Prakash hadn't attended a quiz in his life........till the year 2003. And he didn't intend to either. he was content with watching quizzes on TV (especially Amitabh Bachan's "Kaun Banega Crorepati"). But all that was about to change......
One day his wife, Saroj, approached him with a request. She wished to attend a meeting of some social workers in Jumeira
(in Dubai) and wanted him to drive her there.
Jumeira is a posh residential beach-front locality about forty five kilometers from where he lived, in Sharjah.
At the meeting of the social workers, Saroj met a lady named Geeta Krishnamurthy. Geeta called her up a few days to invite Saroj and Prakash to a quiz being held on Sheikh Zayed Road. It was to be an all-family affair with kids also participating. It will be on the terrace, above so-and-so building's car park, Geetha said.
Prakash was not at all keen in attending. The location of the quiz (above a car park!) didn't sound very interesting. However Saroj was insistent that they attend so there appeared no alternatively but to gloomily go.
When Saroj and Prakash reached the venue, Prakash was speechless.
Several tennis courts, a swimming pool, lush landscaping, soft concealed lighting....a barbecue and.....most attractive of all....a great bar behind which stood a bar tender serving all kinds of alcohol.
It was a cold December evening and, as Prakash stood warming himself near the barbecue, the
skyscrapers of Sheikh Zayed Road towered over him, making him feel small and insignificant.
There were about ten families present. One of them was acting as the host for this evening's quiz. The next time the quiz would be hosted by another member and so on.
There were two quiz masters - a lady and a man. Both belonged to the
same group.
The questions weren't all that tough or interesting but it was a
great evening.
Saroj and Prakash became regulars and made a lot of great contacts.
One day, in May 2004, Saroj and Prakash had to suddenly
leave Dubai. It was a medical emergency. They decided to leave for good and go back home to Bangalore.
Months passed. The medical emergency passed.
One night, Prakash idly wondered whether a similar quiz group could be started in India. On an impulse he went to Yahoo Groups and created a group called
The Bangalore Quiz Group. He announced this via a posting at Ryze.com.
Within a few hours there were over a hundred members. Within a few days there were several hundred members. It was amazing!
The Bangalore Quiz Group was born.
A few days later Prakash received a mail from one Avinash Mudaliar. The name was unfamiliar to him. "You need a website", Avinash wrote "I can create one for you free of cost". True to his word, Avinash's company designed the beautiful site that remains unchanged to this day. You can see it at:
www.BangaloreQuizGroup.com
For the unitiated, Avinash Mudaliar is a well known Indian quiz master.
Today, the Bangalore Quiz Group is possibly India's most professional quiz group. It has members all over the world and its members include Managing Directors, General Managers, Software professionals, students from all the IIMs, students from most of the management schools, housewives etc.
The Bangalore Quiz Group has had some phenomenally exciting offline meets. You can read about them at:
http://bqgoffliners.blogspot.com/
If you have loved quizzing and have left it due to
work pressures, but plan to return to it another day, now's the time to
dive back in and become a member of the Bangalore Quiz Group. Applying
to be a member is simple. Just send a blank email to
bangalore_quiz-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Membership to the
Bangalore Quiz Group needs proof of identity.
Quizzing