How quizzing events are jazzing up weekdays for Gurgaon's corporate crowd

Aprojector adorns a wall, around 60 people are seated in groups of five or six, food and drinks on their table neglected for a while. All eyes are on aman dressed in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, standing next to the projector, cue card in hand.Images of Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Nagasaki, boxer Sugar Ray, the National flag of China, among others, flash on the screen. “What is common between these?” the man asks.is a show of hands; he walks up to one of the tables.answer in his ear: “All of these find mention in the song ‘We Didn't Start the Fire’ by Billy Joel”, and bag 100 points.‘That’s the correct answer!” says the man, after getting the right answer from other tables too, albeit after showing more images from the song and reducing the points given.group of youngsters who answered first lets out a cheer and takes a swig of their beer.

- GNS News Agency, May 16

The man at the centre of attention is 37-year-old Arvind Nair, the quizmaster for the evening, who takes his hosting duties very seriously. “It takes a couple of days to prepare all the questions; it has become a little harder to frame questions that can stump the regulars,” says Arvind.Traditionally associated with students or professional players, quizzing culture in Gurgaon is a recent phenomenon, something that has caught on among young professionals who have made the Millennium City their home over the last few years.Several bars and cafes in Gurgaon now host these quizzes on weekdays. The choice of day is deliberate: Attending a quizzing event gives the participants a chance to hang out with friends on what would be an otherwise eventless work day. For the establishments, it ensures patrons and resultant revenue even on weekdays.

One of the teams is comprised of a bunch of Ashoka University batchmates who work at the same management consultancy firm. For them, these quiz sessions are an extension of their college hangouts. “We used to quiz in college. Now, we come here straight from work. The casual format sans eliminations makes it fun, fair and overall, a good outing,” says Ankit Sharma, 23.Sharma says even their managers are in on their Wednesday night plans now. “We leave the office a bit earlier,” he tells The Indian Express.On preparation for the quiz, he says, “We don't prepare as such, but keep track of scores. It's a nice competitive rivalry among teams here, and as a group event, it's quite ideal that it happens on a weekday. We can use the weekends for other stuff."Questions asked during the quiz can range from current affairs, movies, to even Amul ads. The participants take special pains to give their teams witty names. The teams playing today, for example, have names like ‘Al Fayda’ and ‘Going Through a Faiz’.