The Kolkata edition of TCS IT Wiz 2016 was held on the 31st of August.
It is a highly anticipated quiz and a marquee event in the quizzing calendar, being the biggest inter-school IT quiz.
Our school has a rich history in this quiz, with our seniors winning several editions.
So the pressure was immense, especially coming up against the reigning National Champions, Adnan Azmat & Shadan Kalam, two incredibly knowledgeable and exceptional quizzers.
Against all odds, Anubhav Kumar Singh & I were able to give some great answers to win the quiz.
Cracking the answer of tempered glass from obscure hints on the penultimate question is still fresh in my memory.
It was a dream that came true, a target achieved, a culimination of 3 years of hardwork & heartbreak. We won some nice stuff, like iPad Airs and more importantly a place in the national finals in Mumbai.
The national finals was held on the 16th of December at Taj Lands End, Mumbai where we were fortunate to be hosted by the Tatas and experience unmatched hospitality.
As fate would have it, however, we were unable to achieve the same heights as our seniors before us and our fellow competitors from Jamshedpur, Adnan & Shadan.
We faltered on a question about the headquarters of NSA which we incorrectly identified as WikiLeaks HQ, having discussed NSA all along. The question was answered by the eventual winners from Delhi, the Dhar brothers.
This one question turned out to be the difference between 1st and 4th place.
Ifs and buts aside, we were fortunate to be a part of the amazing event and have an incredible experience.
The highlight of the whole journey was undoubtedly meeting Mr. Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the then CEO of TCS and soon to be the chairman of Tata Sons.