The Answer is Blowing in the Haze
You knew this was coming...didn't you???
This was an article I wrote for the Saarang Newsletter (of which I happened to be one of the editors, one of the excuses for me not writing for so long). It was written at 5 in the morning, after the main quiz, and took some 2 hours to write as most of the time I was asleep. The other half of the time was spent listening to Steely Dan and dumbly staring at the screen wondering what the shit I was doing awake that late at night. I have no idea how this got written.
This post is dedicated to Sparams (who claims he once hit upon my blog....I'm hoping he continues to visit) and Su, who conducted the best quiz I have ever been part of. I can barely wait for the litsoc AV quiz....
Ok, here goes....
-----------------------------------------------------
You havent lived till youve attended a quiz.
And you havent quizzed till you have attended the Saarang Main Quiz.
The second last day of Saarang this year was all about quizzing. For in the morning, while the music blared outside in Bindaas Park, the audience in the CLT were treated to what is quite definitely one of the best quizzes ever in IIT, definitely the best this correspondent has seen. And at night, while most people returned to their rooms to sleep, the OAT witnessed the re-enactment of one of IIT-Ms oldest rituals, a throwback to the days of Mardi Gras, when the world was much more innocent, and hadnt been lost in the swirling streams of the greenback.
Lets stick to the facts first. The AV quiz finals were conducted in the morning in the CLT. Previous quizzes by the quizmasters, as well as a brilliant prelims paper, had built up very high expectations in the minds of all attending. Recipe for a downfall? No chance. For the final was exactly what it promised to be. And more. Much more. From the very first question, to the somewhat curtailed ending, the quiz was a continuous journey from one peak to another. Every question was well researched, well thought out, well presented, and naturally, well received. The one jarring note in the quiz, however, was the curtailed ending, which left one with a bitter taste in ones mouth. A quiz cannot really be bound by rigid time constraints. Ideally, the only things that should stop a quiz should be either a lack of more questions, or a unanimous decision by the participants. One feels very sorry for the coords, who had put a great deal of effort in conducting this event, that some of their questions went unasked. But at the end of the day, such minor details were overshadowed by the sheer sublimity of the quiz, and we would like to extend to the coords our heartiest congratulations and applause.
The AV quiz finals were followed by the India Quiz prelim, which was well attended, and equally well conducted. The questions were very interesting and challenging. On the evidence of the prelim paper, the final promises to be another treat.
The stage was now set for the Lone Wolf Finals. This is one event which has survived the death of Mardi Gras, and its metamorphosis into Saarang, and has remain unchanged. The Lone Wolf Quiz is perhaps the best college level quiz in India, and certainly the most keenly contested. One innovation this year was the introduction of a betting pool for predicting the events winners. This was taken very seriously by the audience, and the contestants now had the added pressure of people telling them that they better win as they had put money on them. The quiz itself was of a very high standard. However what was most heartening was the presence of a sizeable audience, certainly more than last years final. And owing to the betting, most stayed till the end. In true IIT-M tradition, the quiz started one hour late, and went on till sunrise. And for once, none of the participants went of to sleep halfway through the quiz.
Another interesting feature of this years quiz was the innovative audience prizes. The quiz started with all the participants taking a swig from the coords glass, and subsequently, all audience questions were rewarded with the coord handing over his glass to the audience member for a well earned sip. Matters came to a head in a question who's answer was 'alcohol'. One audience member then exhorted the coord to pass the answer to the audience. However, in between all the audience prizes, the coord proceeded to get more and more inebriated, and at the end of the quiz, he was nowhere to be found. Some frantic searching later, he was discovered fast asleep on the OAT floor. The glass, needless to say, was empty.
The Saarang Lone Wolf Quiz is one event which escaped the conversion of Mardi Gras to Saarang without any major repercussion. What happened last night was an exact re-enactment of what happened many years back. It is one of the oldest continuing traditions in quizzing, and going as strong as ever. And while it exists, Saarang will retain its original values and ideals. The idea that is Saarang will never cease to exist.
You havent been to Saarang till youve attended the Lone Wolf Quiz.
And if you havent been to Saarang, you havent lived.
This was an article I wrote for the Saarang Newsletter (of which I happened to be one of the editors, one of the excuses for me not writing for so long). It was written at 5 in the morning, after the main quiz, and took some 2 hours to write as most of the time I was asleep. The other half of the time was spent listening to Steely Dan and dumbly staring at the screen wondering what the shit I was doing awake that late at night. I have no idea how this got written.
This post is dedicated to Sparams (who claims he once hit upon my blog....I'm hoping he continues to visit) and Su, who conducted the best quiz I have ever been part of. I can barely wait for the litsoc AV quiz....
Ok, here goes....
-----------------------------------------------------
You havent lived till youve attended a quiz.
And you havent quizzed till you have attended the Saarang Main Quiz.
The second last day of Saarang this year was all about quizzing. For in the morning, while the music blared outside in Bindaas Park, the audience in the CLT were treated to what is quite definitely one of the best quizzes ever in IIT, definitely the best this correspondent has seen. And at night, while most people returned to their rooms to sleep, the OAT witnessed the re-enactment of one of IIT-Ms oldest rituals, a throwback to the days of Mardi Gras, when the world was much more innocent, and hadnt been lost in the swirling streams of the greenback.
Lets stick to the facts first. The AV quiz finals were conducted in the morning in the CLT. Previous quizzes by the quizmasters, as well as a brilliant prelims paper, had built up very high expectations in the minds of all attending. Recipe for a downfall? No chance. For the final was exactly what it promised to be. And more. Much more. From the very first question, to the somewhat curtailed ending, the quiz was a continuous journey from one peak to another. Every question was well researched, well thought out, well presented, and naturally, well received. The one jarring note in the quiz, however, was the curtailed ending, which left one with a bitter taste in ones mouth. A quiz cannot really be bound by rigid time constraints. Ideally, the only things that should stop a quiz should be either a lack of more questions, or a unanimous decision by the participants. One feels very sorry for the coords, who had put a great deal of effort in conducting this event, that some of their questions went unasked. But at the end of the day, such minor details were overshadowed by the sheer sublimity of the quiz, and we would like to extend to the coords our heartiest congratulations and applause.
The AV quiz finals were followed by the India Quiz prelim, which was well attended, and equally well conducted. The questions were very interesting and challenging. On the evidence of the prelim paper, the final promises to be another treat.
The stage was now set for the Lone Wolf Finals. This is one event which has survived the death of Mardi Gras, and its metamorphosis into Saarang, and has remain unchanged. The Lone Wolf Quiz is perhaps the best college level quiz in India, and certainly the most keenly contested. One innovation this year was the introduction of a betting pool for predicting the events winners. This was taken very seriously by the audience, and the contestants now had the added pressure of people telling them that they better win as they had put money on them. The quiz itself was of a very high standard. However what was most heartening was the presence of a sizeable audience, certainly more than last years final. And owing to the betting, most stayed till the end. In true IIT-M tradition, the quiz started one hour late, and went on till sunrise. And for once, none of the participants went of to sleep halfway through the quiz.
Another interesting feature of this years quiz was the innovative audience prizes. The quiz started with all the participants taking a swig from the coords glass, and subsequently, all audience questions were rewarded with the coord handing over his glass to the audience member for a well earned sip. Matters came to a head in a question who's answer was 'alcohol'. One audience member then exhorted the coord to pass the answer to the audience. However, in between all the audience prizes, the coord proceeded to get more and more inebriated, and at the end of the quiz, he was nowhere to be found. Some frantic searching later, he was discovered fast asleep on the OAT floor. The glass, needless to say, was empty.
The Saarang Lone Wolf Quiz is one event which escaped the conversion of Mardi Gras to Saarang without any major repercussion. What happened last night was an exact re-enactment of what happened many years back. It is one of the oldest continuing traditions in quizzing, and going as strong as ever. And while it exists, Saarang will retain its original values and ideals. The idea that is Saarang will never cease to exist.
You havent been to Saarang till youve attended the Lone Wolf Quiz.
And if you havent been to Saarang, you havent lived.
posted by Siddhartha Banerjee at 2:19 PM
7 Comments:
hello......nice blog da...........cavi here
Ooooh...aaaaah... Now you have built this up too much. When are you going to send me the questions, man?
k
would you be posting some questions here??? that would be ossom!!!
Nice blog man and great quizzing.see u in dumb c finals :)
I heartily concur. The main quiz, the rock bands, the booze, the grass, the women, that is what Saarang is all about.
Hope things get better next year too, last year's wasn't much to write home about.
Also, all hail Satcho the Drunk.
looks like you were one of the fewest of the few who like the Saarang AV Quiz...
Hmm. Would you be too surprised if I said I had goosepimples while reading the last part of the post?
-Beatzo
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