Nishant Nihar, a third-year student of Electrical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, became a national champion in the Tata Simply Finance Quiz, conducted by Derek O’ Brien and Associates in collaboration with Zee Television and Tata Mutual Funds recently.
Competing among 16,000 students across eight cities of India Nishant, with his partner Wasim Sajjad, beat the teams from IIT-Kharagpur, Ethiraj College, Chennai, and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, to emerge national champions.
“Taking part in corporate quiz competitions has become a part of my life and it gives me the exposure to gain more knowledge,”’ says the young ‘quizzard’. With a wide knowledge base, he has always been popular among his peer groups and received support from his parents. “I had won Cadbury Bournvita Quiz while studying in Class VII in Ruchika High School, Bhubaneswar. That opened the door to a new world of knowledge.”
He has taken part in Mahindra Auto Quiz and Intach Heritage Quiz, among many others. Taking part in quizzing never hampered his studies, rather it made him more hardworking and confident to take up challenges. “But, travelling a lot to attend different levels of competition is tiring,” laughs Nishant.
Talking about the monetary part of the competitions, he says the corporate sector completely takes care of the accommodation and travel of the participants, along with handing the winners good prize money. “One of my seniors has bought a flat here in Bhubaneswar from the quiz money he won, which is quite inspiring”.
Nishant does not want to join the rat race after studies, and instead has a dream of teaching slum kids and to concentrate more on his own endeavours. “I have been trying my luck to get on KBC (Kaun Banege Crorepati) for long. I hope someday I will get a chance to be quizzed on the hot seat,”says Nishant signing off.
prachitara@newindianexpress.com