Hyderabad Quiz Club

KQA MegaWhats 2009

2009-12-07T01:50:00.000-08:00

Mega-Whats is a quiz designed to answer the question ‘Which is India’s best open quizzing team?’.

The operative word here is ‘open’; anybody can form a team to participate, and any team can win. The syllabus, to preempt the obvious question, is surprise.

The quiz will be held across nine cities simultaneously--Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa, Thrissur, Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and Kolkata.

Date: Sunday, 13 December 2009

Venue: Vasavi Hall AC Auditorium(3rd floor), Opp Sensation Theatre, Khairtabad, Hyderabad.

Entry fee: Rs. 150 per team

General quiz, open to all
Teams of FOUR members (or less).
Prior registration is essential.
To register, please email kqaquizzes@gmail.com with Mega-Whats 2009 and the city you are competing from in the subject-header.
Please provide the names of the four people who comprise your team in the email–also indicate whether you are taking part in the school or open categories
Email registrations will close on Sunday 6th December 2009. Centre coordinators will allow entries after the cut-off date at their discretion.
Please note that the quizzing community in your city may charge an entry fee to meet venue and equipment hire expenses. For Hyderabad this entry fee will be Rs.150 per team.
The school category is open only to teams comprising students from Std. VIII-X .
School teams ( Std. VIII-X) are allowed free entry. A school may field a maximum of TWO teams (of four members each)
Please report by 1430hrs at the venue in your city. The quiz will start at 1500hrs (sharp) and end by 1730hrs.
Contesting teams will answer a written quiz of six sections and about sixty questions, inclusive of audios, videos and visuals.
Answers and scores will be announced on the same day–prizes will be given out for Best School Team and Best Open Team.
Prizes for Open and School category winners.
We will also announce a national winner and rank the top 100 teams across the country–this list will go up by the 25th of December.
The rankings will be announced after adjudication. The decision of the quiz-master will be final and binding on all participants.

For more details, please email kqaquizzes@gmail.com, or call Arul Mani (097312-14519) or visit www.kqaquizzes.org

General Quiz for Corporates and B-School students

2009-11-10T03:13:00.000-08:00

A General Quiz for Corporates and B-School students is planned for teams of 2 members to help raise funds for charity. Details are given below:

Date : Saturday, November 21, 2009
Time : 1pm - 5:30 pm
Registration : 12:30 pm
Prelims : 1 pm
Finals : 2:30 pm
Venue : C.E.S.S ( Centre for Economic and Social Studies), Ameerpet, Hyderabad ( http://www.cess.ac.in/CessHome/locationmap1.htm )

QMs : Nitish Khadiya & Diwakar Pingle

Participation Fee : Rs. 5000/- for one team or Rs. 4,000/- per team if there are more than 2 teams from the same institution

PRIZES :
Winners : approximately worth Rs. 15,000/-
1st runners up : appro. worth Rs . 8,000/-
2nd runners up : appro. worth Rs . 5,000/-

The team participation fee should be treated as a donation for charity and the donation will be tax exempt under Section 80 G of the Income Tax. Cheque/ D.D. should be made in favour of Concern India foundation.

The quiz is open to teams of 2 members wherein both the team members must belong to the same corporate institution or must be students of the same B-School. Participants are requested to carry ID Cards/Letters from HR/Principal for identification purposes.

For any further clarifications please contact :
Laxmi Sukumaran
Concern India Foundation
Flat No:403, Nirman Towers
East Marredpally
Hyderabad-500 026
Tel:+91-40-2773 1460 / 2773 4936

Prelims of the Greenko Hyderabad Open Quiz 2009

2009-08-04T04:25:00.000-07:00

HQC Open 2009 Prelims

Greenko Hyderabad Open: Traffic Restrictions in the city tomorrow

2009-07-31T03:24:00.000-07:00

Seems like the traffic on SP Road will be diverted or stopped tomorrow due to the Vice President's visit to the city. As per popular newspapers, the timing of the diversions are 12:15 pm to 1 pm and 3:30 pm to 4 pm in the SP Road area, but it can go a little beyond given the nature of such things. The traffic in and around Rajbhawan road and Khairatabad area will be affected from 2pm -4 pm. Please do factor this in while trying to reach the venue tomorrow.

The gates of the auditorium will open at 1:45 pm so please try and be at the venue on time.

Greenko Hyderabad Open Quiz 2009

2009-07-24T00:36:00.000-07:00

We're back. The gori details...

Date: 1st August (Saturday)

Time:
2:30 pm – Written Elimination Round

4:45 pm – Finals (We expect the finals to finish by 7:15 pm)

Please land up at least 30 minutes before the quiz and get cracking. We are sincere in our attempt to be Nazi about punctuality.

Venue: Hari Hara Kala Bhavan, Secunderabad (see below for map)

Team Size: Teams of 3

Eligibility: Must have pulse. Central nervous system desirable but not mandatory.

Entry Fee: Nil. Zero. Zip. Nada. There is no need for any registration either.

Prizes
First Prize – Rs. 18,000 cash
Second Prize – Rs. 12,000 cash
Third Prize – Rs. 9,000 cash

Prizes for all finalists + Top 3 School Teams + Best Corporate Team + Audience Prizes

A splendid time is guaranteed for all. Official website is here.

Map (click to enlarge):

Greenko Hyderabad Open 2009

2009-07-05T23:06:00.000-07:00

The Hyderabad Open is back!! Please save the date and look for more details on the blog as well as the website:

Date: 1st August 2009
Time : 3pm - 7:30 pm (tentative)
Venue: Hari Hara Kala Bhavan, Secunderabad

Phase Forward ACE 2009 Corporate Quiz

2009-05-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

The Hyderabad chapter of Asha, in association with Phase Forward and the Indian School of Business present their annual summer fund-raising even, the Phase Forward ACE 2009 Corporate Quiz.

Date: 13^th June, 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Venue: Khemka Auditorium, ISB, Gachi Bowli, Hyderabad

Quizmasters: Quizerati

Entry: Rs. 1000 per team of 2

More details, entry forms, FAQ etc. on the website.

Do help Asha by being a sponsor or participant, and with publicity etc.

Mahaquizzer 2009

2009-05-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

FYI

From: Arul Mani - arulmani_98 [AT] yahoo [DOT] com

Hello,

We will hold the fifth edition of Mahaquizzer across 12 cities on Sunday, 24 May 2009. The cities where centres are being offered are Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Thrissur and Mysore. If we are able to obtain permission, Singapore will also figure among the venues.

Mahaquizzer is the National Quizzing Championship. It is open to single entrants. There is no entry fee. Contestants are required to answer 150 questions over 90 minutes.

Mahaquizzer 2009 has been set by Arun Hiregange, Dibyendu Das, Thejaswi Udupa, Avinash Thirumalai and Ochintya Sharma.

Four prizes will be given out in each city: Best Quizzer, Best Woman Quizzer, Best College Quizzer and Best School Quizzer.

The person recording the highest score across all centres will hold the title of Mahaquizzer for 2009. She/he will also be awarded the Wing Commander G.R. Mulky Trophy for Quizzing Excellence.This trophy will be given in June 2009 during the KQA 26th Anniversary event.

You can have a look at previous editions of the quiz (2005-2008) here: http://kqaquizzes.org/quizzes/

Participants interested in registering should mail Mahaquizzer@gmail.com. Please mention the city where you would like to appear from in the subject-header. Please do mention age and institutional affiliations if you are a student. Since seating is limited in many centres, local coordinators will work on a first-come first-served basis. Please register by Sunday 17 May 2009 to avoid disappointment.

We are working on finalising the venues--a list with full addresses will be put up at http://kqaquizzes.org in a few days.

Please pass the information around at work and on other fora that you may have access to. Please do try and get friends who've never quizzed before to try out this quiz.

For clarifications or for more information , please call me at 97312-14519.

Thank you,

Best Regards

Arul Mani
Coordinator
Mahaquizzer 2009

K-Circle Quiz Fest

2009-02-25T23:29:00.000-08:00

K-Circle invites you to participate in the K-Circle Quiz Fest on March 7, 2009 at the Khemka Auditorium, Indian School of Business campus, Gachibowli, Hyderabad between 9am and 4 pm. The Quiz Fest consists of a Business Quiz and an Open Quiz.

Advance Registration Mandatory.

Participants are required to register in advance to participate. Participants must carry a Photo Identity Card with them. We solicit your cooperation in this regard.

Registration

The registration form is available on www.kcircle.com. Please fill in the form and mail it to kckcircle@gmail.com

Particulars of Quizzes:

Business Quiz: Teams of two from the same organization
Open Quiz: Teams of three. Any combination permitted.

Prize Money:

Rs 15,000 for each quiz

Open quiz on 8th of February

2009-02-04T00:05:00.000-08:00

The next quiz by HQC is on Sunday, the 8th of February.

Here are the details:

Quizmaster: Diwakar Pingle.

To borrow from Dharam paaji in Johnny Gaddaar, "It's not the age, it's the mileage." Like the pater familias he is, Diwakar has provoked feelings of fear, respect, admiration, and dare we say it, affection in the hearts and minds of quizzers across the peninsular and insular subcontinent for the better part of 2 decades. Many a callow lad has embarked on his quizzing career quivering in terror as the Ping's teammate, and having bashed on regardless through fire and brimstone, emerged on the other side as a fine quizzer and leader. Their experience is perhaps best described via General Freiherr Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg letter to Generalsfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel in July, 1944: "The recent battles in a theater of quizzing more exacting than any I had hitherto experienced have, in addition to providing me with my posting...and uniting me in purpose with yourself, wrought an inner change in me. Your quizzerly qualities and experience have transformed the temper of my obediance into something different and finer than the effort of will it had hitherto been. I feel I may ask you, Herr Field Marshal, to accept my thanks for the confidence you placed in me in those brief hard days of quizzing which we went through together..."

He has founded quizzing organizations in more than one city, helped foster and nourish them through a careful combination of carrot and stick (bludgeon, actually) and has set questions for some of the finest quizzes in recent memory. While he claims to specialize in sports, buisness, nature and science, ever so often he will whip out a completely uncharacteristic stunner of an answer involving wildebeest, Evil Kanievel (we don't even know how to spell it) and Raveena Tandon. Quite apart from quizzing, his sports mania now runs to running, and he has many half marathons under his belt (even if it doesn't show over the belt!).

Whew. What we're basically trying to say is that the man is ji heera hai heera. We hear he's doing a westward ho in a few months, and we will sorely miss his organizational skills and his ability to get us off our collective butts into doing something. Here's to you, old man; there's a reason why they say "Ping is King"!

Date: 8 February 2008, Sunday

Time: Please be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Seating will be on a first come first served basis. The quiz will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73
(see below for directions)

Format: Team quiz - Teams of 3 (or more) will be chosen from the participants at random.

Entry: A contribution of Rs. 25 per head.

Prizes: Gift vouchers worth Rs 1500/-

Directions: From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Contact: Nitish (98856 79460) and Ravi (94418 86489)

Few questions from the quiz on the 11th of January

2009-01-12T22:04:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the questions from yet another blockbuster quiz at HQC on the 14th of October done by Praveen.

1. Chewits,a British confectionary firm,released a list of most scary villains this Christmas.The Joker topped it. Darth Vader and Freddy Keuger came third and fourth.Who was second?

A: George W. Bush

2. ____ and _____ were the largest seafaring provinces in Netherlands and hence these two countries originally discovered by Dutch sailors were named as X and Y.While X later changed to Z the name Y stuck.Id X,Y,Z

A: X = Holland, Y = Zeeland, Z = Australia

3. X was so popular in England that the Germans aimed to make a fatal blow to the public confidence by attributing his death in 1915 to a Zeppelin attack. X?

A: W.G.Grace

4. This set of 30 people received an exclusive gift hamper set consisting of Nokia N-Series cell phones,a gold coin,a custom T-Shirt and personalized letter of thanks.Who and why?

A: The stars in the "all star" song from Om Shanti Om as they refused to charge money for appearance.

5. X died in prison on April 28, 1918 due to tuberculosis. Being too young to receive the death penalty X received the maximum sentence of twenty years in prison. What was he imprisoned for?

A: X was Gavrilo Princip, imprisoned for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which act precipitated World War I.

6. The first use of this term is attributed to Alfred Thayer Mahan an American naval strategist in an article published in Sept 1902
"The ___________, if I may adopt a term which I have not seen, will some day need its Malta, as well as its Gibraltar; it does not follow that either will be in the Persian Gulf. Naval force has the quality of mobility which carries with it the privilege of temporary absences; but it needs to find on every scene of operation established bases of refit, of supply, and in case of disaster, of security. The British Navy should have the facility to concentrate in force if occasion arise, about Aden, India, and the Persian Gulf "

A: Middle East

7. The kidnapping & murder Adam Walsh was a landmark case in the US bringing about a number of changes like establishment of National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, The Code Adam program for helping lost children in department stores and also the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.Besides these,the murder also led to something very famous.What it is?

A: America's Most Wanted

8. The recent boxing day test match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka brought back a tradition last seen 13 years ago to facilitate the general elections held in the country.Which tradition?

A: Rest day

9. Mona Simpson is an American novelist and essayist who's written popular books like Anywhere But Here,Lost Father and A Regular Guy.She's the younger sister of X. Because X was placed for adoption as a baby by their then-unmarried parents, she first met her sibling only as an adult.ID X?

A report of the quiz will be up soon...
A: Steve Jobs

10. A particular graveyard in Burlington, Vermont is the only of its kind, with each addition made with huge fanfare.Who/what is buried in this graveyard?

A: Ben & Jerry's flavours

Open Quiz on 11th of January

2009-01-05T22:04:00.000-08:00

The next quiz by HQC is on Sunday, the 11th of January.

Here are the details:

Quizmaster: In a parallel universe Praveen is Steven Gerrard who is trying to save the world from evil decepticons from Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal among others. He is also the author of the best selling book 'Everything Red: How Liverpool and not 42 is the answer to life,universe and everything'.
While in this universe he is the next big quizzing superstar (which we believe), who also writes complex God-level codes (so we have been told) for Oracle and code-jam contests and it gives us immense pleasure to introduce Praveen as the quizmaster for the next HQC monthly on Sunday, 11th January.

Date: 11 January 2008, Sunday

Time: Please be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Seating will be on a first come first served basis. The quiz will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73
(see below for directions)

Format: Team quiz - Teams of 3. And we stick to our word of allowing you to participate with your own team.

Entry: A contribution of Rs. 25 per head => Rs. 75 per team.

Prizes: Gift vouchers worth Rs 1500/-

Directions: From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Contact: Nitish (98856 79460) and Ravi (94418 86489)

Report on the HQC monthly quiz on 14th December

2008-12-19T23:24:00.000-08:00

QM: Navneet Bal

Format: Teams of 2

Report: Navneet delivered a masterpiece of a quiz.

The attendence was low. While there are theories of pressing engagements and exams we blame it on the 'lazy Sunday morning' syndrome. The low attendence was however the perfect setting for a very serious and classic quiz by Navneet. As usual the quiz threw up a few new faces which again proved that as far as quizzing in Hyderabad is concerned, people needn't worry.

The quiz was divided into two infinite bounce rounds split by a breather. It was a fantastic quiz with a lot of questions on history, Geography, War, Sports and India.

Without being disrespectful to others a team consisting of Ravi and Praveen in a history, geography and war quiz was the team to beat. Despite a splendid performnace, Diwakar and Debjit fell short of beating the eventual winners. Team Priyambad and Afzaal finished a close third.

The venue as usual was provided by Innobox. A big thank you for them.

The quiz lasted almost two hours, and left the entire group thoroughly satisfied with having taken the effort to wake up and show up for the fantastic quiz. Thank you very much Navneet for a splendid quiz.

Winners:
1. Ravi, Praveen, Satish
2. Diwakar, Debjit
3. Priyambad, Afzaal

Thumbs Up
1. Great questions
2. Navneet (Finally a question on Ijazat :) )
3. As usual the fantastic venue
4. The Hitchcock question and the Micheal Holding question

Thumbs Down
3. None actually

Team HQC’s Note
Our thanks to everyone who took time off on a lazy Sunday morning to attend.

The next quiz will be by Praveen and is scheduled for 11th January, 2008 (Sunday) at the same time and in the same place. As it is 'Odyssey Quiz' time, people can come with their own 3 member teams for the January Monthly.

HQC monthly on 14th December - Some pics

2008-12-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

Have a look at the fantastic venue provided by Innobox to us.

We will soon put a review of the sensational quiz by Navneet. Till then do with some pics.

Navneet the quizmaster getting the applause.

Awe and shock for Sharda ! Debjit can't take it anymore !!

Kiddo unleashing his rendition of Raag Megh Malhaar on the hapless people

Some magic trick?

Open Quiz on 14th of December

2008-11-24T22:12:00.000-08:00

The next quiz by HQC is on Sunday, the 14th of December.
Here are the details:

Date: 14 December 2008, Sunday

Time: Please be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Seating will be on a first come first served basis. The quiz will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73
(see below for directions and map)

Format: Team quiz, with a little bit for everyone.

Entry: A contribution of Rs. 25 per head.
Teams of 3 (or more) will be chosen from the participants at random.

Prizes: Gift vouchers worth Rs 1500/-

Quizmaster: Navneet Bal

Directions:
From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Map:

Questions from the quiz on Nov 9th

2008-11-17T10:45:00.000-08:00

Questions from the delectable quiz that Lathish did:

1. This insect order consists of approximately 2,000 species worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. Their name is often misspelled since they are notoriously predatory, they are in fact named after their typical stance. The name derives from the Greek word for “prophet” or “fortune teller”. In Europe, the name refers to only a single species, _______religiosa. Their closest relatives are the orders Isoptera (termites) and Blattodea (cockroaches). Which insects?

A: Preying/Praying mantis

2. Ancient Greek grammarian Dionysius Thrax is credited with their creation. An anonymous author of the 1733 book The English Accidence called them “the foundation upon which the beautiful fabric of the language stands.” John Stuart Mill felt they represented the universal categories of human thought. There was a lot of shuffling around until Joseph Priestley’s 1761 Rudiments of English Grammar finally estd. the baseball size line up. They have been generally accepted for the last quarter-millennium. What?

A: Parts of Speech

3. The origins of _____ date back at least to Roman times, to a game called paganica and reached Britain by 400AD (although the Chinese claim to have invented it by 2500 BC) It developed towards its modern form in Scotland where the first written reference comes in a decree which was actually released to encourage the royal sport of archery. It ran "futeball and ______ be utterly cryit doune and not usit." Its name is thought to have been derived from Dutch word for "club" or from an Old Scots word meaning "cuff" or "strike hard.“

A: Golf

4. What was the term coined by English romance novelist and screenwriter Elinor Glyn to describe actress Clara Bow as she appeared in a 1927 Hollywood silent film ?

A: The "It" Girl

5. The nickname of Martha _____ Canary (1852-1903) of Deadwood South Dakota. She behaved like a cowboy but was generally unlucky in nefarious activities and brought catastrophe on her associates. Eleven of her twelve husbands died untimely deaths. She dressed, swore and shot like a man eventually went into show business and threatened ‘_______’ to any man who offended her.

A: Calamity Jane

6: X was the elder son of Shantanu and Satyavati. He ascended the throne of Hastinapura, and was very successful which angered a Gandharva king of the same name. They fought an even matched duel before X was slain and Vichitravirya ascended the throne.
In another episode, Arjuna’s wanderings took him to ancient Manipur where he meets princess Y, the daughter of the king of Manipur and falls in love. According to the matrimonial customs of Manipur, the children born of Y were the heirs and were not allowed to be taken away. Arjuna agreed to this stipulation and finally wed the princess. X and Y?

A: X= Y = Chitrangada

7. DVD cover of which movie?

A: Zodiac

8: Who is behind the questions mark?

A: Salman Rushdie

9: Cover of what?

A: Modesty Blaise's first book

10 : Whose signing ?

A: Bruce Springsteen

Open Quiz on 9 November

2008-10-28T00:03:00.000-07:00

The next monthly quiz is scheduled for November 9 (Sunday). The gory details:

Date: 9 November 2008, Sunday

Time: Please be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Seating will be on a first come first served basis. The quiz will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73
(see below for directions and map)

Format: Team quiz. Teams of 3 (or more) will be chosen from the participants at random.

Entry: A contribution of Rs. 25 per head.

Prizes: Gift vouchers worth Rs 1500/-

Quizmaster: Lathish Venugopal

Directions:
From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Map:

Contact: Nitish (98856 79460), Priyambad (99484 53388), Ravi (94418 86489)

Report on the 12 October - HQC Monthly Quiz

2008-10-16T01:20:00.001-07:00

QM: Pradeep Ramarathnam (In absentia as he was busy participating in a quiz in Bombay / Pune) – Was done by Nitish instead who did a commendable job by sacrificing a place for the spoils – Dude you deserve your Biryani (will see what I can do)

Format: Teams of 4. There were exactly 32 people in 8 teams ap.

Report: Pradeep, the quizmaster couldn’t be here as he was busy participating in a quiz faraway in Pune and had sent us the questions. Nitish had to become the quizmaster for the day and did a commendable job.

In terms of attendance, the quiz was just perfect with exactly 32 people in 8 teams. A lot of new faces were present which was a very healthy sign as far as quizzing in Hyderabad is concerned.

The quiz was divided into two infinite bounce rounds split by a written round and a theme round. The theme round had some memorable questions but was too elementary to crack. Most of the teams went around it and missed it.

It was a sensational quiz nonetheless. The quiz was full of brilliant questions without becoming too obscure – Super show Pradeep.

In a very close finish the team of Diwakar, Raghavendra, Vishal and Navneet pipped the team comprising Chandu, B.Aditya and Vignesh. Team Raghu, Muneer and Rahul Girish finished a close third.

The venue as usual was provided by Innobox. A big thank you for them.

The quiz lasted almost two hours, and left the entire group thoroughly satisfied with having taken the effort to wake up early on an otherwise sleepy day.

Winners:
1. Diwakar, Vishal, Raghavendra & Navneet
2. Chandu, Vignesh and B. Aditya.
3. Raghu, Rahul Girish & Muneer.

Thumbs Up
1. Great questions (Kudos to Pradeep)
2. Navneet (Neville D’Souza – How on earth!!!)
3. Cozy and comfortable (air-conditioned?!) venue
4. The P word questions and the BC questions. 
5. A questions on the KK (both of them )

Thumbs Down
1. Navneet fast becoming the new Ravi Mundoli (Back to back winner) 
2. Venue felt cramped (which actually was a good sign)
3. The Subhash Ghai connect 

Memorable Questions:
Sutta, Golden Fleece, Oscar Wilde, Dravid questions.

Team HQC’s Note
Our thanks to everyone who took time off on a lazy Sunday morning to attend.

The next quiz will be by Latish Venugopal (Ladeeshmogan of the Crucible fame) is scheduled for 9th November, 2008 (Sunday) at the same time and in the same place.

Open quiz in Hyderabad on 12th of October

2008-10-06T00:36:00.001-07:00

The next quiz by HQC is on Sunday, the 12th of October. Here are the details:

Date: 12 October 2008, Sunday

Time: Please be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Seating will be on a first come first served basis. The quiz will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73
(see below for directions and map)

Format: Team quiz, with a little bit for everyone.

Entry: A contribution of Rs. 25 per head.
Teams of 3 (or more) will be chosen from the participants at random.

Prizes: Gift vouchers worth Rs 1500/-

Quizmaster: Pradeep Ramarathnam of BQC (Bombay Quiz Club)

Directions:
From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Map:

Contact: Nitish (98856 79460), Priyambad (99484 53388)

Report on the 14 September Quiz

2008-09-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

The down and dirty on the 14 September 2008 edition of the HQC Monthly Quiz series. Thanks to Renu and Majji for the report (with minor editorial kirkiri).

QM: Ravi Mundoli, Priyambad Pattanayak, Nitish Khadiya, Diwakar Pingle (in absentia)

Format: Teams of 2 and 3. There were 20 odd people in 8 teams, in toto.

Report: Earlier this year, the QMs conducted the Greenko Hyd Open Quiz – which was the biggest quiz in recent years in Hyd and which was attended by some of the top quizzing teams in the country. The quiz this Sunday (Sept 14th) was essentially culled from the surplus questions of the aforementioned Open Quiz.

In terms of attendance, the quiz could have done better. Some of the usual suspects were missing perhaps because it was the day of Vinayaka Nimarjana or a lazy Sunday morning.

The quiz was divided into three rounds based on the level of difficulty: Plain Sailing, Base Camp and Summit Assault – a format inspired by the Quiz Mountain, apparently. Needless to say, the level of difficulty of questions in Summit Assault racked the brains of all present.

The questions ranged from word-origins to mythology to sports to movies, making sure all kinds of palates were satiated; and were of the top quality. In fact, some of us felt that quite a few of these should have made it to the Open Quiz in August.

Most of the teams did well in the Plain Sailing round (the round with the easy questions). It was the next 2 rounds - Base Camp and Summit Assault where the boys were separated from the men. Bhargav was in cracking form and could not have been stopped by anyone on that day. His team led from the beginning and had their hands on the top place by the time the rounds were reversed. Subbareddy and Sudhir – with their late surge in the final Summit Assault round - gave a run for the "coupons" to the team placed 2nd (Debjit & Co.), but it was too late to catch up.

The prizes in the form of coupons from Walden (and not Odyssey as always!). The venue – a small, comfy conference room with a seating of about 40, was provided by Innobox. The QM (Ravi Mundoli alias Kiddo) livened up the quiz with his easy style and sarcastic humour.

The 48 question quiz lasted an hour and a half, and left the entire group thoroughly satisfied with having taken the effort to wake up early on an otherwise sleepy day.

Winners:
1. Bhargav & Navneet
2. Debjit & Co.
3. Subbareddy & Sudhir Pai.

Thumbs Up
1. Great questions (Kudos to Diwakar, Priyambad, Nitish & Ravi)
2. Ravi
3. Bhargav (superlative performance!)
4. Cozy and comfortable (air-conditioned?!) venue

Thumbs Down
1. Not enough participation
2. Venue a tad difficult to locate
3. Some of the questions were possibly mis-classified i.e. we didn't judge the difficulty properly. --Ed
4. Power went off and on a couple of times. --Ed

Memorable Questions
Coaches of the Palace on Wheels, creamy layer, Bharuch/Kalyan, Kishore Kumar, flags of convenience

Quizmasters' Note
Our thanks to everyone who took time off on a potentially troublesome Sunday morning to attend. In particular, we were thrilled to play host to the new K-Circle executive committee! Of course, none of this would've been possible without Innobox's continued support, so thanks for that too.

The next quiz will be by Pradeep Ramarathnam of the BQC is tentatively scheduled for 12th October, 2008 (Sunday) at the same time and in the same place.

Open Quiz on 14 September

2008-09-08T02:52:00.000-07:00

The Open Quiz turned out to be a bit of a surprise. 178 teams showed up. 178!!! Who would've thunk it that 500 people would be interested in a quiz conducted by an unknown little quiz group? A bunch of pictures are here.

The reason why we've been so silent so far is because we were recovering from the shock!

And we come back to you now, with the regular monthly quiz series, beginning with the second Sunday of September. The gory details:

Date: 14 September 2008, Sunday

Time: Please be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Seating will be on a first come first served basis. The quiz will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

Venue:
Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd.
#G19, Ground Floor,
Swarnajayanthi Complex,
SR Nagar, Hyderabad -73
(see below for directions and map)

Format: Team quiz, with a little bit for everyone, with a Top Secret Ultra Cool Mega Attractive Quiz Mountain format.

Entry: Free, open. However :), quiz clubs do not run on enthusiasm and curiosity alone, and a little something from you (since we don't collect membership fees) will help us keep the flag flying. We suggest a contribution of Rs. 25 per head.

Teams of 3 (or more) will be chosen from the participants at random.

Prizes: Prizes for podium finishes (no national anthems!), as usual!!

Quizmasters: Ravi Mundoli, Nitish Khadiya, Diwakar Pingle, Priyambad Pattanayak

Directions:
From Punjagutta, take the road that goes towards Ameerpet. Cross the Fantoosh-greenlands road junction. Keep going on the road till you see HUDA Complex- Maitrivanam on the RIGHT. Swarnajayanti Complex is the complex immediately after the HUDA complex on the RIGHT.

Map:

Contact: Ravi (94418 86489), Nitish (98856 79460)

Greenko - Hyderabad Open Quiz Prelims questions (non audio-video)

2008-08-08T05:58:00.000-07:00

The cover of a book by Narendra Luther. What is the title?
With reference to the human anatomy, the first seven sets of these are known as True, the next three sets are False and the next two are called the Floating. What?
This famous food item is made not from besan, as elsewhere in India , but from ground moth pulse, the only crop that flourishes in this arid land. A secret ingredient is a good fistful of fine, clean, desert sand mixed into the dough. These, together with the region's bone-dry air, are what give it that special crispness and long shelf life. What food item are we talking about?
Complete this quote attributed to Sam Manekshaw: “Anyone who says he doesn’t know fear is either lying or is a _________.”
Called the Ursus maritimus, this is the world's largest predator found on land. An adult male weighs around 300–600 kg , while an adult female is about half that size. The IUCN now lists global warming as the most significant threat to this animal, primarily because this reduces its ability to find sufficient food. What?
Listen to the piece. Identify the lead vocalist.
The US benchmark for pricing this commodity is West Texas Intermediate while the British and European benchmark is the variety that we are all familiar with. Other varieties include Saharan Blend from Algeria, Girassol from Angola, Minas from Indonesia, Iran Heavy, Basra Light from Iraq, Kuwait Export, Es Sider from Libya, Bonny Light from Nigeria, Saudi Arabia's Arab Light, Murban from theEmirates and BCF 17 from Venezuela. What commodity?
This was co-founded by Dick Durrell as a spin-off from Time magazine. Its first managing editor, Richard Stolley, characterized the magazine as “getting back to the people who are causing the news and who are caught up in it, or deserve to be in it. Our focus is on people, not issues.” The magazine is perhaps best known for its yearly special issues naming “The Most Beautiful People”, “The Best and Worst Dressed”, and “The Sexiest Man Alive”. What?
Connect the visual to the audio piece you will hear.
The Beijing National Stadium which will host the opening and closing ceremony of the Olympics and the track & field events has a nickname because of the way it looks. What is it?
These two words come from two Sanskrit words meaning “fear” and “sound”. Traditionally they were devotees of Lord Shiva and they lived in and around cremation ghats. It is said they exorcised the spirits of the dead. They have given their names to two musical ragas. Name either.
Take a look at the visual. Identify the country that has introduced currencies in such denominations.
Manuel Santana was the first person from a particular country to win a prestigious event in 1966. Who is the second person?
He is referred to by the title “King of Darkness”. He is treated as a personification of darkness itself even though he was once a human being who later became very powerful and committed many evil deeds. His trademark quote is “Andhera kaayam rahe!” (“May darkness persist!”), which is also used by his followers. It is said that the source of his strength is one-half of the Shakti Punj which he obtained by trickery. Who is this great villain?
On 7 July 2008, this Indian tourist attraction joined among others Melaka and George Town in Malaysia, the Kuk Early Agricultural Site in Papua New Guinea, Stari Grad Plain in Croatia, the fortifications of Vauban in France, Berlin Modernism Housing Estates in Germany, Mantua and Sabbioneta in Italy, San Marino Historic Center and Mount Titano, and the Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the Carpathian Mountain area as additions to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Which one?
The aquatic part of the larger Silk Route, passes through this place. From the 7th to the 13th centuries, this island was controlled by the Srivijaya empire based in Sumatra. The city then changed hands several times before coming under the influence of the Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th century. After the fall of Malacca to the Portuguese in 1511, it came under the control of the Malay Sultanate of Johore. Which city?
The constellation called Mensa is the only one in the universe to be named for a terrestrial feature. Which one?
Take a look at the map. Whose journey is it depicting?
Watch this video. What very famous painting are they trying to recreate?
Guru Gorakhnath visited the palace of Narbhupal Shah, a ruler of a small region. The wandering ascetic offered a bowl of curd to Prithvinarayan, the son of Narbhupal, who threw the bowl to the ground - a portion of the curd spattering to his feet. From this occurrence, the Guru predicted that Prithivinarayan would have the world at his feet and would rule a large kingdom. However, this new kingdom would be ruled only till the 12th generation of the Shah dynasty. The first part of the prophecy did come true and Prithivinarayan established a kingdom. Coincidentally the last part othe prophecy also came true when the 12th generation of the dynasty became the last to rule this kingdom. Who was the last king belonging to the 12th generation ?
Identify the person you see in this visual.
With respect to the United States, how would you better know: The Federal National Mortgage Association and The Federal Home Mortgage Corporation.
Vultures in India are being driven to extinction due to the use of the drug Diclofenac, which is given to cattle and in turn is a poison for vultures. The Bombay Natural History Society’s efforts to conserve vultures are being supported by members of a certain religion, because vultures play an important part in their tradition. Which religion?
“Quota-1” means West A Zone, West B Zone, North A Zone, North B Zone, Central Zone, East Zone, South Zone. “Quota-2” means minimum 50% between 18 - 35 years of age. “Quota – 3” means minimum 25% women. This quota system is the basis for selecting people for what TV programme?
“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens is about which two cities?
Even though it is not an ore producing region, Rewari in Rajasthan has been known for its brasswork and metal craft. Historians attribute the popularity of this profession to the fact that it was started by an emperor from Rewari. Trusting only his kith and kin, he asked them to manufacture the weapons for his army and sowed the seeds for the industry. Who was this Hindu emperor who ascended the throne of Delhi ?
The last movie in which this person will be seen is “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus”. Which is the second last one?
Identify the person you see in this stamp.
What might this chart help you derive?
In Norse mythology Bifrost is the bridge leading from Midgard, the realm of mortals, to Asgard, the realm of the gods, which the gods travel daily to hold their councils and pass judgments at Urdarbrunn. The bridge is guarded by Heimdall and is destroyed at the end of the world, Ragnarok. How do we know the bridge commonly?
Take a look at the video. Identify the Nobel laureate in the video.
Baobab is a rare medicinal tree and is the national tree of Madagascar and is known colloquially in Africa as the “upside-down tree”. The diameter of the tree varies between 5 and 7 metres. Once it dries up, the hollow part of the tree is used as a natural hut by some African tribes. In India, there are only 9 such trees. 5 of them are found in Ranchi's Doranda area and people believe the tree has spiritual powers. How do we know it in India as?
Literally meaning two rivers, this term is used in India and Pakistan for a tract of land lying between two confluent rivers. It designates the flat alluvial tract between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in western and south-western Uttar Pradesh, extending from the Shivalik range to the two rivers' confluence at Allahabad. What region?
The visual shows two official residences of this person. Which is the third one?
GOLKONDA which produced many diamonds had a mnemonic to remember it. The diamonds mined which made up the mnemonic were:

G - Great Table
OL - Orloff
KO - Kohinoor
N - ?
DA - Darya-i-Noor. What does N stand for?

Report on the Greenko - Hyderabad Open Quiz

2008-08-07T03:07:00.000-07:00

Quizmaster – Diwakar Pingle

Content Team – Diwakar Pingle, Ravi Mundoli, Nitish Khadiya, Priyambad

Format: Prelims consisting of 35 questions (1 mark each) with 10 tie-breaker questions. Finals: 5 rounds on round robin basis with a special environment round and a Wipe the Grid round. To even the scoring chances one of the normal rounds was based on a patented algorithm :).

Thumbs Up:
• Huge audience – 300 teams registered and 178 teams participated
• About 800-900 people in the auditorium
• Representation from many major cities like Bombay, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and major quiz clubs like QFI, KQA and BQC
• The questions covered a lot of varied topics – so we think
• Balanced set of questions – so we think
• Finished the quiz bang on time – The last question being asked at 7:30 p.m
• Your feedback is essential and please do comment on this post

Thumbs Down:
• The school kids were disappointed by a high-standard finals (We promise to do a school quiz next year for the kids)
• Some teams cribbing about seating arrangements – The teams had the option of picking their spots in the finals (Should put an end to all cribs)
• The power failure – We couldn’t help it what with the acute power shortage in Andhra Pradesh. (But then Andhera Kaayam Rahe)
• Your feedback is essential and please do comment on this post

Memorable questions: You tell us. (Other than the Blade Runner and the Wittgenstein questions which we know were sensational, weren’t they :))

1st: We Are Like This Wonly (WALTO) – Anustup Dutta, Ochintya Sharma and Apu from Bangalore
2nd: Ping(Le) Is King – Arul Mani, Vinod Ganesh, Jayakantan from Banglore/Chennai
3rd: Travelling Pillsburys – Rajiv Rai, Vibhendu, Sumant Srivatsan from Bombay.

With a tremendous performance ‘WALTO’ romped home winners with ‘Ping is King’ being a distant second. A great debut by ‘Rangeele from Rangoon’ who we hope will definitely improve by the time we are back for the next round. The Quizzing Royalty of India dished up a fantastic show and whetted the appetite of Hyderabadis hungry for quality Open quizzes. A majority of questions were cracked while a few passed all the teams only to be cracked by the intelligent Junta of Hyderabad. All the Prelims Questions from this quiz will be posted soon.

Thanking all the sponsors of this huge Open – GREENKO, TMC, Novotel Accor Group, Odyssey Books and Leisure Stores, Sun Direct for their support to make the event a big success; All the participants for turning up and putting up a great show; and above all the intelligent junta of Hyderabad for their enthusiasm.

Not to forget Odyssey Leisure Stores, Junior Chambers, Innobox and K – Circle for the year round support for our monthly meetings.

See you next year.
Happy Quizzing till then…

Online Quizzes - Teaser before the HQC Open

2008-07-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

The daily online quizzes preceding the Greenko Hyderabad Open Quiz have begun from Monday, the 28th of July, 2008.

There will be a quiz put up on the website, www.hyderabadquiz.org everyday and one lucky winner, answering the maximum number of questions correctly will win gift vouchers from Planet M.

For detailed rules and the online quizzes, please visit www.hyderabadquiz.org.

The Greenko Hyderabad Open Quiz

2008-07-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

We now have a website.

We're also thrilled to be supported by the Greenko Group in our first open quiz

Date: 2^nd August (Saturday)

Time:
Prelims: 2:30 p.m. (Teams to be in their seats by 2:00 p.m.)
Finals: 5:00 p.m.

Venue: Hari Hara Kala Bhavan

Prizes: Rs. 30,000++ !!

Eligibility: Must have pulse. Central nervous system desirable but not mandatory.

Entry Fee: Nil. Zero. Zip. Nada.

More details.

Register.

A splendid time is guaranteed for all, apparently.