“What is the English idiomatic phrase that has its origins in a puzzle that requires connecting nine dots with four straight lines that pass through the dots, never lifting the pencil from the paper?” The answer to quiz master G.Girish’s question, ‘think outside the box’ (the puzzle can be cracked only by drawing lines out of the box), set the tone for Quizzociates’ annual inter-school quiz, ‘Memory Lane 2013’. The closely fought final had a number of questions that had regular quizzers thinking out-of-the-box to arrive at answers.
From a video of the heavily sculptured Trevi Fountain in Rome to ball room dancing in Argentina and Mozambique, the country with all the vowels in its name, the grid took the audience for a jaunt around the globe, packing in pop culture, Greek mythology, medicine, and history. The final round ‘Words worth’, where the answer to the first concealed the solutions to the subsequent three, largely belonged to the audience.
Close to 100 teams from 25 schools participated in the preliminary round in Tiruchi Tamil Sangam, of which six teams made it to the finals. The questions were hidden in a large grid, allowing quizzers to pick and choose. There were plenty of points up for grabs as more than one team had the chance of answering each question – the team to which the question was directed and a team that dared to go on the buzzer, risking negative points. C.Sundaraparipoornan and P.Anirudh of Mahatma Gandhi Centenary Vidyalaya finished first in the race with A.Ashwin Natraj and S.A.Syed Abrar from S.B.I.O.A following close. Inching near on the score board were V.Srivathsan and N.Achyuth from Sri Vageesha Vidyashram, who settled for third place. Other finalists were a second team from Sri Vageesha Vidyashram and teams representing Mount Litera Zee School and R.S.K.
In the absence of chief guest – N.Gopalaswami, whole time director, Dalmia Cements – his spouse Vishalakshi gave away the prizes. Besides regular training in a couple of city schools, Quizzociates hones would-be quizzers at Seva Sangam School on alternate Sundays.