How has the Quizzing Section changed your life?

Change is quite a heavy word. I’d rather tell you how it has impacted me as a person. Quizzing is a sport, and being a sport it obviously helps in flexing the concerned muscles. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to fall in love with quizzing as a sport, yet.

However, I have absolutely fallen in love with what it entails, which ranges from exploring Salvador Dalí to knowing that Napoleon and Hitler were just making up for being biologically unfortunate males.

I see another trait- Spontaneity, which is quite common in all quizzing enthusiasts. You know the situations where you need to make snap decisions, and I think it has helped me build that too.

What is the best part of being in the Quizzing Section of IITR?

Intelligentsia. In this new world order where we are all preparing to be corporate slaves, original and eccentric thinkers are becoming rarer and rarer. I thank all the quizzing folks for showing me how beautiful and normal it is to want to know everything and think differently at a technical institute.

Could you explain the structure of the Quizzing Section?

We are an open group, which means anyone (and, I mean anyone, with or without a team) can show up to our quizzes and participate. We have a seven member core team to help us in the execution and organisation, which comprises one secretary, two additional-secretaries and four joint-secretaries.

The most memorable quiz?

TATA Crucible 2017. Renju Kokkatt was my teammate for this one. I was in Delhi at home when he gave me an ultimatum with his broken Hindi to come to Roorkee for the quiz scheduled the day after. We hadn’t prepared at all for the quiz. As it turns out, we made it to the stage finals. He single-handedly took us to a tie for the second-place (which we ended up losing). But, it was one of the recent exhilarating quizzes.

The best quizzer you’ve seen on campus?

It would be a tough fight between Sripad Behera and Akshit Tripathi.

Team/Solo, what’s your favourite format? If team, who’s been your favourite team-mate?

Team quizzing hands down, I suck at lone-wolf quizzing.

*whispers* substandard quizzer here.

Renju and I complement well in a team.

Glories and achievements of the group (both before and after you’ve been a part of the group)

This is one of those enigmatic groups on the campus! I keep finding out about ancient achievements even now, well into my fourth year. At Nihilanth 2011, Haaris’s team won the Business Quiz. For those amongst you who are unaware of Nihilanth, it is the annual Inter IIT-IIM Quizzing Fest. At the last Nihilanth, the team consisting of Sripad Behera, Akshit Tripathi and Sai Varun Reddy won Arul Mani’s general quiz. We have regularly dominated TATA Crucibles too.

What is one thing you’d like people (especially freshers) to know about Quizzing Section?

It is often believed that Quizzing is about remembering facts and trivia. I feel this a big misconception about quizzing. Sure, you need to know very basic stuff about things, but most of the times we are just making smart guesses and logically trying to work out the answer in the dark. One might feel overwhelmed initially, but a couple of quizzes and they’ll be as comfortable as we are.

Plus, the sheer amount of cool art, books, and what not you encounter in Quizzing is amazing. I would have been missing out on a lot of stuff if I had not been a part of the section, and I don’t feel this way for a lot of things.

What are some of the problems you’ve faced due to the administration?

Previously, there were a lot of issues, from the lack of funds to the booking of a venue. However, with Prof. P. K. Jha at the helm of Cultural Council, things are beginning to change for the better. We now have funds, resources and a bigger team after the split from the Debating Society.

The LitSec has now been replaced by an independent Quizzing Section, and a Debating Society. What does this change mean for you?

LitSec has a lot of history and a rich heritage. There was a time when a lot of people were at the intersection of debating and quizzing, but now there are hardly any interaction and overlap of the members between two sections. Fueled by the dire need to increase the team size, it was a harmonious decision that the DebSoc and the Quizzing Section took bilaterally. It means a loss of identity as LitSec and bashings from alumni for breaking from the routine, but it also means catering to larger crowd at IITR, serving people with quizzes and debates more often, and subsequently expanding our reach.