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Hajj Committee CEO Mohd
Owais handing the winner's trophy to the students of SWES High School,
Malegaon
(Photo: ummid.com) |
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QuizTime - A Brief
Introduction |
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Hamid Iqbal Siddiqui, living at
present in Mumbai
belongs to an
eminent literate
family. His
grandfather Seemab
Akbarabadi is a well-known figure
in Urdu
literature. To create
awareness about General Knowledge among the
students from Urdu medium schools, Hamid wrote a couple of books
on the subject for them. Later, he founded QuizTime with some of
his friends. Prominent among them are Principal RC Mahim
Teachers' Training Institute Akhlaque Khan and Rafeeque Gulab,
Ms. Farzana and Ms. Nasreen - all teachers in different Mumbai
schools.
Supported by his
wife Zaheda, Hamid travels all across Maharashtra to organise
general knowledge quiz competitions for secondary school students.
In Malegaon, Hamid with his team is organising the competition
since last three years in association with NADY - an NGO working
for the welfare of students. |
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Malegaon:
NADY and QuizTime
became household names in Malegaon ever since they organized the
first interschool General Knowledge
quiz competition in 2008.
However, this year’s competition – extended to the state level in
which 54 students of 27 schools from all across Maharashtra
participated – broke all previous records. Suspense, drama,
excitement and gaiety combined with splendid show of confidence,
shrewdness, competitive skills, quickness and fighting spirit, were
all in full display as thousands of students who converged at
Malegaon High School & Junior College ground on February 07 enjoyed
all through the day with remarkable enthusiasm.
The day began with
Chairman Maulana Abul Kalam Azaad Research Centre Abdul Hameed
Azhari delivering the inaugural speech packed with encouraging and
motivating words.
“The competition is
to explore the hidden qualities in you. At the same time, it is also
to develop in you the spirit, confidence and competitive skills that
have become wanted in today’s challenging world as never before”, he
said as Hajj Committee CEO Mohd Owais, President Anjuman Islam
Mumbai Dr. Zaheer Qazi, Chairperson Royal Education Society Mumbai
Mrs. Rehana Undre, Munawwar Peerbhoy of Azam Campus Pune, renowned
Mumbai based industrialist VR Shareef, Chairman Iqra Education
Society Jalgaon Ab Kareem Salar, Lyrics writer and senior journalist
Hasan Kamal, Editor Urdu Times Mumbai Alam Naqvi and Editor Roznama
Hindustan Mumbai Sarfaraz Aarzoo all stood in front of the students
as role models.
“Gone are the days
of discrimination. It is the era of quality, excellence and merit,
the qualities that have no challenge. To succeed in life, you must
develop these qualities”, he stressed.
'Competition'
It was now time for
QuizTime team leader Hamid Iqbal Siddquee of Mumbai to take control
in his hands. And he did so in his amicable style.
“The competition
will judge your memory, confidence, quickness, intelligence,
composure and fighting skills besides your knowledge on current
affairs”, said the grandson of renowned Indian scholar Seemab
Akbarabadi before inviting the students for the elimination rounds
with these couplets Yehan kisi ko koee raasta nahi deta, Mujhe
gira ke agar tum nikal sako to chalo.
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Hamid Iqbal Siddiqui
of QuizTime Mumbai and his colleague Rafique Ghulab during the
Quiz Competition
(Photo:
ummid.com) |
The elimination
rounds that began at 10:45 in the morning continued till 05:00 in
the evening. Two-member teams of 27 schools from Mumbai, Pune,
Bhiwandi, Ratnagiri, Aurangabad, Sholapur, Nanded, Jalgaon and
Malegaon participated in the competition. Eight top-scoring teams
were selected for the Semi Finals.
Finally, Anjuman
Islam Girls’ High School (Kurla, Mumbai), Madni High School (Jogeshwari,
Mumbai), SSA Urdu High School (Sholapur) and SWES High School
(Malegaon) qualified for the Grand Final. After stiff fights between
the four teams when the competition ended at 09:30 PM, Asra Naaz Md
Ibrahim and Zainab Zarrin Imtiyaz Ah of SWES High School, Malegaon
were the winners while Charolia Kifyatuulah and Patel Mohd Zubair
Fazal Ah of Madni High School, Jogeshwari, Mumbai were close
seconds. Anjuman Islam Girls’ High School, Kurla, Mumbai was at the
third position.
'Role Models'
To further boost the
morale of the students, NADY felicitated three shining stars of
Malegaon for excellent performance in their careers. They included
Mateen Hafiz, who is working in The Time of India, Mumbai as Crime
Reporter, Dr. Waseem Bari, who has won the Gold Medal in MBBS and
Dr. Bibi Fatema, who is the first lady MPSC and Child Specialist of
Malegaon. At the same time, NADY also honored former Additional
Superintendent of Police (ASP), Malegaon Sanjay Patil and Deputy
Collector Ajay More in recognition to their services for Malegaon.
The day also had in
store for the students an experience of the technology. Minister of
State for Education Mrs. Fauzia Khan, who could not make to the
event because of the NCP Executives' meeting in Aurangabad,
addressed the event over phone.
“Merely scoring good
in exams is not going to help you get success in the career you are
aspiring for. It is the all-around development that will make your
case strong against others”, she advised.
'Spirit"
The best part of the
event was that despite tasting defeat in the competition the
students, as well as their trainers, remained totally unperturbed.
“I was literally
disappointed. And so were my students as we failed to perform well.
However, after talking to the teams from Mumbai and Sholapur that
lost in the final, the despair in us took no time in giving way to
the confidence. They looked so confident of coming to the next
year’s event and achieving what they could not this year”, says
Azeez Ejaz of Al-Hera High School. And it is this spirit that was
one of the objectives behind the daylong NADY-QuizTime state level
General Knowledge competition.
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