Keekli Reporter, 2nd August, 2014, Shimla
The Shimla Round of India’s largest quiz contest – INTACH India Heritage Quiz 2014 was organised at the Auckland House School by INTACH (Indian national Trust for Art and Cultural heritage) and Xpress Minds Edutainment, which was conducted by quizmaster Rohan Desai here today. The Quiz Series marks the 30th Anniversary of the founding of INTACH. It is an attempt to interact with students and teachers across India through a direct and awareness building activity. State Convenor, INTACH, Maalvika Pathania, noted author and Co-Convenor, INTACH, Raja Bhasin, Director Principal Sunita John among others were present on the occasion.
Seventeen quizmasters from Xpress Minds are conducting a series of quizzes – the largest ever conducted in India. Quizzes are being conducted at Port Blair, Kanyakumari, Rajkot, Aizawl and Leh among others prominent cities. In the North Zone I quiz competitions will being held at Patiala, Ambala, Shimla, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Kangra in the following days. In the Shimla addition competition, nine schools participated, namely – St Edwards School; Shimla Public School; St Thomas School; Chapslee School; DAV Tutu; Dayanand Public School; DAV School New Shimla; DAV School Lakkar Bazar; and Auckland House School. Each school had featured a team of two students each from classes 7th to 10th and maximum number of teams was from DAV Tutu and Auckland School, i.e., 10, with a total participation of more than 100 students, hence making it a huge success.
The Shimla round was won by the team Shimla Strikers from Dayanand Public School, Shimla and the winners were Yamini Sharma and Sarthak Chauhan, who were accompanied by their teachers Sonam Verma and Neeta Gautam. Coming second with a tie were The Tigers, Pranab Rana and Arbav Nag from St Edwards School and team Amethyst, Manas Kumar and Kartik Chadha from DAV Public School New Shimla. The winners of this competition will now head for the Zonal Finals which will be held on 19th August in Chandigarh. They will compete with teams from Ambala, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Kangra and Chandigarh. The Zonal Final will feature various rounds that will use progressive clues and visual stills to excite and tease the students. The team that wins the zonal final will then travel to Delhi to participate in the National Rounds.
Questions were mostly based on Heritage Shimla as well as covering national topics, ranging from general to specific category. Few examples include – what renowned institute is located on the Observatory Hill, Shimla; which member of the cat family is the state animal of Himachal; and with what religion would you associate the terms ‘Sudveh’ and ‘Kusti’ among many others questions put forth to the students. The questions not only tested the book knowledge of the students but also the presence of mind. Such activities clearly reflect the mindset of the students who wish to excel in various fields.
Madam Pathania expressed her views about the activities of INTACH and the Heritage Quiz which was especially organized for the children to learn as well as become aware of their rich culture and heritage. She also thanked Principal John for letting them organize the quiz in the school premises, which soon would become an annual feature in the years to come. Principal John too spoke about the importance of the cities heritage and how it impacts our lives. Efforts should be made to preserve and revere the beauty of our cities as we too will become a part of its history someday, she added. (see Video Clips).
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