52 years
LOCATION: Kolkata DAY JOB: Businesswoman
CLAIM TO FAME: Winner, Mahaquizzer 2012; In the top 10 since 2009.
JAYASHREE JAYAKAR Mohanka doesn’t believe she’s special. But no one who scores 81 out of a possible 150 in this year’s Mahaquizzer, possibly India’s toughest multidisciplinary quiz, can be ordinary. The questions don’t ask for capital cities, CEOs or celebrity gossip. They cover geography, history, etymology, popular culture, myths, science, sports, brands and more. Many, like this one, simply elude classification:
LOCATION: Kolkata DAY JOB: Businesswoman
CLAIM TO FAME: Winner, Mahaquizzer 2012; In the top 10 since 2009.
JAYASHREE JAYAKAR Mohanka doesn’t believe she’s special. But no one who scores 81 out of a possible 150 in this year’s Mahaquizzer, possibly India’s toughest multidisciplinary quiz, can be ordinary. The questions don’t ask for capital cities, CEOs or celebrity gossip. They cover geography, history, etymology, popular culture, myths, science, sports, brands and more. Many, like this one, simply elude classification:
What will you make by using one of the following methods:
building, blending, muddling, rolling or layering (among others)?
Don’t know? Here’s the interesting bit – if you’re even moderately clued in to the world around you, you should be able to figure it out – in this case, Cocktails. And Mohanka has been clued-in right from the start, quizzing as a school student, taking on the boys in an allgirl team in Kolkata and relishing the thrill of the “a-ha! moment” when she’d arrived at the correct answer. “Quizzing is more than a memory game,” she says. “The questions are so quirky, you’ll never be able to answer them by mugging. People who quiz are naturally curious people, they read. You need to enjoy learning about new things. You cannot be trained for it.”
But you can crack it. Just trust your memory and power of association. “Questions often offer obscure trivia leading to an obvious answer, or have obvious facts and expect an obscure answer in return,” says Hemant Morparia, a radiologist, cartoonist and quiz veteran. If a question seems ridiculous, it’s probably referencing the thing that’s on everybody’s mind – a movie, a movement or trending topic on Twitter. Have a hunch or a half-remembered detail? Go with it. The best answers are ones you didn’t know you knew.
India’s quizzing community is large (we really are know-it-alls) and varied. Long-time participants say that Bangalore and Chennai are the hardest to beat; Mumbai likes big-money biz quizzes; and Delhi likes to fight for every point. Kolkata is where the first formal quiz was held in 1967. “Our style is more relaxed,” says Mohanka.
But her gripe is not the kind of crowd, but how fewer women are now participating. “Growing up, there used to be a lot of girl quizzers,” she recalls. “There aren’t that many anymore. I think it’s because the feminist movement was stronger. Now there’s more pressure for girls to do girly things. The idea of a girl being a nerd is just not popular.” Still, Mohanka isn’t giving up. “I think quizzing can be an older person’s game,” she says. “I get better as I age. There’s more time to read. There’s more time for everything.”
They’ve calculated more digits than you can count. They can strategise their way out of every puzzle grid and they know the answer to almost every question. Many of India’s brightest people might just be in your own city
Don’t know? Here’s the interesting bit – if you’re even moderately clued in to the world around you, you should be able to figure it out – in this case, Cocktails. And Mohanka has been clued-in right from the start, quizzing as a school student, taking on the boys in an allgirl team in Kolkata and relishing the thrill of the “a-ha! moment” when she’d arrived at the correct answer. “Quizzing is more than a memory game,” she says. “The questions are so quirky, you’ll never be able to answer them by mugging. People who quiz are naturally curious people, they read. You need to enjoy learning about new things. You cannot be trained for it.”
But you can crack it. Just trust your memory and power of association. “Questions often offer obscure trivia leading to an obvious answer, or have obvious facts and expect an obscure answer in return,” says Hemant Morparia, a radiologist, cartoonist and quiz veteran. If a question seems ridiculous, it’s probably referencing the thing that’s on everybody’s mind – a movie, a movement or trending topic on Twitter. Have a hunch or a half-remembered detail? Go with it. The best answers are ones you didn’t know you knew.
India’s quizzing community is large (we really are know-it-alls) and varied. Long-time participants say that Bangalore and Chennai are the hardest to beat; Mumbai likes big-money biz quizzes; and Delhi likes to fight for every point. Kolkata is where the first formal quiz was held in 1967. “Our style is more relaxed,” says Mohanka.
But her gripe is not the kind of crowd, but how fewer women are now participating. “Growing up, there used to be a lot of girl quizzers,” she recalls. “There aren’t that many anymore. I think it’s because the feminist movement was stronger. Now there’s more pressure for girls to do girly things. The idea of a girl being a nerd is just not popular.” Still, Mohanka isn’t giving up. “I think quizzing can be an older person’s game,” she says. “I get better as I age. There’s more time to read. There’s more time for everything.”
THEIR POWERS OF MEMORY WILL BOGGLE YOUR MIND.
They’ve calculated more digits than you can count. They can strategise their way out of every puzzle grid and they know the answer to almost every question. Many of India’s brightest people might just be in your own city
Can you answer these Mahaquizzer zingers?
“Plastics”, (from Thegraduate) is one of the only two one-word quotes on
the AFI’S list of 100 movie quotes. Which is the other? Rosebud (from
Citizenkane)
This region’s name means “four circuits of rivers and gorges”. The cuisine of this region is categorised as one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of China. The peppercorn flavour makes it suitable to the Indian palate. Sichuan/schezwan
This region’s name means “four circuits of rivers and gorges”. The cuisine of this region is categorised as one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of China. The peppercorn flavour makes it suitable to the Indian palate. Sichuan/schezwan
If you double the letter ‘O’ in this word you get the dense chewy
treat made with sweetened coconut. If you tag the letter ‘I’ to it, you
get the name the Yankee soldier gave to his hairstyle after sticking a
feather in his hat. Give the exact spelling of the French confection
that has two hard outer shells sandwiched together with a soft creamy
centre, like a cream biscuit. Macaron
While working on a prototype, he began looking around for inspiration. When he saw his assistant using red nail polish, something clicked and the rest is history. Who is this associated with the world of fashion? Christian Louboutin
While working on a prototype, he began looking around for inspiration. When he saw his assistant using red nail polish, something clicked and the rest is history. Who is this associated with the world of fashion? Christian Louboutin
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