Before the era of colour television began with the broadcast of the Asian games in 1980, the Bournvita Quiz Contest was one of two popular shows on radio – the other being the broadcast of the cricket commentary.
The Bournvita Quiz Contest was part of an inclusive school project (sponsored by Bournvita) aimed at improving the all-round performance of students. The purpose of the project was to impart an element of leisure to the process of learning. The format of the Bournvita Quiz Contest consisted of teams of three
students each, drawn from schools all over India. The students were asked questions relating to
general knowledge, with an emphasis on their relevance to India. The Bournvita Quiz Contest, in turn, gave birth to the Bournvita
Book of Knowledge.
The Bournvita Book of
knowledge is loosely modelled on the school syllabus – it contains sections dealing with History, Geography, Science, Literature and Sports. Miscellaneous subjects dealing with a variety of
topics such as films, astronomy, the constitution, and birds & animals, have been grouped together under the heading of “General Topics”.
If a criticism (of the format, not the book) is to be levelled, it is that too much weightage has been given to “General Topics”; surely, a few additional sections could have been demarcated, instead of lumping
films and
astronomy together under one broad heading. The presentation would have been that much more interesting.
It is common practice to give the answers at the back of the book, and this practice has been followed. However, it is a constant irritant having to turn the pages to get an answer to a perplexing question.
As far as the book itself is concerned, it is both informative and entertaining. The questions contain perennial favourites such as the Nobel prize winners (for the year) and the name of the person who invented penicillin.
But as a person who has found the use of abbreviations in public life to be a complete nuisance, one only wishes that the editors had not sanctified their use by including a large selection of acronyms under “General Topics”. Surely, one need not resort to asking the meaning of acronyms in a test of general knowledge!
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