With APOGEE ‘25 right around the corner, the APOGEE English Press sat down with Kshitij Galande, the joint-coordinator of the English Language Activities Society (ELAS), to gain insight into the workings of the club. 

According to Kshitij, ELAS had really stepped up its game, compared to previous years—going from a standard number of four quizzes to an almost impossible five. Staying in line with this technical fest’s theme of ‘Revved-up Rhapsody’, ELAS had “masterfully” integrated the theme with each of its quizzes. 

The other aforementioned quizzes are: A Business Quiz, Overhead Transmission (OHT), Seconds to Survive, Les Quizzables, and BOB. 

BOB has been ELAS’s flagship event since the ‘80s, where the winner of each year’s quiz has hosted the next, and the same cursed trophy is passed on with the new winner’s name etched into it, like an “elder-wand”. OHT, despite the technical name, is a general quiz and will be hosted by the “renowned quizmaster”, Aabhas Dasgupta. Similarly, A Business Quiz  is also a misnomer, as it is about both, about business and finance. This will be hosted by an ELAS regular, Aryapriya Ganguly. 

The other two quizzes are in-house Quizzes. Seconds to Survive would be a “Duel-to-the-Death” game in collaboration with the English Press Club (EPC). Les Quizzables is a “full-fledged musical retelling of the novel, 1862,” in the form of movie trivia. Kshitij further elaborated that they had discontinued the science and technology quiz and replaced it with a quiz based on movies, marking this decision as a commentary on the current state of society.

Kshitij said that he was the most excited about BoB, of all the quizzes, as it gave him pleasure to “watch the vampire’s curse take over the body of each year’s winner”. The parasite’s current host, Aditya H Iyer, will be preparing the Quiz questions along with performing the ritual to choose the next host. This ritual would test both the stamina and the knowledge of participants in order to pick the perfect successor.

Kshitij explained that ELAS had begun working since January, and expressed confidence that the quizzes would be a success. “The chickens’ liver was shiny and full, which can only spell good fortune for us”, Kshitij remarked about his Haruspicy.

When asked about the obstacles on their way to world domination, Kshitij said that the renovation of the main auditorium might pose an issue for BoB, as it had been traditionally held there. He assured that ELAS was in talks with the Department of Controls to resolve this issue, however there is a small chance that BOB would have to be moved to a smaller room. 

Kshitij said that he was worried about the fact that quizzing culture had taken a hit in recent years, as the enthusiasm for quizzing was not as strong as it was during his time as a club initiate. However, he believed that this was temporary, and if ELAS had managed to hold on since its inception at the beginning of time, quizzing was not going anywhere anytime soon. Also, he hoped that the human sacrifices would help.

Kshitij stated that his time as ELAS coordinator was relatively easy, as the club kept functioning on its own, and quizzing was a relatively easy pursuit. He added that this gave him time to focus more on the ethereal and occult side of the club’s practices.  He noted that things had been smooth with CoStAA and the institute, especially since BoB was sponsored by the latter.

Turning to dust, Kshitij used his final words to invite everyone for all the quizzes and promised them to be fun, as there was something for everyone.