NEDFi Brain Jam Open Quiz 2008

great...job...Quiz Master Barry O' Brian..thanks...for visiting Guwahati city...

The best part of Brain Jam 2008 was the flute recital by Dipak Sharma and felicitation given to some of the well known figure from Assam.Regarding quiz , i strongly believe that that was not an open quiz , it was a school quiz ( Upto class 8) , the questions were silly and one question was wrong ( two faces - Anushka shankar and Norah jones but who cares ?) The standard of the questions normally we ask in Guwahati quizzing are much more in higher standard . who ever loves fun , it was ok but for knowledge seekers , Brain Jam 2008 was nothing but a joke.

I agree with Mr Abhra Das. It was a great GAME SHOW not a serious Quiz. I was all the more disgusted because people actually think that it was a Quiz show- and a successful one at that.And the QM playing to the audience's greed and actually encouraging it was a real let down. You would think that belonging to the first family of Quizzing in India would have at least restrained the QM from stooping to such levels and from degrading Quizzing.

It is high time the people of Assam began distinguishing between QUIZ and GAMESHOW. I agree, the latter will bring in more people. Again, if Brainjam has to bring a QM from outside Assam, then why not ask Siddharth Basu?! Who can be a bigger name then Mr. Basu, and more respected? The word QUIZ has now-a-days become a much abused term, and a genuine quizzard cannot tolerate such insult. For the well being of quizzing in the state, I would ask the people concerned with BJ, to act responsibly and not be carried away by the glamour of the show.

I am surprised by the response given to Barry O'Brien. As if last year's debacle is not good enough, he again shamelessly turns up again. Some one should tell him that there is a difference between conducting a quiz show and playing a fool around. He is a blot and stigma to the entire quizzing community. He gives prizes to whoever can scream (err.. sing) at the highest and the promoter claims he and Barry are savour of quiz in NE. Showing a Zubeen's photo and asking who he is? That's a question. Okay. May be. Next he depicts five scientists in whose honor five elements are named. Where is the balance my friend. Let there be no quiz than have ones like Brains Jammed. Mr Khanna thanks a lot. But you better stay away from quizzing. Its a humble request from my side.

Thanks to all for posting such comments , I personally know Mit and Vinay -great comments, my special thanks goes to Gaurav Shah -friend nice to go through ur comments, may be you don't know me , but I am into Assam quizzing and had conducted numerous quiz shows and trust me I cannot sing, dance and roam among the audience but I believe in giving some really good questions, I have authored one quiz book named The Ultimate quiz book , the 2nd part of it is about to come in the next month, I assure that if you really love some good questions, all of your wait will be over quite soon, for further info can mail me at dasabhra@rediffmail.com and finally I have taken decision as long as Barry o Brien be there as QM in Brain jam at least I will not take part, rather I will spend time -The Great Laughter show in Star TV or any other comedy shows.

Hi Abhra and Crew, Revival for quiz in Assam & NE needed to be looked on before posting your comments. What have you guys done to accord such success in this magnitude in Assam and NE? If this was not of your accepted standard go to Bangalore and Delhi and please prove your mettle. We strongly believe none above has ever been into TOP 10 quizzards in India and seems you are only concerned about dismantling an honest effort. I think you people need a morale boost up when someone from schools has crossed you out.And if this is school quiz than you people should be ashamed that AAP PANCHVI PAAS SE TEJ NAHI HO. Please try to understand that we are not hardliners for promoting hardcore quizzing.We are promoting an entertainment zone where people from all age group can relate themselves and we not promoting HARDCORE QUIZZING where only some great talented people like you can sit.We admire your comments and thanks for proving your magnitude far greater than BARRY O BRIEN.Next time when we organise brain jam we will give you a direct qualify where you don't have to sit for prelims. HATS OFF.THANKS

Dear Brainjam Crew: The mail you have posted is quite painful, where you have written a lot about Abhra Das, we know Das from our school days, he is the person who inspired us into quizzing, always he comes, shares some good questions, he has conducted some good quiz shows and he is the person who gave us a quiz book named The Ultimate quiz book, we support his comments , but the way the brain jam crew 2008 has shown their behaviour is surprising, I request them 1st they know Das then make some comments, and he doesn't have to prove himself what he is and what he has done for Assam quizzing , what we can say from our heart, Brain jam comes once in a year but we share questions, nice facts with him every day, Mit Chowdhury, Vinay Upadhya are also brilliant quizzard and QM who have won in lots of quizzing, finally we can tell you that the crew's comment is not to disrespect the Brain Jam Crew but to suggest them they can give us something better and to communicate them there are some better quiz master in the country.

Cop Quest is a hardcore quiz and its entertaining, who ever loves quiz they will surely vote for Cop quest. We don't want to know that Abhra Das, Mit Chowdhury, Vinaya Upadhay - do not come in TOP 10 in Indian quizzing, but as long as quizzing be there all real quiz lovers remember their names, becoz they are quizzards in true sense; they used to write quiz column in papers, have their quiz blogs through which they always promote the quizzing in NE. The organiser of Brain Jam organised the quiz brilliantly but only one mistake in choosing the Quiz master , why we forgot to invite our respected Dilip Barua sir, Manimughdha sharma, Abhra Das, Sailen Baishya as QM, why we feel anything from outside Assam can be salable, can be acceptable? The best question was to identify the picture of Zubeen Garg , I am sure if some one from ASSSAM could asked that question in the next day couple of comments posted against him becoz he is from Assam (Huh) , the organiser forgot how come Mr. QM gave the wrong answer (Picture - Anushka and Norah) as he is from Kolkata thats why he is the boss in quizzing ? I request you to give us better quiz event in future .

Finally one cute mail from Brain Jam crew.Let me tell you that I never think I am a good quizzard so chances of coming in TOP 10 positions in Indian quizzing never arise , accidentally I won in my quizzing career in more than 150 quiz shows and yes trust me I failed to qualify in more than 50 quiz shows.I have posted my comment not out of frustration that I failed to qualify in 2008 , the organizers of BJ suggested that in the next year they will give me direct entry in final –good suggestion ,but I prefer to stay in home friends ( thanks for giving such suggestion but how come they forgot in the last two year I again accidentally came 2 nd and 3rd in the event ) . I love quizzing so I do take part , but if the organizer meet Mr.Derek O Brien and then pls ask him who won ALL INDIA INTER COLLEGE ZENITH QUIZ IN 2000 in Mumbai ,accidentally its me by chance , I respect the organizers of Brain Jam and all who are attached with quizzing , I request whatever we have posted as comment was a constructive criticism, when I took part in BJ for the 1st time which was conducted by Dr.Abhijeet Hazarika and Mr.Satyaki Bhuyan , it was a nice quiz then our expectations went high , in the last year it was good just becsudr of Neil O ‘ Brien and about the other QM , he loves to spend most of his time amongst the audience and this years too as a result,he often forgot to whom he asked his last questions and gave one wrong answers too . I Strongly believe that the organizer of BJ are great people and I know they can give us something better in future then I will the 1st person to welcome them and post my comment saying BRAIN JAM CREW ,WE ARE PROUD OF YOU , ITS FOR YOU PEOPLE , WE ARE IN QUIZZING. I have started dreaming the same from now hope it will happen quite soon.

First of all, it was a sad response from the Brain Jam Crew, and they have completely failed to take the criticism. BJ has taken it like a personal assault, instead of a professional one. The "I DON'T CARE" attitude from a professional team sends down a very sad message. When you care about the turnout, then why not care after the post-quiz criticism? Yes, probably none of us belong to the top 10 quizzards in India. But tell me one thing-is there any org. which brings out a list of top 10 quizzards/QMs? You sound like the typical Assamese parents, who want their sons to join an IIT and daughters to join AIIMS. Toppers is all you want, and failure is all they produce instead. Moreover, do not refer to everyone as "crew". There is just one crew here, and that is the BJ crew. And lastly, as far as proving the quality in Delhi and Bangalore is concerned, first come here and see how the quality of the quiz is. This is not a distance learning course, where you hear what is going on in Delhi and narrate stories in Guwahati. The 'hardcore' quizzing in Delhi and Bangalore attracts the same amount of people, which is attracted in Assam by the 'entertainment quizzes’. Herein, lies the difference. BJ has all the resources to host a ‘big’ quiz. All we want from them is to keep on improving. Public opinion is important; dictators either shoot themselves or are hanged upside down.

I take exception to the fact that the Brain Jam Crew addressed me as 'crew' when all I did was pass an independent and impartial remark. I am not taking sides nor indulging in any mud slinging nor do I belong to the top ten quizzers of Assam, leave alone India. But every person has certain expectations from a quiz show of such magnitude. And I guess, the freedom to express their views too. I just did that. If you aren't willing/can't take out any positives from my post, I can't do anything about it.

its really nice to see some people fighting for their own name, own intentions even fighting for motherland .You people are try to figure out our own inner-self try to give full time to quizzing and create history. Instead of pointing fingers on others if u have the potential prove it we are independent to prove no one can stop you . Strange to see that after BJ everybody is eying better i believe we should concentrate on our own activities . passing comments on anyone is easy . Try to kill the devil inside you. Kudos to the Brain jam team

Barry O' Brien, I hated him. I am a trivia hunter, and he was a charmer for the masses. I am not used to audience singing in quizzes and I despised it. But after much introspection, I realized there is nothing wrong either. Barry is doing it in his own style and people love it. We may not, but who cares....because it’s a democracy. We are outnumbered but only solace is that we are not outclassed, if i may assume. The ball has already been rolled, and there is no point in complaining. I am no stranger to quiz, though I am not amongst the greats; yet I failed to qualify in the finals. I got 13. Unlucky? No, there is lots of learning from that day. Some are: 1) Fun quiz for masses have arrived, yet it doesn't mean one can win by fluke. The winner was a brilliant quizzer and needs no introduction. Moreover if nothing changes, fun quizzes will continue to get the patrons as the TOMA achieved by the sponsors is higher than by sponsoring a trivia quiz 2) Segmenting, targeting and repositioning for trivia to be undertaken to withstand this storm of fun quizzes 3) Quizzes like Brain jam are necessary for trivia circuits to survive as they are the nursery for the future trivia hunters BUT I have a request to the organizers of brain jam, pls don't insult senior quizzers like Abhra Da, as that sounds very unprofessional. Abhra Da is like my elder brother and I respect him for his sheer humility, despite tons of successes behind. So organizers please don't create a storm in a tea cup. The same goes to trivia hunters. Finally the brain jam crew inquired how many people from Guwahati (or NE) have proved their mettle in Delhi or Bangalore quizzing circuit. I am not sure of Delhi (Never attended any quizzing there), but in Bangalore this author has managed to win 32 prizes in total between the period of 2000-2003. And I am nothing now in Guwahati! So that will answer your curiosity about the difference of standards of quizzing in Bangalore and Guwahati. Ironically, I have won the best quizzes in Bangalore! I on my part take back any comments in this present write up or any in the past, if it has hurt any party's sentiments. I apologize for the same. My intention is to maintain a cordial relationship between fun quiz and trivia, as eventually they are the two sides of the same coin.

Hi all, neither I belong to a big quizzing background nor I am much into quizzing.But as part of sponsors I was to be there for BJ. I heard about the show for quite a long time and just wanted to be a part. Now as a hardcore corporate ROI measurer I was the happiest person that the volume of mileage BJ generated for us. But let me share you a small incident that happened with me that day.I was late for the show and there were no seats left for seating and I didn't like to give trouble to other as saying I am sponsor.I was standing in the corner and one lady was down on her knee watching the show(obviously she didn't get to sit). Then quiz master Barry came over and was asking some question,the lady sprang up and answered,she was right and she got the prize.Later on when I was waiting for my team outside the lady was busy talking to her friend saying"My children said I am too old for quizzing,my husband said I am fat to get adjusted on those seats,my mother said you should better take care about your utensil,BUT SEE I TOO CAN PROVE MYSELF THAT I AM NOT A GOOD FOR NOTHING when i went back to home". I felt at the end that the quiz has given many things to many one.So people please stop the mud slinging,i know freedom of speech is there,I know it was not a show where quiz master made a stern face and asked all the greatest facts and trivia in the world,i know people were greedy for giving just one answer and I also know BJ crews are not bothered.BUT EVERYONE OVER HERE SHOULD ALSO KNOW FOR THOSE FIVE HOURS WE WERE HAPPY just for some people who cared to plant a seed of good education,healthy thought inside the hearts of NEXT GENERATION.THE PEOPLE WHO WERE REFERRED AS BLOTS AND STIGMAS.REALLY we live in a democratic world. NICE EXPERIENCE BJ. THANKS FOR CARING FOR THE PEOPLE ACROSS AGES AND METTLE

Dear Joi ai asom....first, let us kill the devil in us, so that we feel free to use our own name and write what we feel. Cheers! :)

Hi all, First thing first, Anurag excellent strategical analysis.You always see the both side of coin. Till date I am just watching the jostling of intelligence across some people who are actually close to heart of mine,be it Khanna, Abhra Da, Mit and yes ANU. Whom should I speak for? Well the truth and nothing else. What is a constructive criticism? Mit? proving Barry O Brien a STCKY FELLOW, STIGMA? What is WE don't care attitude?BJ crew? who are you? I think I am much into BJ than any crew else? What is fun quiz and trivia quiz cant trivia quiz be fun or vice versa?I think they are quiz at the end of the day and are 1000times more potent than a Voice of India and Boogie woogie. I wont go for a long comment,neither I am knowledgeable enough nor I am very good quizard but let me tell you be it Brain Jam or Cop quest both ignite the same fire in my mind and yes when I could not qualify for final(Which I do always)I feel giving at least one answer for my Victory over Myself.I am greedy I suppose?And thus I think MONIMUGDHHA (Cop quest,and I am a great fan for him)does not play for peoples greed when he throws audience question.Neither BARRY o BRien does that. I am surprised to see that all my learned friends over here are actually encouraging some harsh slingers for Khanna and MR Brien. I am surprised to see Mr Khanna encouraging BJ Crew(If he really?) BJ WAS NOT A JOKE. IT TOOK US FOUR MONTHS NIGHT AND DAY TO MAKE IT REAL. OUR FAMILY SUFFERED A LOT FOR OUR ENGAGEMENT WITH BJ AND WE ARE NOT BUNCH OF JOKERS TO FOOL PEOPLE AROUND. I DON'T WANT TO HURT ANYONE BUT PLEASE DO NOT THINK THAT WE WERE DISHONEST IN OUR EFFORT. AND I KNOW HOW HANNAN CORTEZ DISCOVERED 'CHOCOLATE, BUT I DON'T KNOW THE NAME OF ALL PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY IN ASSAM. THANKS. CHEERS FOR GOOD CAUSE.

Dear Vinay, Mit, Rahul, Ramen, Anurag and Gaurav: Here is a request from me, telling you as an elder brother, I believe we should stop posting comments here, I have realized one thing that there are two types of quizzing – 1. Serious, hardcore and entertaining quiz (quite common in IIT/IIM/All Metro/ and off course quizzes like COP QUEST. and other type of quizzing is fun quiz (now after lots of comments posted above, donot ask me give its definition).See we should concentrate about our quizzing style and forget about others quizzing .Let we take a challenge that even if in our quiz, one person comes to see, when he/she get back to his/her home, at least he /she can share some trivial facts with his/her family. I pray to god that this time also COP QUEST should take place and also the QUIZ FESTIVAL by TRIVIA BYTES CREATIONS. Once again requesting my brothers, we should no more say a few words against any other quiz, any other quiz organizers, rather we should think about our quizzing and help NORTH EAST quizzing world. Here is an announcement, 4 years back I brought before you my 1st quiz book – The Ultimate quiz book, by all of your support the book got a super success, for those who love trivia who love serious quizzing who loves knowledge , here is a good news my 2nd book The Ultimate quiz book-2 is ready to come in the market in the next month. Hope all of you will like it again .Here is a sample of question (is that hardcore or not entertaining ? ) 1. KOHIMA IS THE CAPITAL OF NAGALAND.WHY IS IT SO NAMED? 2. WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE EXPRESSION NAKED TRUTH? 3. WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE NURSERY RHYME PUSSYCAT PUSSYCAT? 4. THE SONG CHAL CHAIYA CHAIYA FROM DIL SE WAS BANEED IN PAKISTAN .WHY? Finally i say that i have full respect for Anoop-da , I need apology if my comments hurt him but i know he is the person who can give us some really good quizzing event in future.

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Dear Mit, I don't know u as well as u know me. First you want to know my name. My name is Rajdeep Baruah. I hail from Guwahati. Born Assamese . If you think my name will make a difference to you its up to you. I believe if you know your history well, you can go where ever you like. See I am not a quizzard but I appreciate good things and innovative means makes me happy. I liked the quiz and pray to god for the success of the BJ efforts in future.

Thanks for the intro Mr. Baruah. Indeed nice to know that you are interested in quizzing, even when you are not a quizzard.

Dear friends, I have been following this debate since the last couple of days but never posted anything here, as I was not a witness to the quiz show in question (for the record, I am based in New Delhi). However, the debate has suddenly turned into an argument between the organisers and some of the participants. And this has prompted me to put forward my opinion as well. But some of you might still argue as to why I should put in my viewpoint when I didn’t even see the show. Well, my name was used twice in the posts, so I thought the issue warrants my response. Let me first address those who have condemned the quiz, the organiser and the quizmaster. I condemn the personal attack against Anoop da! It was shameful on the part of Mr. Shah to arraign the organiser without knowing anything about him. That’s irresponsible behaviour, my friend. This is not the way to nurse your bruised ego. And Abhra da should not have supported Mr. Shah’s comments. I am literally very disappointed. See, I have known Anoop da for a long time now and we have had discussed the Brain Jam plan in detail in Kolkata. Anoop da had very clearly told me that he wants to have a strictly fun quiz. He had clearly told me that he wants a quiz where the audience would get precedence over the 12 participants on stage. His logic was clear and so was his conviction. And he did it exactly as he had planned it. As a hardcore quizzer with 17 years of experience, the idea of an entirely fun quiz did not appeal to me. It never will. Neither did the participants getting less importance impress me. But what struck me was Anoop da’s conviction. He knew what he wanted: a quality I have found missing in most quizzers and quiz organisers. He wanted to entertain the audience who had paid a hundred bucks for entry. And entertained they were indeed. The audience swayed to the popular Bollywood and Western numbers and even the QM shook his leg. For the organisers and the sponsors, it was all-round success. Ninety percent of the audience was happy. The unhappy ten percent consisted of the participants. They had expected the quiz to be like COP QUEST, which is a quiz for quizzing sake. Naturally, they were disappointed. When we do COP QUEST, the participants are always content. I am a hardcore quizzer so I will do stuff as per my tastes. I make participants my first priority. But what happens to those sitting in the audience? They feel bored because they are not used to hardcore quizzing. So, at the end of the day, they go home a little dejected. So, my conclusion is while Brain Jam has entertained the audience, COP QUEST entertains the participants. And both Anoop da and I have discussed it a number of times before and agreed not to rival each other in style and content. Let us not cross lines. Let CQ remain in its own place and BJ in its own. Both are required for the variety to remain. Otherwise, if only one existed, things would become so monotonous. But again, there is a thin line of difference between entertaining the participants and the audience. We tend to overdo things sometimes. That’s what must have happened in BJ this year; that’s what had happened with CQ last year. So, my dear quizzing brethren, please do not raise question marks about the intentions of the BJ team. They have a good objective. And with their event, they have created a craze for quizzing again, which will benefit us when we do COP QUEST. Now, the organisers. Friends, I do understand what it takes to organise an event, since I’m a quiz organiser myself. But you do come across criticism often. A good organiser would take it in good spirit, not launch personal attacks against others. Therefore, I condemn personal attack on Abhra da, Mit, Vinay and others. If people have complained about something, pay heed to it and do something to convince them. Or else try to reason with them. Don’t retaliate like that. People like Abhra da are very senior quizzers. He has contributed the most to the development of a quizzing culture in Assam. I have basically grown up watching him quiz and revere him. He was already an established name long before the idea to have BJ struck you first. Therefore, if he has said something, please pay heed to it. Most problems arise because of the failure to communicate. All of us will always be around. If you are a non-quizzer intent on organising quiz shows in the future, listen to those who have mastered the game. You might not implement the advice, but what’s wrong in listening to it with an open mind? At length, I would like to say one thing: a genuine quizzer will always crib. But he should also try to do well in any form of the game. If you can master all the forms, you will rule the world. Thank you all for listening! Mani

Mani Thanks for your intervention and your mail, I have just to say that yes though I supported Mr. Shah’s comment but trust me I didn’t support the last line where Mr.Shah made comment against Anoop-da, still I need apology , God swear I said to my colleagues and friends that that last line was quite offensive as we know Anoop-da is truly a nice human being, and I feel guilty if my comments hurt him. At the end of the day we all want more and more quiz shows in our place.

Long live Quizzing!

You have done great job. Such big contests should be held quite regularly. We the students get huge inspiration from such gorgeous quizzing .

Oh now come on, the whole of the country knows about Barry and his dinner table jokes,which he uses as questions in his quizzes. BTW, Barry is invited only in Brainjam. He is chucked out of the quiz scene in the rest of the country. I don't understand why we are inviting someone who is dumped by others, because he is just too silly and clown-like.

The problem with our elite little quiz club here is that they think they're the most exciting thing that ever happened to the Guwahati quiz scene. Their brand of quizzing, trivia hunting, as they profess, is appreciable given that they're so morbidly passionate about it. But, for god's sake, quit being so chauvinistic. if the O'Briens wants to have a quiz, and sing and dance and charm the audience, you really shouldn't be so incredibly hot and bothered. You people don't really haven't really copyrighted the term quiz, right?? It isn't yours, so keep your definitions and indignations to yourself. And, of course, all of you who've been pistol whipping brain jam are still bound to shamelessly turn up for the next edition aren't you?

BRAIN JAM is the best quiz in India , keep it up.