Guruvandana 🙏

The good things in life, i didn't want to miss;
So I made a wish to come to TISS.
The wish came true and I could not hide my glee,
Coz there were so many things to see 🐈!

Of experience, there is no dearth
Coz we get sent to fieldwork !
However, i could do nothing but nod,
When I was alloted an organisation by Ganesh Gaud ✝️.

Social Loafing at fieldwork doesn't go undetectable,
Coz at the ICGC, you would be held accountable.
In ICGCs I kept my ears open to the core 🙉,
Coz when Premlatha mam speaks, its not a drizzle; its a downpour 🌧️.

I learned to examine concepts from so many angles,
As Dhaka sir gave so many relatable examples.
(If dhaka sir was an angle, he would be acute angle.)
When you entered the class, so many faces went flush 😊;
Coz you were many people's crush ❤️.

In her classes nobody dares to yawn 😪,
Coz Sarala mam is a total don.
Kandho se milte hain kandhe, kadmo se kadam milte hain,
Aap jab chalte hain aise to dil bachcho k hilte hain.

Pancreas produce insulin, Liver produces bile;
Palo mam can give students the chill with a smile 😇.
My fear from her, I cannot hide;
Coz she is also my research guide !

We can brag about concepts and give people a trip,
Coz Mulla sir taught us Moral Leadership.
Pani hota hai thanda, Chai hoti hai garm ☕;
Mulla sir is baahar se sakht aur ander se narm.
Right-wing, left-wing sab hota hai ek bhram,
Following the corporate religion is our only Dharm 🙏

On multiple times, he has answered our yelp
Coz Saini sir is always there to help !
Your smile is sweeter than molasses,
Thanks to you, we know SPSS 💹.

Discussions with Machado sir are so igniting,
I can still not answer his question, why are you smiling 😬?
On the day of your classes; I only brush my teeth half,
Coz i cannot miss being in your photograph 📷.

Nobody can get their work done, chahe nar ho ya mada;
Coz the one who keeps this place running is Swapnil Dada.
Projector ho ya speaker, when you come all the problems get cleared;
And you are also the inspiration for my beard 🧔.

Our fears let loose like the breaking of a dam,
When we get the attendance shortage call from Alka mam.
Solving everyday issues of the proletariat,
Alka mam is the queen of the secratariat 👸.

He has a tall and handsome stature 🏢,
Hariharan sir will make you explore the organization's true nature.
Taimur's father is a man named Saif,
When you meet Hariharan sir, better not pfaff.

I always keep in mind, what P.P Roy sir told;
Coz he is precious than gold 🌟.
He has everyones' venerations,
Coz he has seen so many generations 🐣.

He is happy, he is zappy, his moods have so many seasons 🍂,
I feel like writing a showcause notice just to know the reasons.
Seeing both sides of the argument feels like sitting on a see-saw,
We love Iyer sir's way of teaching labour law⚖️

Strikes, lock-outs, all constitute his communion ⛪ ;
Coz with Minz sir, we have the friendliest union.
Early dismissals add to our elation,
Mutual understanding forms the basis for industrial relation 🏭.

The values that you gave us, we will always embody;
Forgive us for the times that we have been naughty 😛.
Our future will always be shaped by these two years,
To the amazing faculty, we give our three cheers 😊

An Ode to the Teachers at TISS

After coming to TISS, the author realized that the teachers over here are one of the nicest people he has ever met. The author was so filled with gratitude that he wrote a rhyme to present to them at the Teacher's Day 2018.

The rhyme goes like this :

I came to TISS
To set the things that were amiss,
Each learning over here is highly prized,
that is why I realized:
Follow every biddin',
Of the teacher named Zubin,
In his class, you have to be attentive please,
Coz then you will learn with ease.
I learned all kinds of distribution,
whether normal or Poisson,
my Quants improved as if by the way of a kaizen.
In these corridors, you'll find a man with a mission,
his name is Balram Bhushan.
His teachings are indicative,
that you'll learn everything that is qualitative.
Coming to his class is the end of your search,
of everything pertaining to research.
So, open your notebooks and take a bow,
you are learning with the best and you don't know!
You cannot stop yourself from exclaiming Wow!
when you come across Sarala Rao.
She is a comprehensive source,
of everything pertaining to Human Resource.
Poori class ye baat maanti hai ,
ki Sarala mam sab jaanti hai.
He pays his toll at every Naka,
because his name is Himanshu Dhaka.
You'll learn about positive attitudes and good behavior,
Coz when it comes to OB, he is our savior.
In his class, we learned about mindfulness,
and our hearts filled up with gratefulness.
So, learn your lessons and have some mercy,
just relax and profit from controversy
On certain days of the week, it is a fixture
that you'll end up being in a picture.
Coz you cannot escape the bravado,
of the teacher named Noel Machado.
In his classes, we get the sign
that we are going to learn all about OT and Design.
Be dressed proper or the mission aborts,
better stay outside if you are wearing shorts.
In his class, you'll be at ease
As if living in a mansion,
Last name Minz, first name Johnson.
Learn with him and lose all you inhibitions,
Coz he teaches a subject called Industrial Relations.
Think about economics and you will recall,
the teaching of the man named Bino Paul.
He leaves on you a lasting impression,
Coz he teaches analysis using regression.
With his teachings, you'll weather the storm,
Coz you've done assignments on Holmstrom.
You'll be filled with appreciation and awe,
When Iyer sir teaches you labor law.
You'll develop as a HR with resilience,
when you learn from his industry experience.
Safety shoes over ankle length socks,
We learned labor law doing mocks
Now its time to stop this whine,
because I have taken a lot of your time!

From left to right : Ms. Sasmita Paulo, Mr. Zubin Mulla, Mr. Balram Bhushan, Mr. Bino Paul, Mr. Gordhan Saini, Mr. Johnson Minz, Ms. Premlatha P, Ms. Sarala Rao, Mr. Ganesh Goud

10 reasons why going to Udghosh is the most awesome thing ever.

Hey, it is that time of the month when Qutopia holds the most awesome Quizzing event of the year. Coincidentally, it is also the time when Crapanalytics finds itself some work. This 11th of December, pack up your hard boards and march to the Campus 6 Auditorium, KIIT University because that is where Qutopia will be hosting its flagship event, Udghosh 2016 <imagine kickass drum roll in your mind>. Be sure to be there by 10 AM because that is when the registrations start. You have to make teams of two in order to register. 

You can find the fb page here.

You have to register here. 

Like the last two years, Vikram Joshi is going be the Quiz master this year as well (he rocks). A big Quiz like this is expected to have big prizes and Udghosh doesn't disappoint. The winning team will take away 75000 INR, the runners up 50000 INR and the second runners up 25000 INR. If this isn't reason enough for you to come to Udghosh, we'll give you 10 more:

1. Be you own Santa.

It is good to be one

Christmas is coming early this year. With loads of audience prizes and coupons (you’ll get some at the time of participation as well), you can certainly strike off some items from your wish list for Santa. You'll be getting gift coupons right at the time of registration and we will be having dedicated audience rounds betwixt the stage rounds for finalists.Besides this, all the stage finalists will get gifts and prizes. 

2. Team up with anyone.

Most unlikely people often form the longest lasting teams

Come with your Mom, come with your Boss, come with your Professor! You are free to team up with everyone and anyone. It is an open quiz after all fellas. 

3. You won't have to bunk your classes.

Happens to the best of us

As always, Udghosh is falling on a Sunday this year as. We apologize to those who like to bunk classes. Qutopia will have other events throughout the calendar which don’t fall on a weekend and might be of help to you. For office-goers and class-lovers, this will be a good opportunity to utilize your day off. 

4. Connect with interesting people.

Udghosh is a magnet that attracts the brightest, the most fun and the best people. You are going to love the crowd here. Pick up a conversation with anyone (not during the prelims of course) and you would be pleasantly surprised.

5. Why should boys have all the fun?

We all love Alia Bhatt though

Girls, vroom to the quiz on your scooties (even without them) and you can be a recipient of the special prize for the “Best Girls Team” that has been a feature of several Udghosh editions over the last few years. 

6. This guy.

This year is going to mark a hat-trick for Vikram Joshi, being the Quiz master of Udghosh. Udghosh is loved equally by QMs and participants with all of them being a recurring feature here. VJ has been a panelist at the Triguni panel of KBC and a World Quizzing Champion. He loves quizzing and also hosting them. Participating in or watching his quiz is a real treat. He is sure to be as enthralling as the last two years.

7.  You'll have so much to learn.

You might as well get some of your misconceptions cleared. 

With a QM like VJ, we are going to have an awesome Quiz with some awesome questions on some of the awesomest topics ever. Quizzes like these are one of the best ways to come to know of interesting facts and topics. You have every right to brag about these things you came to know of. It is always nice to be the smart one in the bunch. 

8. If you are a stag, we'll find you a partner or at least a Doe.

Do you wanna Partner? O partner?

OK, we assumed that no one would insist on having a Doe. Stags and Does aside, one shouldn’t be worrisome of not having a partner on the Quiz day. Udghosh being a national level open quiz, a lot of people come to be a part of it and a great many of them are alone. We have mechanisms in place to find you a good partner if you want one. You might come to the gates alone but you’ll go inside with a partner. 

9. We'll find you an accommodation cheaper than OYO.

The Boys and Girls hostels at KIIT are called
King's Palace and Queen's Castle respectively.

Just to be clear, this blog has not been sponsored by any hotel aggregator. If you do not live in Bhubaneswar area, then you don’t have to worry about a place to stay. Udghosh is a flagship event of KIIT University and there are numerous hostels on KIIT’s sprawling campuses. We have pre-booked rooms for participants which you can avail of by depositing a nominal fee. Hey, it can be a good opportunity to roam around the beautiful capital city after you are done with the Quiz.

10. The prize money and all the other prizes will be in new currency.

LOL, the prize money will be in a form which is convenient for you. We would have paytm the money to the winners if we could, but cheque seems like a better and more appropriate option.

10 Factors That Made The West Indies Win The World T20I 2016

The Caribbean Cricket Team, like the Caribbean Pirates came over to the subcontinent and stole away the World T20I Cup 2016. Along with the Cup, they have stolen our hearts. Before the start of the tournament, the Windies were never the favorites. They even had their differences with their own Cricket Board. But Brathwaite's four consecutive sixes in the last over of the final match against England sums up the Windies campaign. Amidst all their hardships and differences, Sammy's men let fearlessness prevail. Crapanalytics has come up with a list of ten factors that made the Windies World T20I champions again.

1. The feeling of us against the world

 As i said before, nobody would have put their money on this team before the start of the                tournament. At the end of the match, an emotional Captain Sammy talked about how the WICB was unwilling to send the men in this squad to play despite having a solid T20I record. The players also had an ongoing dispute with the board regarding pay. The team received inspiring messages from Prime Minister of St. Lucia, Keny Anthony (I assume this is whom Sammy meant) but they were still to hear from their cricket board. Sammy talked about the fact that they had no uniforms and money for print. Coach Phil arranged these things for the team in Kolkata. One of the commentators, Mark Nicholas even went on to describe them as short of brains. Amidst this atmosphere, the team was united by a common cause i.e. to prove to the world what an amazing bunch of cricketers they are. They did so in flair and style by winning the Cup for the West Indian fans and the West Indian cricketers.

2. Darren Sammy's charismatic leadership

Sammy giving a moving speech about the story 

behind his men winning the World T20I

That speech after the final made everyone aware of the champions' difficult journey to glory. Sammy proved that he is the perfect captain even before a match started by winning ten consecutive tosses in the entire tournament including the warm-ups. Hence, he was at a liberty of when to bat and when to bowl in each match. Let me remind you that this is the same captain who led the West Indies to victory in 2012. Sammy proved to an efficient leader under whom the West Indians fought to redeem themselves and they did!

3. Amazing individual performances

 

Simmons, Samuels and Gayle

In the final, it was Marlon Samuels who saw his team to victory after the loss of early wickets. His 85* is the highest individual score in a World T20I final. The second highest score is also by him i.e 78 against Sri Lanka in 2012. He was assisted by Brathwaite who finished the final and the entire West Indian campaign with flair and style. Brathwaite's 24 in the last over is the highest score by any team in the last over to win a T20I. In the semi final against India, it was Simmons who rose to the occasion. Gayle was the hero in the match against South Africa. Badree and Russell proved themselves useful by taking 9 wickets each throughout the tournament.

4. And an amazing performance as a team

The West Indies team was phenomenal in the field throughout the tournament. One thing characteristic of the West Indian batting was that whenever a batsman was dismissed, another one took up his place and kept the scoreboard moving. In each match, there was atleast one batsman who stayed till the end and saw the team to victory. In the bowling department, we saw some stellar bowling performances by Badree and Russell. The team was stacked very well with all rounders who could bowl well. The main players were under a state of conflict with the cricket board regarding pay and other things. But skipper Sammy has utilised these negotiations to help kindle team spirit and forge a powerful T20 unit that became a champion.

5. Their ability to play fearless cricket

“West Indies are [some] of the most dangerous competitors. The way they play cricket is fearless. You can't expect what's coming. You've got to be ready in all departments,” remarked Rohit Sharma before the semi final match against West Indies. The West Indians were not afraid to take chances as we saw in the match against India. Simmons escaped atleast two dismissal situations in the match. When a team comprises of lower order batsmen who can hit as well as the top or middle order, one can take such gambles. And as fortune favors the brave, West Indies are the World T20I champions.

6. The West Indies have excelled in the subcontinent conditions

If we leave behind the first three World T20I tournaments, then we'll find that West Indies are the only team to have qualified for three back to back tournaments in 2012, 2014 and of course 2016. Till date, they have played 16 T20Is in subcontinent venues in World T20, winning 10 of them and losing five. When it comes to subcontinent conditions, they are the third team in the list with most wins in World T20. Apart from this, many Caribbean players are quite favourable to the Indian conditions because of Indian Premier League and their three main players — Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo have been consistent and among the top performers in the tournament.

7. Presence of quality all-rounders

Brathwaite, Sammy and Russell

Barring Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher and Denesh Ramdin, almost all the West Indies players can hit hard and bowl as well. It starts with Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite. Their deep batting is their strength and variety of all-rounders will add up to it.

8. They had to match their women

Earlier in the day, West Indian women made history at Kolkata itself by winning their first ever Women World T20I by ending Australian reign at the top for several years. The win was powered by 18-year-old Windies opener Hayley Matthews stunning 66 off 45 balls with three sixes, in a stand of 120. The skipper, Stafanie Taylor had received a text that morning from Darren Sammy which read 'Staf you are going to do it, you girls you are going to do it'." Hearing the news of womens' victory the West Indian men must have thought that they can't go home as the runners up while the women return as champions. Hence, the day ended as a double treat for the West Indies.

9. They have genuine cricketing talent 

Sir Gary Sobers, Brian Lara and Clive Llyod

From the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, the West Indies team was one of the strongest in the world in both Test and One Day International cricket. A number of cricketers considered among the best in the world have hailed from the West Indies: Sir Garfield Sobers, Brian Lara, Clive Lloyd, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Courtney Walsh and Sir Viv Richards have all been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame among others. The West Indies were the first team to win back-to-back World Cups (1975 and 1979), and appeared in three consecutive World Cup finals (1975, 1979 and 1983). Add to this, the fact that they won the T20I World Cup in 2012 as well. These are stats enough to show that West Indies has been in the business of producing world class cricketers since a long time back and they continue to do so even today.

10. This amazing song from DJ Bravo

This song from DJ Bravo became the unofficial anthem

for the West Indies this tournament.

It has over 3 million views on Youtube. The song has become popular in India after the victorious West Indian campaign. Yes, India lost to the West Indies in the semi finals but we set aside that loss to join the West Indians in the celebrations of their Cinderella story because irrespective of the team lifting up the trophy, it is Cricket that is the Champion every time!

Indians joining the West Indian team in their celebrations

  

9 short stories that will make you wonder why you haven't been reading short stories all this long

The author is not what you would call a bookworm. However, he grew tired of reading the 10 reasons why this and 10 reasons why that things that he sometimes writes himself. The author then took to wondering what people read before these top 10 lists took over the internet and the internet took over the world. He decided to ask the internet and the internet pointed him to some good old short stories. The author decided  to point you, dear readers to the 9 short stories that he found to be most entertaining.

1. The Ransom Of Red Chief by O.Henry

William Sydney Porter, known better by his pen name O.Henry is a true master of storytelling. His stories are light hearted funny ones and are known to have a "sting in the tail". The one being discussed here involves a kidnapping and it is not the kidnapped person who suffers! Funny things keep happening throughout the story you'll have a lot of rofl and lol moments. Dunno if O.Henry would appreciate modern society's way of complimenting funny things.

Read it here.

   

2. The Fall Of The House Of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

Don't read this one at night under a torchlight like the author of this blog did. It is established that Edgar Allen Poe suffered from depression and his stories can be described by the word weird. Well, weird but exceptional at the same time. It contains a lot of unconventional themes like incest, reanimation of the dead and likewise. The story ends in a climax and that is one climax to read! It is sure to give you some scares.

Read it here.

3. The Prize Poem by P.G.Wodehouse

The plot of this short story is as simple as three different students copying the same poem to submit for their school's poetry competition which is mandatory for all the students. P.G Wodehouse wittily brings out the lazy and lackluster attitude of students towards something that they are made to do and do not want to do. The principal takes the incident as a challenge to his authority. How the events unfold thereafter makes for an interesting read.

Read it here.

4. The Eyes Have It by Ruskin Bond

This story is written in the form of a first person narrative. For a brief period of time, Mr. Bond suffered from blindness. As he travels alone by train, a girl whom he senses to be beautiful comes to sit across him. He doesn't want the girl to know that he is blind and starts a conversation. This conversation and the revelation that follows makes this story an awesome read.

Read it here.

5. Dusk by H.H.Munro

Norman Gortsby is sitting on  a park bench. The other end of the bench is occupied by an old man who is wearing a carnation. Norman Gortsby begins to contemplate about the time of the day i.e. Dusk. He considers it to be the time of those who have been defeated by life and he considers the old man to be one of them. Soon, the old man goes away and his place is taken by another person who says that he is new to the city and has lost his way as he came out of his hotel  to buy a cake of soap. He asks Gortsby for help and what follows after is an awesome second part of the story.

Read it here.

6. The Cop And The Anthem by O.Henry

Its O.Henry again! No I am not biased, he is actually that good. This story is about a homeless man in New York named Soapy. It is the winter season and terribly cold for a homeless person to survive. So much so that Soapy decides to spend his winter in a prison. The prison, with its warm blankets and guaranteed meals is definitely more hospitable for a homeless guy than the cold streets of New York. Soapy tries to get himself arrested and fails ludicrously many times.  He then comes to the street where he lived as a child. Those memories fill him with inspiration and he decides to turn his life around. What follows after this, no one can expect!

Read it here.

7. At Home by Anton Chekhov

A treat from Russia, this one is about a father trying to convince his infant son not to smoke!  Eugene Bikovsy is a lawyer whose 7 year old son Seriozha is placed under the care of a governess as Eugene's wife is no more. The conversation between the father and the son makes for an awesome read.

Read it here.

8. The Cabuliwallah by Rabindranath Tagore

Asia's first Nobel winner writes about his five year old daughter, Mini's  friendship with a dry fruits peddler. The friendship ends abruptly after the Kabuliwala is convicted of a crime and sent to prison. He is released years after and comes to meet Mini on the day of her wedding. A good read, this one.

Read it here.

9. The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

Mathilde is born relatively poor, but dreams of an aristocratic life. She eventually marries a low paid clerk who tries his best to keep her happy. After a lot of begging, he somehow manages to get two tickets to a ministry of education party. Mathilde loses something that she has borrowed for the party. She tries to compensate and the story takes a different course.

Read it here.

8 reasons why working from home is awesome.

According to a survey by Weigo (weigo, 2013), home-based workers accounted for 15.2 percent of the non-agricultural workforce of our country. In the urban landscape, working from home has started losing the reputation of being an entitlement of only the sick and of pregnant women. A lot of people like to take a day off from the office and complete their work from home if the nature of their work permits them to do so. Crapanalytics has come up with a list of reasons of why working from home is more awesome than you think.

1.     You get to spend more time with your pet.

Dog owners would better understand the importance of this point. Doesn’t your heart break when you have to lock up your puppy in your flat/home and then leave it that way for the entirity of the day? Your only moment of redemption is when you come back home and deliver your pup from its loneliness. Moreover, you realise that loneliness makes the pet do unimaginable things like pooping on your bed or eating up your documents. Having a pet is nice because it is your best opportunity of non-human interactions. Why not work from home for a day and keep patting and caressing your pet while you work?  Who knows, one day your pet might learn what you do at work. In that case, you can ask your dog to your job for you sometimes.

2.     You can play loud music.

Music lovers(like the author) would understand how musiyc can pump up your productivity. Now, you can’t take your music system to office with you and most bosses take exception to their employees plugging in earphones at work. Your best chance at mixing music with work is working from home. You can start with playing soft beats at the beginning and then switch to heavy beats once you enter your zone. You would then finish up your work and then realise that your job isn’t that boring afterall.

3.     You can wear pyjamas.

No piece of clothing is as comfortable as your pyjamas. The author knows the ridicule one faces while wearing pyjamas to one’s office. You  can always take a moment to admire the beauty of your pyjama and then return back to work. Many people find informal clothes to be more comfortable than formal clothes that the rules of their office require them to wear. Working from home gives you the freedom to wear what you are comfortable with and in many cases this increases your productivity. Just be sure to put on something decent everytime you have to answer the doorbell to be prepared just I case your boss decides to give you a visit.

4.     No fear of your boss looking over your shoulder.

We have all faced that awkward moment while plaing farmville at work when we hear,”What are you doing?”Looking back, one finds the Mr.nogamesallowedatworkinthisoffice i.e. your boss and then you have to give lengthy explanations like, “I was just taking a break”. Many people(like the author) are more productive when they are their own boss i.e. they are working in an unsupervised environment. Being your own boss is one of the many freedoms that working from home offers you. You can make a timetable according to your likes. You  can take an early luch or you can take a late lunch.

5.     Save travel time.

Commuting to work is a headache in most big cities of India. In cities like Mumbai, it often takes upto 2 hours just to reach your office changing trains and then walking to stations. You can put this time to some productive use while you work from home. You will  also be spared the sound of honking horns and the feel of crowded public transport. You’ll end your day with more energy and less frustration. It would be like taking a day off and still completing  your work.

6.     Spend more time with your family.

A lot of working parents in metros have to leave their children at a day care centre while going to work. The children, as a result start having a distance from their parents. “Sunday wala uncle” is a term coined for fathers who are at work for the entirity of the week. As a result, the child gets to see his father only on Sundays. To save yourself from such reputation, it is mandatory that you take atleast a day off to work from home in a week and spend some quality time with your child and then maybe go to a nearby park in the evening. Working from home is also a wonderful opportunity for single mothers who can work and look after their children at the same time. Spending some time at home with your spouse is beneficial for your relationships too.

7.     Know your neighbourhood.

Facebook and Whatsapp connect us with friends and realtives in far off places. But what about those people who live next door? It is important to have greater interactions with your neighbours than the occassional hi when you catch him entering his front door the same time you are entering yours. During lunch, you can invite your neighbour over or maybe pay him a visit. Having a good aquaintance with your neighbour  is important as he is going to be the immediate point of contact during an emergency.

8.     An opportunity to keep your house clean.

You can utilise the breaks during work at office that you spend beside the water-cooler  gossiping with your colleague about the new girl in office. You can wipe your dining table at this time or maybe use a vacuum cleaner to tidy the floor if you are working from home. You can save yourself from the mess your house/flat becomes during the week due to busy work schedules and then you have to spend your Sunday cleaning the house.  You will be surprised to know how clean and organised your house/flat can look once you give in a little effort and time.

10 remarkable things about Udghosh 2015

We toiled. We spammed. We succeeded! If the author was a poet, he would have put it this way - so many people worked so hard to make Udghosh a success that the entire universe conspired to make sure that it was one. The author is no bard and a bit bald and all he can say that it was helluva event!
Qutopia's annual flagship event, Udghosh concluded successfully on Sunday, 13th December this month. After the grand success of Udghosh 2014, there were a lot of expectations from the event this year. There is no denying the fact that all those expectations have been fulfilled.

The participants started making a beeline to the auditorium as early as 8.30 AM but our volunteers were present there even before (some of whom spent the night at the KSAC). After all the participants had done registering themselves, the show was handed over to Mr. Vikram Joshi. 

Crapanalytics has come up with a list of ten remarkable things that characterized Udghosh 2015. 

1. It was huge

This is not a movie screening. These are participants at Udghosh!

Yeah, like literally huge with 457 teams participating. The king size Campus-6 Auditorium was filled to capacity. This year’s Udghosh beat its predecessor in terms of number of people participating. This makes Udghosh 2015 the largest open quiz in Eastern India. The participants varied from school students to academics and corporates. For some, it was an event much awaited while for the others, it was a Sunday well spent. For the organizers, it was like watching their baby come to life.

2. The QM rocked

The QM who rocked : Mr. Vikram Joshi

Vikram Joshi, upon whom a lot of hopes rested, did an excellent job. The QM rocked the stage not with a guitar but with mind blowing quiz questions. The QM was an epitome of patience, taking his time to explain the questions to the participants in the prelims and giving them ample time think. In the finals, the QM listened carefully to all the answers the finalists gave. The right ones received points while the wrong ones fetched a polite no from the QM.

3. It was a fabulous set of questions

Like this funda? There is a lot more where that came from

A QM can perform well only when he is backed by a good set of questions. Our QM was backed by a fabulous set that he brought along with vada pavs. The prelims were a bit difficult. Although, Jyoti Prakash Panda and Saransh Mohapatra were able to score 22 out of 30, thereby emerging as the highest scorers in the prelims. The prelims contained questions based on audio visuals along with others. The finals were as good as the prelims and had the finalists scratching their heads on some.

 4. The winners were awesome

Aryapriya Ganguly and Avinash Mudaliar, the winners

Dalma kuch kala hona ho, protein zaroor hai.
Team Aadvarks a.k.a. Dalma Kuch Kala Hai consisting of Aryapriya Ganguly and Avinash Mudaliar were the winners. Their win can be attributed to protein rich diet consisting mainly of dal which is reflected in long facial hair of Avinash.
The Doctor and his patient-in 3D i.e. Dr. Suby Bhattacharya and Kunal Malhotra were the Runners-Up while Somnath Chanda and Soubhadra Chakraborty who had named their team "The Intolerables" were the Second Runners-Up.

The other finalists were:
Slim and Shady (Saransh Mohapatra and Jyoti Parakash Panda)
Excelsior (Gaurav Jena and Debjit Tripathy)
Naam Mein Kya Rakha Hai? (Mukti Swarup Pradhan and Baibaswata Jena)
Cow Tse Tung (Nishant Nihar and Priyambad Pattanayak)
Tom's Dick Harry a.k.a Binary (Abhinav Dhar and Siddharth Mishra)

Dr. Suby Bhattacharya and Kunal Malhotra

Somnath Chanda and Soubhadra Chakrabarty

5. The prizes were awesome too

As promised, the winners walked away with their giant cheques of Rs. 75000 

(like literally giant)

The runners up with Rs. 50000 and the second runners up with Rs. 25000.
Madhurima Dutta and Sreeja Shambhavi, who were the highest scoring Girls' Team got special prizes from B21 and Jovees.
All the other finalists got gifts too. Owing to a separate competition for the best team name, we saw the teams coming up with innovative team names. One of the teams came up with the name "I quizzed a girl and I liked it". It was eventually chosen as the best team name and the team got a special prize. A special prize was given to the highest scoring school team too.
Off-stage, people were showered with audience prizes and those who registered early, got early bird gifts. The organizers are confident that some of those who came to Udghosh will be able to give Santa a pass this year.

De ja vu? They won it last year and they won it this year too!

 6. We had some distinguished guests and visitors

Mr. Anil Vajpayee along with his team mate for the quiz

Mr. Anil Vajpayee who is the honorable Director of KSOM, was there throughout the event.
Omkar Amrutanshu, our alumni and a legendary senior was also there throughout the event. His towering figure (at above 6.5 feet) will always be a source of inspiration. Mohit Dayal and Santosh Bhaiya were also there.
Dr. Sucheta Priyabadini and Prof. P.P. Mathur, our honorable Vice-Chancellor handed over the prizes to the winners.

Thats not a skyscraper. That is Omkar Amrutanshu!

Mohit and Sachin Bhaiyas

7. We had our heroes

To get the event running on stage, a lot of people worked behind the scenes too. One blog post can't mention everybody, but there are some people who led from the front and saw the event to its conclusion. Aman Sinha, Abhinav Dhar, Shovna Mohapatra and Arko Biswas lead the charge and coordinated the organisation of the event.

Aman Sinha had pledged not to take a bath till the event gets over

                             (He has still not taken a bath)

  With a great deal of effort, the author was able to 

find this photo where Miss. Mohapatra failed to pose

Mr. Dhar flaunting his crop of the No Shave November, well into December

Mr. Arko Biswas : He is a real page turner

Siddharth Mishra, Lalit Mundhra, Souradeep Dey, Souradip Chatterjee, Raunak Ghosh and Abinash Sahu persistently raided prospective sponsors at their homes and offices and arranged those amazing coupons and gifts.

Coca Cola is the secret of his energy

Mr. Mundhra : He has got the moves like Jagger

Post Udghosh, Mr. Souradeep Dey has flown to the north pole
 to assume his responsibilities as Santa Claus

Clockwise from top: Souradip, Raunak, Sachin and Abinash

Nihal Nayak, Rohan Rakesh, Asif Ghazi, Akanksha Priya, Gourav Jeet Nair, Rahil Sur and Shalini Rai took up the task of publicity and made sure everyone knew about the event.

The Dark Knight (Nihal), with his sidekicks: Gaurav and Avinash

Asif  welcoming participants with his beautiful smile

Akansha taking in the necessary calories before the event

Rahil : This pic was so heavy, it took forever to put it up

Rohan Rakesh and Shalini Rai

Abhishek Sengupta, Sreeja Shambhavi and Ankita Das came up with those amazing posters which we proudly spammed you with.

Sreeja : We've got a bad ass over here 

Abhishek Sengupta and Ankita Das

8. It was truly an open quiz

The quiz saw participation from school kids and also from their parents who came to drop them off and later decided to participate. Udghosh was for everyone and those who participated ranged from being corporates to professors.

9. We had people talking about Udghosh

Udghosh became a buzz word no only in KIIT, but also in quizzing community elsewhere. Udghosh became a topic of discussion in quizzing circles from Delhi to Mumbai to Hyderabad and participants came from far flung places just to participate in the event. 

10. At the end of the day, everyone left with a smile

Everyone who participated got a participation certificate and a gift.
Watching VJ take a quiz thereafter was a treat and a lot of people stayed till the end. VJ was thrilled with the enthusiasm of the participants and the welcome he received. He has promised to come back next year too and make it a hat-trick. For the organizing team, satisfaction of a job well done was the ultimate reward which they topped up with large quantities of Coca-Cola.

The OC, the alumni, the QM

  These amazing pictures have been taken by Debjeet Sarkar and Prateek Das.