Date:14/03/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/03/14/stories/2005031401810300.htm

Back Infosys team emerges winner in Business Line Corporate Quiz

Our Bureau

The Quiz Master, Mr Bharat V. Epur (left), with winners of the The Hindu Business Line Corporate Quiz, Mr Yagnyeshwaran Hariharan (centre), and Mr Abhishek Kumar, from Infosys, Chennai, on Sunday. — Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai , March 13

THE Infosys team of Mr Abhishek Kumar and Mr Yagnyeshwaran came from behind to win the Business Line Corporate Quiz, presented by the Rotary Club of Madras.

The duo was placed fourth, out of the six finalists, before the concluding buzzer round. But attempting three out of the last four questions, they surged ahead of Sify (which eventually finished fifth), Sun Microsystems (second), and HCL's one-man team (third).

The winners weren't decided until the last question, which ironically was answered incorrectly by Infosys, thus getting a minus five score. But in the process, the team blocked Sun's chances of gaining a plus 10 for the correct answer and drew level with it.

After going for the buzzer, Infosys failed to identify Stern Stewart as the firm that trademarked EVA (economic value added) as a tool for measuring business performance.

Some of the questions that the winners answered in that round included, "Which American CEO was often referred to as `The CEO who wasn't there?" The answer: Jeff Skilling, former CEO of Enron, for claiming that he wasn't aware of the happening during Enron's troubled times.

Another one: "Which hybrid car was launched with a self-parking feature?" Answer: Toyota Prius

Quizmaster Bharat V. Epur of Quizwalahs dished out a mix of questions ranging from classics to current affairs in rounds as varied as multiple choice, anagram, audio-video and `topsy-turvy,' in which the participants had to frame a question for the answer!

A multiple-choice question went thus: "Which of these isn't an Indian luxury train — Palace on Wheels, Royal Orient, Deccan Odyssey and The Fairy Princess?" The last one is the right answer, the name being the quizmaster's creation.

"What a hard-working executive needs — `SHE WAGES SADISM!'" That was an anagram question. The answer: Swedish massage!

Earlier, nearly 50 teams vied for the top six slots in the 30-question preliminary; Sify, HCL, Sun, Infosys, Novar India and India Intellect qualified.

As in most quizzes, the audience got the most marks, with some like Mr Ramkumar Shankar of the Sanmar group cracking a handful of questions.

Mr K. Venugopal, Joint Editor of the Business Line, presented the prizes to the Infosys team, which won two return tickets to Los Angeles, as also BlackBerry handsets. Mr N.K. Gopinath, President of the Rotary Club of Madras, gave away the prizes to the other finalists.

Laptops, computer peripherals, white goods, leather goods, Internet starter packs were some of the goodies on offer, thanks to co-sponsors such as AirTel, Air-India, ITC Infotech, Sify, HP and TCS and supporting sponsors such as Hidesign, Viveks, BrandReporter, Diviniti, Indian Terrain and Taj.