"Today's students have mastered life skills"

Looking back what were the biggest challenges for the Bournvita Quiz Contest BQC in the 1970s and 80s when quizzing was in its nascent stages BQC was presented in radio format in the 1970s and 80s There was a team of researchers led by Ruth Deshpande who provided content for the show at the time The radio show was first presented by Hameed Sayani and after his demise by his brother Ameen Sayani When we took charge in 199293 there was no radio or TV version and for those two years only ground events were held Derek OrsquoBrien with the winners from 2012 and cohost Saumya Tandon 1994 saw a twopronged approach where the show made its TV debut and the ground events were held across 90 Indian cities The biggest difference that the show underwent then was that while the radio event only went to metros the TV avatar saw it reach homes across India Also the radio show was conducted in English Now we have bilingual versions for Hindi and Tamil audiences that will air this weekend Nisha Krishnan Tamil and Saumya Tandon Hindi are my copresenters for the shows I even learnt some Tamil It was wonderful to work in this new format Forty years is a long time for any show let alone a quiz show What according to you are some of the factors that have kept the BQC ship alive There are two factors that have kept BQC alive after all these years Firstly our message which is about the show39s content making knowledge interesting and helping young minds grow Our message has always been a constant The second factor is the medium which has evolved over time We39ve ensured that the show has not got left behind from live shows books radio to television in English bilingual format Hindi amp English Tamil amp English and now the new social media space including Facebook Twitter and a new app read review How much has the BQC quizzer changed since you took over as quizmaster Irsquove been attached to the show for 21 years nowhellipso I am an adult Two big forces have emerged When we started the recall of knowledge was what mattered Now the focus is on selfimprovement the development of soft skills and source of information In the 1970s schoolchildren looked to books and libraries for information Today the search for knowledge is not just ephemeral but more solid It39s more about the application of knowledge Content in this age must be relevant and knowledge more enduring With reality shows are todayrsquos children better equipped to handle the spotlight Well good luck to reality shows But todayrsquos students are definitely equipped to soak in the pressure be more resilient theyrsquove learnt how to accept winning and losing better Of course on BQC we donrsquot show footage of participants in tears Overall todayrsquos students have mastered life skills Winners across decades of the show What other plans for Derek OrsquoBrien Derekrsquos Challenge is a ground event show that wersquove just kicked off Itrsquos focus is on studentsrsquo soft skills covers 14 lakh students across 1500 schools in 40 Indian cities making it Indiarsquos largest relationship programme It will help students think better be creative ideate and speak better The Mumbai rounds begin on August 19 Finally your favourite question Never ask a quizmaster about their favourite because heshe believes that every question is brilliant My favourite guest moments Aamir Khan Irsquove never met another person with such attention to detail He invited the team to visit his home to discuss the format and questions Later he came by the studio to watch the shooting of an episode to get an idea of the real deal Sunil Dutt Duttsaab had arrived at the Nanavati Studio for his slot at 11 am His round began at 1130 am sharp and wound up on time However he had sent his car back home and our production car which was meant for guests was stuck somewhere He told us ldquoNo problemrdquo walked towards the entrance gate hailed an autorickshaw and was off much to the surprise of the autowallah IK Gujral All our guests appear voluntarily on the show not a paisa is exchanged Mr Gujral was invited to the show and his slot was first up in the morning As I made my way to host the show the security stopped me from entering the Nanavati Studio So I had to actually tell them ldquoBoss I am asking the questionsrdquo It was all very amusing IndiaplayBQC App From a radio show to your mobile phones BQC has come a long way Watching quiz shows and guessing the answers as Derek OrsquoBrien grills students might be fun Now flaunt your General Knowledge skills from your couch by participating live through an app All one has to do is download the app available on both Android and iOS and log in using your Facebook or Twitter account Log on to wwwderekin The new season airs on August 3 5 pm onwards Sun TV Tamil and on August 4 930 pm onwards Colours Did you know Derek OrsquoBrien hosts a quiz on Twitter Indiarsquos first which he started two years back Every Sunday at 11 am he plays the quizmaster Answer questions and play for prizes The viewer needs to submit hisher selection before the contestants on TV respond post which the options for the question will be disabled The names of the winners will be published on the leaderboard on their Facebook page their website and during the next episode of the show Dhara Vora FOR Free Log on to wwwfacebookcombournvitaquizcontest or wwwindiaplaysbqcin