Speaker / Gateway

CB never ceases to amaze its members, and those who attended the Club Meeting on the 2nd of February will be in complete agreement! Because perched atop the Taj Rooftop, at the ‘ Rendezvous’ that Tuesday afternoon, in addition to the cordial weekly lunch and informative Rotary announcements, the Rotarians had a gala time getting and guessing their English right! You see, this Tuesday meeting was centered around the unparalleled ‘Queen-of-Quiz’ herself, who ruled Indian television and our hearts for fifteen years, with her immaculate etiquette, unparalleled panache and impeccable pronunciations – Rtn. Sabira Merchant, who conducted Rotary’s version of her yesteryear’s legendary English quiz show, ‘What’s The Good Word?’ And in keeping with what ensued over the one hour that the quiz was played – not just by the six Rotarians who had participated as team members, but also by all those sitting as audience – should one venture to answer the question: ‘What’s The Good Word?’, then, in one word, the afternoon, simply put, was ‘FUN’! Enthralling, exciting, enriching, hilarious…. ‘FUN’!!!

Yes, indeed the Club Meeting on the 2nd of February, which was held at the Taj Rooftop, turned out to be one that saw the Rotarians having an absolutely FUN time getting and guessing their English right, under the vivacious watch of none other than the unparalleled ‘Queen-of- Quiz’ herself, Rtn. Sabira Merchant! President Dr. Sonya Mehta called the meeting to order and after making a few announcement, handed over the mic and the ground to Rtn. Sabira Merchant, who conducted Rotary’s version of her yesteryear’s legendary English quiz show, ‘What’s The Good Word?’ Rtn. Sabira Merchant needs no introduction!

For an unflinching fifteen years, since 1972 to 1987, she ruled as the unbeaten diva in the history of Indian Television’s Quiz shows with her immaculate etiquette, unparalleled panache and impeccable pronunciations, conducting the legendary English quiz, ‘What’s the Good Word?’, which had all of India glued to the TV screens. Currently known for her exemplary skills in formal etiquette, Rtn. Sabira is the official trainer for the country’s most popular ‘Miss India Pageant’; in addition to being a revered theater actor and personality. She became extremely popular and a household name symbolizing class and social etiquette, with her acclaimed show, ‘What’s The Good Word’, that was aired on TV for a record 15 years, setting one of the highest TRP records at the time. It was the first ever, English-only show to be aired on Indian TV.

In fact, Rtn. Sabira Merchant nearly made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the only woman quiz host to run a show for such a long tenure. And so started the much awaited Rotary’s version of ‘What’s The Good Word’ with Rtn. Freyaz wittily introducing the team members amid giggles galore at ‘The Rendezvous’! Three teams – Team ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’, with two participants in each – would be competing to win. Each team comprised one Past President and one Rotarian: ‘Team A’ boasted of PP Paul George with Rtn. Tara Deshpande; while ‘Team B’ flaunted PP Pradeep Saxena with Rtn. Sherebanu Baldiwala, and ‘Team C’ was swanky with PP Ashish Vaid with Rtn. Satyan Israni. Rtn. Sabira Merchant announced the rules and the format of the quiz which would include twelve rounds.

She shared a list of words with the participants and the game mainly revolved around guessing the correct word based on the synonyms provided by one participant to his/her team member. Marks were also allotted to questions asked based on chosen themes which included RCB and food! Questions carried 5 marks each and guessing the word by the initiating team awarded 9 marks, but if the team failed to guess it correctly, it would be passed on to the other teams, with a lowered mark-rating. And if none of the teams was able to guess the word, then it would be thrown open for audience-guessing and the audience received chocolates for the right answer! It was indeed the lure of free chocolates, covered in extremely high levels of excitement of the packedhouse, that rendered the Rotarians in the audiences helpless to hold off till it was their turn! And the whole room would burst into peals of laughter, much as the Quiz Master raised her delicate brow in censure! An hour of exhilaration and fun came to an end too soon amid laughter, guesses, chocolates, cheering and immense enjoyment! Numerous questions and synonyms later, it was ‘Team A’ that won by a close margin, scoring 42 points, followed very closely by ‘Team B’ with 41 points and ‘Team C’ at 38.

This kind of even scoring seemed to have impressed RCB is pleased to add yet another commendable member to its illustrious group of Rotary Fellows! Twenty-nine year old Mudit Jatia was inducted to RCB by President Dr. Sonya Mehta on 2nd February, 2016. Mudit is married to Priyanka and has a son, Utkarsh. His family has been a frontrunner for philanthropic activities and has always supported social causes.

Mudit is a second-generation Rotarian with a strong Rotary background as his father is a member of RCB and his mother has been part of the Inner Wheel Committee and even served as its President. Mudit was visibly beaming at his official entry as a Rotarian and said, “I’m happy to be part of the RCB family. Especially as I come from a lineage of Rotarian parents, I felt the need to also give back to society and to continue that legacy.” A hearty congratulations and welcome to Mudit from all Rotarians! President Dr. Sonya Mehta Welcomes Rtn. Mudit Jatia to RCB Rtn. Sabira Merchant Congratulating the Winning Team ‘A’ the Quiz Master herself! Congratulations to PP Paul George and Rtn. Tara Deshpande!

The enthralling afternoon ended on the promise to conduct yet another one of these fun-filled quiz sessions in the near future! Kudos to Rtn. Sabira Merchant for consenting to conduct a phenomenal Quiz Session and many thanks to Rtns. Bipin Vazirani, Arun Sanghi and Sandip Agarwalla for their ample support in making the afternoon such a fantastic and enjoyable affair!