Bengaluru Underground Quiz to be held on the first Sunday of every month

t was an unassuming Sunday morning and more so for the subway at K.R. Circle, which normally begs to be noticed. But anyone who gave the entrance a second look was surprised to find posters of an event.

Those who ventured in further were in for a surprise.

A serious quizzing session was under way. From trivia about the city to space missions, small teams were battling it out to earn precious points. While the general knowledge quotient went up a notch anyway, the real purpose of the event too was served: the public was reclaiming a public space.

The first Bengaluru Underground Quiz — now set to be a regular feature every first Sunday of the month at one of the subways in K.R. Circle — was organised as part of the second Bengaluru Underground Festival, which began this July.

It was in July 2014 that a citizen movement, inspired by The Ugly Indian (TUI), decided to clean, paint and reclaim the subways with the support of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike. Bangalore Rising, a citizen initiative, formally adopted the K.R. Circle subways as part of the Namma Bengaluru Nanna Koduge scheme.

Bengaluru Underground is a network of eight pedestrian underpasses on either side of the Vidhana Soudha/Cubbon Park. There are six subways at K.R. Circle and two at Basaveshwara Circle.

“It is great that a programme like this can be held in a subway. For those who travel using their own vehicle, it will finally be time to notice the subways,” said Vinod Venkateswaran, a builder who was seen enjoying the quizzing session by quiz master Atul Chandra.

Rajesh Kumar Dubey, an English teacher at an international school, who was formerly with the Indian Airforce, said his personal experience of using the subway near K.R. Market every day involved witnessing unauthorised use of the subways. “Through programmes such as these, we can in a way teach people how to utilise them,” he said.

On a lighter note, what is the main advantage of using a subway space for a quiz? “No one can browse on their phones for the answers here. No signal,” said one of the organisers from Bangalore Rising.

It is great that a programme like this can be held in a subway. For those who travel using their own vehicle, it will finally be time to notice the subways