friends who went on stage before that they miss the easy ones. Believe me, it’s different when you sit on stage in a major quiz. I have been on the stage for college quizzes but the corporate and open quizzes are little more tough to handle. That’s why we see seasoned quizzers winning again abs again. It’s not about knowing the answers alone, it’s about stratigising and getting the right answers at the right time.

After a gruelling close finals the quiz was won by Anish and Arvind with Ramkumar Shankar and Deepesh in the runners up with just 5 point difference. We didn’t do a Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire rather we did a Zaheer Khan in the 2003 world cup finals. We ended up last but it was heartening when Giri mentioned that we broke the jinx of reserved team at last.

It was a mixed feeeling for us as we broke the jinx but ended up in a disaster. Real life never has a fairy tale ending. There’s always a next time. I never gave up these 4 years I would never give up in the future too.

Prelim Questions

A. What is an anise flavoured spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium and has exceptionally high percentage of alcohol?

Absinthe

B. Who in 1742 developed a circulating stove with metallurgical use to improve the airflow, providing more heat and less smoke than an ordinary open fire place?

Benjamin Franklin

C. Marketing mechanisms of what were agreed through the Marrakesh Accords?

Carbon Credits

D. Logo of Murugappa Group – Name of HQs

Dare House

E. What French word, signifying ticket (of admission, etc.) first appeared in English in 1750?

Etiquette

F. Which company has the tagline ” we understand”?

Fedex

G. Symbol of Gold – Gold Council

H. What in India opened for first time at Bombay Dyeing Mill Compound, Mumbai – June 2006?

Hard Rock Cafe

I. Which government of India regulated body is chaired by him, his name is Sri Hari Narayan?

IRDA

J. Which writer started his career as a salesman of “The Book of Knowledge” in London in 1920s?

James Hadley Chase

K. Identify the brand? Through Pics – most of them got it from Pooja Bedi – Kamasutra

L. Maureen and Tony Wheelers – which publication?

Lonely Planet

M. Picture of Raju Brothers – Maytas

N. Bangalore based group boasts of keeping old traditional antique arts in India – Natesans

O. A 3i company who partnered with China- based Focus Media to bridge the gap between Indian advertisers and their audiences. Which company?

OOH Media

P. Which company was founded as Asahi Kogaky goshi Kausha in November 1919 by Kumao Kajiwara, at a shop in the Toshima suburb of Tokyo?

Pentax

Q. In July 1985, seven industry veterans cane together in the den of Dr. Irwin Jacobs San Diego home to build “Quality Communications”. What did they start ?

Qualcomm

R. What is common between India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Mauritius and Seychelles?

Rupee

S. It is produced by Hamdard Waqf in Ghaziabad, India. According to the package, it ” corrects the digestive system, relieves constipation, prevents and cures boils, pimples and skin eruptions.” what?

SAFI

T. Formerly Telecom Australia, the company was renamed in 1993. It was also formerly owned by the Australian Government. Who?

Telstra

U. It is another syonym for the term parasol. The word is from Latin, which inturn derives from the ancient Greek word meaning shade or shadow. What daily use object are we talking about?

Umbrella

V. With whom would you associate NexGen, Excite, @home network, Juniper Networks, Cerent, Corvis and LS9?

Vinod Khosla

W. World Bank Logo

X. “the sphere of connectivity design” is the new logo of which company?

Xerox

Y. Started in 1770 they are remembered for their association with Twiggy, Jean Shripton and incorporating product designs from some of the world’s most famous renowned designers including Reco Capey. Who?

Yardley

Z. Who is this executive director from the world of film production? Pic

Zarina Mehta

– Post From My iPhone

Related posts:

1. Tata Crucible 2009 – Chennai Edition Review and Prelims
2. MOP Bustle 2009 – Take a Bow, Mitesh
3. Brand Equity 2009 – Review & Prelim

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