As the quiz temperature soars: Avid quizzers Jyothi Mohan and Abhirami G. apparently discuss an answer at a previous edition of the world quiz championship in KozhikodeQuizzing is an intense and fiercely played game and there is so much to say of it. So, it really is a challenge to decide on a topic to start with.
Should we start with the mythology and history of this game? Or should we talk about the various famous quizzers in the circuit? After all, there are dozens of celebrities in India who were once excellent quizzers during their school and college days, like, for example, Raghuram Rajan – better known to us as the former governor of the Reserve Bank of India; and Nandan Nilekani, who even met his future wife at a quiz event. There are people like Shashi Tharoor who started the Quiz Club of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. Scores of civil servants also have an excellent track record in quizzing. But, maybe, a write-up about the young prodigies of quizzing would be a better opener? Another good idea would be to start with the prominent quizzes among the thousand-odd ones that happen in Kerala throughout the year. But then what about the quizmasters? They never get the attention they deserve. Totally confused!
On second thoughts, however, I think we could start with something unique – something that represents the quizzing world as a whole, which sees both quizzers and non-quizzers unite. One of the biggest quizzing festivals in the world, the Reverberate series.
Conceptualized by Quiz Kerala, the first registered quiz society in Kerala, the event features quizzes by core quizzers including Nithish T. Jacob and K. Nishad (both of the Quiz Society of India), Biju Narayanan, and Linju N.K. Other flagship events include a couple quiz for a mixed-gender team hosted by A.R. Ranjith, the quizmaster-showman, who literally thrills the participants and audience alike, and the Malayalam Movie Quiz by Rajesh Mohanan.
Arguably one of the largest quizzing festivals in the world, students, professionals, and quizzing enthusiasts from all walks of life from across South India will be traveling to Kozhikode for a long weekend full of biriyani, sulaimani, halwa, and, of course, quizzing.
So, what sets Reverberate apart as a quiz festival?
For one, the diversity of topics. If quizzes about food and diseases feature in some editions, there are events about places in Malayalam movies and politics in other editions. Even though a quiz is seen by some to be a dry event with no scope for much feeling, Reverberate is an event which truly proves that it is not so. One can be witness to a fantastic range of emotions as the quiz temperature soars - from the 'ohhhhs' to 'aahs;' the hugs of excitement after working out an answer; the enthusiasm of the fully packed audience to shout out answers; to the tears after messing up with just one question and losing the entry to the finals; the art of hitting the buzzers in a fraction of a second after hearing a sliver of the question and taking the risk of anticipating the remaining 90%.
One interesting aspect about the festival is the lineup of civil service officers conducting quizzes. It all started with A. Jayathilak, IAS, the then collector of Kozhikode helming a quiz for the very first edition in October 2006. Later editions witnessed the turn up of a large number of such officers, all quizzing enthusiasts, in and around Malabar as both participants and quizmasters. Senior IAS officer and a celebrity quizzer during his college days, A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, IAS, is a regular quizmaster at the event, with his entertaining food quizzes. The India Quiz by Jeevan Babu, IAS, aptly titled Himasagar Express (the train that travels from Kashmir to Kanyakumari) is a well-attended event of the fest. Pacha Malayalam by Alby John, a quiz that has recorded the highest participation in many editions, is also a highlight. The quizzes done by civil service trainers Remya Roshni, IPS (ex), and her husband, P.T. Arun, IPoS (ex), also draw huge crowds. P. Sarin (ex IA&AS), Ajay Joy, Nirmal Joy, Harikrishna Pai are the other civil service officers who had donned the quizmaster's robe in earlier editions. Shamin Sebastian, revenue divisional officer, Kozhikode, is another regular visitor to the fest as mentor, participant, and quizmaster.
The main strength of the festival is the way it attracts a range of people apart from regular quizzers. In previous editions, even first standard students could be seen enthusiastically working out the answers in a quiz for junior students, while at the same time you could see eighty-year-olds patiently waiting for the next quiz.
The main auditorium of Malabar Christian College will be the venue of the fest this time too as in the previous three editions.
From movie buffs to foodies and everyone in between, the fest has something for everyone. There are many families who attend the quizzes with enthusiasm, like that of T.V. Sulaiman, a lecturer in pharmacology at Government Medical College, Kozhikode, and a quizmaster in the fest since 2006. His son Raziman, currently pursuing his PhD in Switzerland, became the youngest quizmaster so far, when he did the Sci-Tech quiz titled Tachyons when he was just 17 years old. His younger brother Sulyab, currently doing an internship in Seoul, has also been part of the event from the very first edition as participant, researcher, technical assistant, and quizmaster.
There are dozens of families who take a break from their hectic schedule, enjoy 3-4 days of quizzing and go back to their homes in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and New Delhi. Quizzers from major IITs , IIMs & NITs also come down to Kozhikode for the event as 12-20 quizzing sessions at a stretch are something no quizzer can afford to miss.
Representational imageParticipants from major medical, dental, nursing, engineering and arts & science colleges too take part. This is apart from the schoolchildren who turn up in large numbers.
And the biggest of all, the event that determines the official World Champion in quizzing and also determines the world ranking of a quiz player – World Quizzing Championship (WQC) - organized in 100+ cities across the world by the International Quizzing Association, London, is the highlight of the fest since 2008. It is this venue in Kozhikode that recorded the highest number of participants in the world!
This year, celebrity quizmasters of Kerala, grandmaster G.S. Pradeep and Rekha Menon, will make their debut in the fest. Pradeep will do a quiz titled Big Bang, a chance for quizmasters of the fest to prove their mettle, and Rekha will do a quiz for women titled No: 20 Rekha Mail.
National-level quiz wizards from Kerala Abdul Vahid (general quiz); Feny Joy (joining N. Prasanth, IAS, for the Malayalam movie quiz titled second class ticket); Jis Sebastian (biz quiz titled Jis in the Wall Street); Unnikrishnan Menon (English language-themed general quiz); S. Shafeeq, IRS, from Bengaluru; with his quiz on religion & mythology; Anand Bhantia, IRAS (joining Mir Mohammed Ali, IAS, for the Hollywood-Bollywood Quiz titled English Vinglish) will also conduct quizzes in the 4-day event.
The eleventh edition of Reverberate will be held at Malabar Christian College, from 2 June to 5 June. It promises to be, as usual, full of fun, knowledge, and entertainment. As a lover of quizzing, knowledge, and the sheer thrill that a well-worked-out answer gives, I hope to see you there.
(Snehaj is an avid quizzer, quizmaster and director, South India, International Quizzing Association (IQA), Asia Chapter)
