"Goldukku Hallmark, Wineukku TASMAC, Quizukku Landmark"

Kolkata might be the quizzing capital of India, but Chennai does have an active quizzing circuit which could one day stake a strong claim to be the new quizzing capital. The Landmark quiz has grown in strength and it is a common sight to see participants waiting outside the venue (Music Academy) to take the quiz. I have been to few of these quizzes (as an audience and also as a participant). During one such quiz I was surprised to see actress Kasthuri (she has acted in Aathma, Chinnavar and Enga Mudhalali) as a finalist. Later on I came to know that she is a regular in the Chennai quizzing circuit. Ace quizzer Ramanan seems to have had a field day. Rajiv Rai (one of the members of the winning team) is also a seasoned quizzer. He was a Chennai regional winner and a national finalist in the Brand Equity Quiz few years ago.

Getting to know the names of the various teams in itself is a very enjoyable thing. There is a prize for the most creative team name as well. Some of the names, which teams came up with this year, are Nawabs of Mahabs & Intel Inside Mental Outside.

I also attended a Business Line Ad Club Business Quiz and ThayirSaadham was my partner in crime. The fact that the participants got a complimentary breakfast at Taj Connemara was one of the attractions of the Ad Club Quiz. My only claim to fame in the Brand Equity Quiz was when I got a Levi’s T-shirt as an audience prize.

It was surprising to note that Dr. Navin Jayakumar (of Sankara Nethralaya) was not the quizmaster this time. Derek O’Brien donned the role of the quizmaster. With more corporate sponsors, the quizzing scene is definitely looking up. This year saw the introduction of the Tata Crucible Quiz. The Brand Equity Quiz is also getting bigger and better every year. KBC 2 also seems to be wooing the TV audience. Lot of quizzers seem to have a presence in the Blog world as well.