Mastermind India Volume 1

For all those who missed the quiz show on television, here is a rerun, albeit in printed form. The contests of the first 3 years are compiled into a mega volume.

Complete Mastermind India Volume I
Siddhartha Basu

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Penguin Books and BBC Worldwide

Non-fiction

New Delhi, 2002
Pages: 733

Price: Rs 495
Hardcover

For those who missed one of the most prestigious quiz shows on Indian television, here is a rerun, albeit in print. The contests of the first three years of Mastermind India have been compiled into a single mega volume.

For a quiz buff, this is a veritable treasure. Not just does the brand name ensure that all the questions are of a fairly high level, but its current form ensures that the reader can pace his or her reading.

The contests from 1998 to 2000 are included. And not just are the years and questions given, but also the names of the participants and how they fared!

Given the scope of the tome, the range of subjects covered is as exhaustive. Whether history or literature, mathematics or sports, subjects get covered not just in the specialised sections, but also in a huge bank of general questions, which makes up half the book.

What leaves one impressed is the sheer range of subjects chosen by the participants. There are subjects like 'Opening Systems in the Game of Chess', 'Eponyms - Words Derived from Names', 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Series', even 'The Smiley Novels of John Le Carre'! And unlike Mastermind UK, where the subjects tend to be West-centric, the subjects are from just about everywhere in the world.

The book begins rather abruptly. An introduction, even a short one, would have been useful. Readers not acquainted with the format of the quiz - and it has a very rigid one - may find the book rather to difficult to start on with. A brief note about Basu is provided at the end. A longer one could have fleshed him out better, especially as more than half the page is blank. The font size is a challenge, but probably production economics dictated the decision.

Despite these, the book is a wonderful compilation, and if you have the separate volumes, give them away as you get the entire collection here.