Do you enjoy being the human version of Google in your
clique? Were you the one who always raised your hand first in class when the
teacher asked a question? Do you secretly enjoy being playfully referred to as
a nerd? Then maybe quizzing is right up your alley.
Thursday nights at Maracas in Porvorim have become quite the
‘in-thing’. Crowds gather and form little packs around their tables as they
battle it out for trivia supremacy. The quiz night at the restaurant has become
increasingly popular with its relaxed approach being a key factor to draw
people in. “We have a series of rounds that range from trivia to audio samples,
to video clips. There are really no holds barred, with participants being
allowed to cheat/use Google and so on. The only real rule is that at the end of
the night, I’m the boss,” says Ralph de Gouveia Pinto, Proprietor of Maracas,
roguishly.
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One of the biggest and most regularly organised quizzes in
the state is the one organised by Sunday Evening Quiz Club (SEQC), which, as
the title suggests, organises their quizzes on the weekend. When asked what the
major motivating factor behind quizzing was for him personally, Rajiv D’Silva
of SEQC said, “Many things, but principally the act of listening to a question
and working out the answer is intensely satisfying, especially getting one
right that you didn’t know to begin with. Also, the adrenalin-rush that comes
when one wins in a close finish is incomparable.”
Harshvardhan Bhatkuly, the Editor of Business Goa is a quiz
aficionado who has been the driving force behind the Chandrakant Keni Memorial
Quiz. He says, “Quizzing is a many
splendoured art. It involves research, reading, memory retention, quick
reflexes and above all, deep interest in a subject. As quizzers, Rajiv D’Silva and
I have been exposed to varied forms of specialised quizzing – business, sport,
music, etc. Thanks to the Chandrakant Keni Memorial Quiz, we have been touching
different aspects of Goa and Goanness. The process of content creation for the
quiz has made us more aware about the land that we live and thrive in. Every
question, every answer is a discovery to things that we take so much for
granted. Of course, we are unique. Our ethos, lifestyle, history, the arts,
people, costumes, cuisine – everything is distinct. There is an interesting
factoid and story behind everything that we call Goan. My personal experience
is that I tend to remember facts much better if I have unearthed them at a
quiz.”
For those that love a healthy buzz of the educational sort,
the quizzes are aplenty. Go check them out.
