BANGALORE // On a recent Sunday evening, a few dozen people sat in a first-floor lecture hall on Queen's Road, thinking hard about Audrey Hepburn.
Hepburn was shown in a photograph on a PowerPoint slide, standing on a flight of stairs in a lipstick-red dress, her arms aloft and trailing a stole behind her. The photo, the slide revealed, was from the 1957 movie Funny Face. The question was: "What is Audrey Hepburn trying to do here?"
The crowd was not made up exclusively of cinephiles or Hepburn fanatics; that same evening, they had also thought hard about bacteria, Inuit snow goggles, the US astronaut Sally Ride, and the Crimean war, among other things.
Instead, they were quizzers, and this was one of the Karnataka Quiz Association's (KQA's) regular quiz meetings, where teams of four competed first in a written preliminary and then, if they qualified, in an eight-team final.
As always, there were no rich prizes at stake. The quizzers were participating purely for the thrill of working out an answer - working out, for example, that Hepburn was standing in the Louvre and replicating the pose of the ancient Greek statue, Winged Victory of Samothrace.
This year, the KQA turns 30, cementing its position as India's leading association of amateur quizzers. It conducts some of the country's most anticipated quizzes, fields some of the strongest teams, and is spreading the culture of quizzing not only across India but also overseas.
Its members conduct quizzes as far afield as Dubai and Kuwait, and its international written quiz Mindsweep, for solo participants, is held simultaneously in the UAE, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Estonia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia.
The KQA conducts roughly 60 quizzes a year that are open to any team that pays an entry fee of between 50 and 100 rupees (Dh6.75). Its members also conduct 10 inter-school quizzes and five inter-college quizzes for university students in the state each year. The KQA's members fund these quizzes by conducting quiz events for corporations, Rotary Club chapters, or big college events.
"Quizzing in India used to be a regional activity, with quiz clubs in each city," said Gopal Kidao, a senior member of the Quiz Foundation of India in Chennai, the capital of neighbouring Tamil Nadu state. "But the KQA has taken it to a national-level activity, broadening the base of quizzers."
Like many others, Mr Kidao travels regularly to Karnataka's capital, Bangalore, to take part in the KQA's quizzes because, above all else, they make for riveting quizzing. "They are well-researched, they have interesting topics, and they have seasoned quizmasters."
One of these quizmasters, Arul Mani, a professor of English literature at Bangalore's St Joseph's College, has been a KQA member since 1985, when he was in the ninth grade. Mr Mani had attended other quizzes before and found them "intimidating", shutting people out rather than inviting them in, and favouring people who memorised facts.
The quizzes by Wing Commander GR Mulky, a retired military officer who was one of the founders of the KQA, were different, Mr Mani found. "His quizzes were gloriously unpredictable," he said. "He also had style. His questions never merely repeated information, but offered playful tweaks and bits of extra."
Rajeev Gowda, the founding secretary of the KQA and now a professor at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, said the essence of the organisation - "keeping things really low cost, accessible" - has not changed.
"The mindset has never been commercial," Mr Gowda said. "But the way in which it has expanded its activities, across India and around the world, has been remarkable."
The modes of quizzing have also changed since 1983. Earlier, questions would be all words and they would be read aloud; at best, a slide projector would be commandeered for the more important quizzes.
Now every KQA quiz is presented on PowerPoint and invariably includes visual and audio clues.
G Krishnamurti, a member of Quiz Dubai, which was started in June 2011, said the KQA functions as a useful model for a quiz club.
"The KQA is very active in building a culture of quizzing in schools, and we're hoping to emulate that in the UAE," Mr Krishnamurti said. "We will conduct our second annual inter-school quiz in May, for around 100 teams, and we will do a few more quizzes at the school level."
One of Cmdr Mulky's original visions, Mr Mani said, was "to win recognition for quizzing as a mindsport, on the lines of chess".
Quizzing may not yet be an organised professional sport, as chess is, but the KQA has helped move it out of the realm of swotters and information-hounds, making it a fascinating activity to watch, let alone participate in.
The original attraction of the KQA, for people like Mr Mani, still holds firm and true, he said.
"What got a lot of us attracted to KQA-style quizzing was the fact that you didn't have to belong to some especially clued-in set of people to answer these questions," Mr Mani said. "You just needed to try."
ssubramanian@thenational.ae
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THREE
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More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
