Quizzing in India

Quizzing in India is quite popular, and has developed its own, unique flavour. Quizzing in India is different from American and British quizzing in that it is diverse, with different genres catering to different geographical regions, age groups, interests, etc.

Neil O'Brien was an early pioneer of quizzing in India. O'Brien conducted the first well-organized, formal quiz in 1967 at Christ the King Church Parish Hall in Calcutta (now Kolkata). O'Brien, who had recently returned from England and had been exposed to the Pub quiz culture there, brought quizzing first to the Anglo-Indian community before it became popular among a wider audience. O'Brien remained active in quizzing, later hosting popular quiz show broadcasts, including the "North Star Quiz." On April 12, 1972, Bournvita Quiz Contest become the first quiz show to be broadcast on radio and then in June 1992,a television show on Zee TV ; it was among the most popular programmes in the region. Hamid Sayani, followed by his brother Ameen, were the show's first quizmasters. The first quiz show to become nationally popular was "Quiz Time," which began broadcasting in the late eighties. It was the first Quiz Show to be televised on Indian Television by the great Indian Quizmaster Siddhartha Basu, frequently hailed as the "grandfather of the quiz game in India, is credited with making quizzing a household world. Basu later went on to host other shows, including "India Quiz." In 2000, the Kaun Banega Crorepati quiz, modeled after Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, reignited nationwide interest in quizzing, becoming one of the most popular quiz shows of all time.