Quiz Contests Turn Learning into a Celebration in North Bengal

From the timeless wisdom of Leo Tolstoy’s The Three Questions to the modern-day excitement of televised quiz shows, the pursuit of knowledge has always been closely linked with the art of asking the right questions. Today, quiz competitions are emerging as an innovative and enjoyable form of education, encouraging students to think beyond textbooks while developing curiosity, awareness and analytical skills.

In India, the modern quiz movement received a major boost with Doordarshan’s Quiz Time, the pioneering national inter-collegiate quiz show hosted and produced by Siddharth Basu in 1985–86. Fifteen years later, Amitabh Bachchan took quizzing into millions of homes with Kaun Banega Crorepati. His commanding voice, warm interaction and the excitement of winning prize money transformed quizzing into a nationwide phenomenon.

Bengal, with its long-standing reputation for scholarship, literature and intellectual pursuits, quickly embraced the quiz culture. From metropolitan centres to small towns and remote areas, quiz competitions gradually became a regular feature of school and cultural life. In north Bengal, they are now becoming almost as popular as traditional competitions in music, dance, drama and recitation.

The recent spate of quiz competitions in and around Siliguri underlines this growing enthusiasm. More importantly, these events demonstrate how quizzing can make learning interactive, competitive and meaningful.

Veteran quiz master Parag Biswas, who has been organising quiz competitions since his student days in 1987, considers quizzing a powerful educational tool. Having conducted more than 400 competitions for over one lakh participants over the past four decades, Biswas believes quizzes can significantly influence how students learn.

“Quiz contests play a vital role in education and personal growth. They sharpen memory recall, boost critical thinking and expand general awareness beyond textbooks,” he said.

Biswas recently conducted the Gems Sporting Club Golden Jubilee Inter-School Quiz Competition 2026 at Bagdogra near Siliguri on May 25. More than 28 leading schools offering Hindi-, English-, Bengali-, and Nepali-medium education participated in the competition.

The two-day event followed a hybrid format, beginning with a written preliminary round before moving through zonal semi-finals and finally to the grand finale. Questions covered a wide spectrum of subjects, compelling participants to draw upon knowledge acquired both inside and outside the classroom.

The competition was specifically designed to promote 21st-century skills, including logical reasoning, media literacy, awareness of current affairs and problem-solving. Instead of rewarding mere memorisation, the format encouraged participants to connect facts, interpret clues and arrive at logical conclusions.

Chief organiser Sujit Singh said the contest aimed to move students away from dependence on instant online searches. “Rote learning is a thing of the past. As the new education policies in the country have transformed education, critical thinking is essential to meet modern challenges. Our main aim is to develop that critical thinking in the future generations of the country,” he said.

The organisers also introduced an unconventional team format by mixing and matching contestants. The top three winning teams, each comprising two teams, received attractive prizes and certificates.

The momentum continued with another major quiz organised by the Kolkata Region of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan at Pradhan Mantri School for Rising India Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sevoke Road, Salugara, near Siliguri, on July 28.

Schools from the Raninagar cluster participated in the competition, which followed a hybrid format. After the preliminary round, five schools qualified for the grand finale. Quiz master Parag Biswas tested the participants on the Indian Knowledge System.

The competition remained fiercely contested until the end, with several rounds of tie-breakers required to determine the final positions. Novonil Ghosh and Dhrupad Mondal of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Border Security Force, Raninagar, eventually emerged champions. Princhi Haloi and Anurodh Bhardwaj of Pradhan Mantri School for Rising India Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bengdubi, finished second, while Prem Raj and Angshuman Bhagat of Kendriya Vidyalaya, North-East Frontier Railway, New Jalpaiguri, secured third place.

The quiz fever continued the following day when the Kolkata-based Social Sports Foundation, in association with the Siliguri Cine Society, organised an Inter-School Sports Quiz Competition on July 29 as part of the 2nd Siliguri International Sports Film Festival at Ramkinkar Hall.

Nineteen schools participated in what was described as the first dedicated inter-school sports quiz of its kind in Bengal. Following a written preliminary round and a tense tie-breaker to determine the sixth finalist, the competition moved into an exciting grand finale.

Quiz master Parag Biswas, assisted by Mayukh Sarkar, kept the participants and audience engrossed with a mix of trivia, anecdotes, humour and lively interaction. The atmosphere remained energetic throughout the competition.

After four closely fought rounds, Rahin Dey and Divyodarshee Das of Delhi Public School, Siliguri, emerged champions. Arnab Byapari and Debdwij Sarker of Olivia Enlightened English School, Bidhannagar, finished as first runners-up, while Vinayak Bhattacharya and Tirth Goyel of Birla Divya Jyoti School, Matigara, secured the second runners-up position.

Siliguri Cine Society president Pradip Nag said the sports quiz was organised with the larger objective of developing a lasting interest in sports among young people. Apart from the winners and runners-up, the other finalists and participants were also recognised with trophies and certificates.

The growing popularity of quiz competitions in North Bengal points to a significant change in the way young people engage with knowledge. A good quiz is not simply a contest of memory; it demands observation, reasoning, quick decision-making, teamwork and the ability to connect seemingly unrelated pieces of information.

In an age when information is available at the click of a button, the real challenge is no longer finding an answer but understanding how to arrive at it. Quiz competitions provide precisely that opportunity. They turn classrooms and competition halls into arenas of curiosity, transforming knowledge from something to be memorised into something to be explored.

For the students of North Bengal, the quiz boom is therefore much more than a series of competitions. It is a celebration of learning—and a reminder that sometimes, the best way to learn is simply to ask the right question.