FACTion Wire #1

I S S U E N O. 1

From the CZAR
FACTion started off as
SQS (SNU's Quizzing Society)
a modest attempt at a quizzing
society last year. I wanted it to
be a place where I could meet
quizzing enthusiasts in SNU,
share questions & have fun and
also to prepare a team for
the various quizzes that take
place throughout our country.
In 2012, we were around 30
people that used to come to
these meetings. The numbers
kept dropping till we had
around a dozen members by
the time of the final exams of
PHOTO COURTESY: CHRISTOPHER RICHARD
that semester. During the
process, Shravan who too was keen about quizzing and full of ideas
joined me in the endeavour. By the next semester, it was time for the
fest, Breeze. We decided to be ambitious and organize 4 quizzes.
Everybody who had managed to still remain a part of this society was
involved in the organization of one or the other of these quizzes. I will
forever be indebted to these extraordinary people who chipped in
during FACTion's infancy. And during this time FACTion Bratva
(Managing Committee) took shape, where Deewang, Ankit & Bhuvan
joined us. Well considering Breeze was our first big event. It was
quite a success.
Since this is our inaugural issue, in this issue you will get a chance to
follow our journey, how we got here, who we are, what we have done
so far. And don't miss the columns Techworld, Sportszilla, Celestia,
Ampere Affairs, Celluloid & Quills that will be our regular features.
Oh and we have a few surprises up our sleeves, for which you'll have
to wait. Including the unveiling of FACTion AG.

THE TEAM
B.Deewang

Editor in Chief, Chief Designer

Editorial
Ankit Shai
Writer

Shravan Kumar
Writer

Bhuvandeepak Chada
Content Compiler

Illustrations
Anagh Narain
Cover Designer

Christopher Richard
Photographer

FACTion WIRE  JANUARY 2014

Sarath Narayan Pilla
Photographer

I S S U E N O. 1

I'll have to leave my thanks incomplete or else it’ll take up the entire magazine. First,
I'd like to thank Ram sir for helping us out and contributing in every step right from
our inception to our latest event. Hopefully, we'll get the buzzers this time. *fingers
crossed*. Second, I'd like to thank every FACTion member who has been with us
whether it be during the SQS meetings or participating in our latest event Quizzitch.
And yes, thank you for making Quizzitch such a roaring success. A Overstuffed
Seminar Hall 2 was more than we hoped for.
Thank you to everyone who ever attended any of our events. The entire BRATVA for
making any of it possible.
And Thank you, our first readers for making it all come true.

BRATVA

I S S U E N O. 1  J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Contents
PHOTO COURTESY: B.DEEWANG

FEATURES
2

Russian Pyramid

An overview of the membership
levels in FACTion. Also details on how to be a part of Bratva.
From the Bratva
BY

8

SECTIONS
The Past
The Future

BRATVA

2013

A look at our past and highly popular events. A small
summary and photo coverage of each event. The Past
BY

From the Bratva

The 6 Elements

BRATVA

THE COVER

22

Re-beginnings

BY ANAGH NARAIN

A brief look at our future events,
details on the upcoming FACTion Avant Garde. The Future
BY

BRATVA

TIMELINE
ELIXIR - BREEZE ’13

28

The Bratva

A small profile on the founding/core
members of FACTion A.K.A. The Bratva. Their roles, their
contributions and their quirks. From the Bratva
BY

ANKIT SHAI

&

B.DEEWANG

INDEPENDENCE DAY QUIZ
TEKNOLOGIY ’13
XINREN ’13
UN DAY QUIZ
QUIZZITCH ’13
STELLARIUM ’14
ELIXIR - BREEZE ’14
AVANT GARDE

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF FACTION, SHIV NADAR UNIVERSITY

In FACTion what we value the most
is commitment. Early this academic
year we implemented a structure in
FACTion so that we know from
whom we expect the most. The tiers
of this pyramid aren’t just accessible
if you have experience but are
accessible if you have the passion to
commit and be ready at a moment’s
notice. Being experienced is just an
added bonus.

by

FACTion Bratva


Being an Associates means that you enjoy
quizzing, you take part just for the fun of it. To
acknowledge you as a member of FACTion,
FACTion will be giving the associates access to its
online services and a subscription to this magazine.

Associate
Every member will
receive a unique
membership number
and a virtual badge

L
oyalist
Being a Loyalist means that you are serious about
quizzing but not necessarily keen on organising one.
Loyalists will be given access to FACTion’s online
services and a subscription to this magazine and on top
of that they get a chance to represent SNU at interuniversity competitions and get access to meetings
where SNU’s quizzing present and future is decided.


4

Being a part of Legend is no joke. A Legend has to have no less commitment than
a member of the Bratva. You can call the Legends the actual members of
FACTion. The Legends will form the Spine of FACTion. Being a part of Legend
will give you access to the behind the scenes efforts the Bratva has done for their
previous and will do for their past or upcoming events and get a chance to be a
part of it. And of course the most committed ones will obviously be considered for
Bratva. Legends will also get a chance to be a part of the team that has helped put
up this wicked magazine that you all are reading right now and of course a
subscription. They’ll also be given access to FACTion’s online services. There are
two kinds of people who love quizzing, one who wants to take part and feel the
rush and one who stands across
him, grilling him. Legends are
given a chance to experience both.
They can be a part of the
organising team of an event as well
as get priority selection as SNU’s
entry to Inter-University Quizzes.

Legend

5

PHOTO COURTESY: SARATH NARAYAN PILLA


BRATVA

THE AVTORITYET IS ABSENT

The Bratva stands at the pinnacle of the pyramid. Bratva is the deciding
authority on all matters regarding the society. The positions in the Bratva are
firstly the Czar (President). Then follows the Sovietnik (Vice President),
Avtorityet and Boyeviks. There are 4 Boyeviks (currently 2), each one being a
representative of their respective years. The three positions are next in power
to Czar and ride the same boat.
The Bractva is the managing/organising/core-committee of FACTion. Each
member is the soul of the society. It is their contribution, endeavour, drudgery
& diligence that has made FACTion what it is today.


To be a part of the Bratva you must bring something different to the table. To
get a spot you must be a diehard quizzer, dedicated to FACTion, a connoisseur
of questions, a marketing expert, a whiz at designing and most of all FACTion
wants that lightbulb of yours to never be switched off. Be the Q to our James
Bond.

6

THE 6 ELEMENTS

Sportszilla
Identify the former New York Knicks forward and a one-time All-star team
person, who was senator for three terms and once ran for the president.
Famous tweet by whom – “If Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't win the FIFA Ballon
D’Or tonight.....I will run down the street butt naked! Won't be a great sight I tell
ya!! Come on CR7!”
Name the Australian cricketer who has scored a half century or more in each one
of the 5 Test Matches of the ongoing Ashes Test Series against England.
Name the Indian and former English Billiard World Champion against whom the
Mumbai Police has issued a look out notice this week for possible involvement
in a 425 crore scam.
Who managed the first English side to win the European Cup?

AMPERE AFFAIRS
Which among the following has become the first in the country to implement
foreign tracking system? [A]Tamil Nadu [B] Karnataka [C] Maharashtra [D] Goa

Name the Indian who has become the first male junior badminton player from
India to be ranked top in the world? [A]Naveen Singh [B] Aditya Joshi [C]
Jaswanth Singh [D] Mahendra Singh
What is the name of the new 5 Lac car with Automatic Transmission &
Exceptional fuel efficiency?
What were the 2 big events that took place in Delhi this weekend?

7

This January we, the SNU
Quizzing Society renamed
ourselves. We were rechristened as
FACTion.
2013 has been a very important and
eventful year for FACTion.
Foremost of them NOT being
named “Castle of Cognition”.
FACTion’s official debut in
Breeze’13 wasn’t only a success
but also established FACTion as
one of the most active society of
SNU. Following Breeze we’ve
conducted quite a few events. Let’s
have a look at ‘em.

Elixir

Elixir was the collection of all the quizzing events held during Breeze ’13. We had
four quizzes spanning across various genres. All the four quizzes saw an
overwhelming participation from the University and a few external colleges which
turned up to the fest.
The Techbyte Quiz, A Science & Technology Quiz saw the participants grueling
themselves to realize who amongst them had an apt knowledge about various scitech revolutions in the world.
The Literature & Media Quiz, perhaps the most enlightening and the most
entertaining quiz of all the entire lot, had the students on the seat edges, as they
battled it out to figure out who knew the most on TV Shows, Comics, Movies,
Literature, Media etc. This quiz was widely acknowledged by the general crowd
due to the queer nature of the questions and the surprisingly unexpected answers.


The Sports Quiz, held primarily to pacify the needs of the eager and never-satisfied
sports fans, who like wild beast had to show out to the world that they were aware of
the A-Z of sports across all games. The event saw a huge sports critique turn out
answering some really hard questions.
And finally, the Flagship event of Elixir, The Breeze Main Quiz, it was the baap of all
the quizzes to be held that year. It had a really attractive cash prize being offered to
the winners and free goodies to the audience prize winners. It was a mixed bag quiz of
sorts and had questions from all genres from Business to Sports, from Megan Fox to
Michael Clarke etc.
On the whole, Elixir was one of the most successful event to have been held as part of
Breeze ’13. Suryakant Shrivastav, Sacchit Sreenivasan and Achal Awasti were the
most consistent and top performers during Elixir.
- Shravan Kumar, Avtorityet

11

Elixir

Independence
Day Quiz

In association with
SNUBS
Cultural
Committee
2012-13
On August 15th of 2013, the University’s first India Quiz was held to commemorate
and celebrate Independence Day. It basically tested your knowledge about our
homeland, its history and places and personalities, and the many special achievements
of the country.
The quiz was won by freshers Akash Idnani and Gautham Kanthasamy who played a
very tactical game and answered questions beautifully to emerge out in the top.
- Shravan Kumar, Avtorityet

Tekhnologiy

Themed on the Russian Mafia, Tekhnologiy was
an event organised by FACTion in collaboration
with the STIC as a screening test for the
Freshmen to become a part of SNU’s Technology
As of September’13 STIC has been
& Innovation Club. As the name suggests, this
disbanded and a few new societies have
replace it to cater to the technical needs
event was solely based on science & technology
and interests of all the engineering streams.
and aimed at all the techies among the
newcomers. This was also the first time we were approached by a club to help them
organize a quiz event, that too a club that had been established before FACTion. It
was a proud moment.
– Bhuvandeepak Chada, Boyevik

STIC

Xīnrén 新人

Xinren themed on the Chinese Triads was a mixed bag quiz, one of our major
events just for the Xinrens of Shiv Nadar University i.e our newcomers (freshmen).
This was the newcomers’ battle for glory in the quizzing world of SNU, their
chance to prove their grit to us and to each other. This quiz was also a way of
introducing ourselves to the freshmen. To turn this quiz into a grand success all our
signature rounds were showcased.
– Bhuvandeepak Chada, Boyevik
No quiz of ours is without a “moment”. This quiz’s moment can be said to be the
most hilarious one of them all. Turn to have a glimpse of this very moment.

14

A candid moment at Xīnrén, what we lovably like to call ‘The Xerox Moment’.
Featured in the Picture: Sai Gireesh & Adishesh Premkumar


UN Day Quiz

October 24th is celebrated as UN Day. Therefore on this day the
SNUMUN Society and FACTion held the very first UN Day
Quiz.
Though the quiz had a limited audience but it was a success
nonetheless. Topics like Current Affairs, History of UN etc.
were broached upon.

The Shiv Nadar University Model United
Nations Society focusses on enhancing skills
like critical thinking, public speaking, group
communication, research, policy analysis, active
listening, negotiation, conflict resolution, note
taking and technical writing. The society
encourages the UN core values of Integrity,
Professionalism and Respect for Diversity and
aims to create better leaders for the global
community.

- Sundar Ramanujam

The quiz’s format and questions had
not only the finalists but also the
audience on their toes. Owing to the
topic of the quiz the participants also
had a certain level of maturity and
seriousness.
- B.Deewang, Sovietnik

Quizzitch

PHOTO COVERAGE: CHRISTOPHER RICHARD

CineU is the cinema club of SNU. We
try to create a social and fun platform
for students to meet during the
weekends after college hours and
essentially relax and have fun through
cinema. We simply want to make the
campus a livelier place on Saturday
nights

- Ishan Banerjee

So far the events we had organized fared
well, but they did not have a universal
appeal.
Not everyone is interested in Technology
or the United Nations. And most people
did not feel confident enough to
participate in the general mixed bag
quizzes.
We wanted to do something that was
right inside everybody's comfort zone.
And everybody loves Movies, TV
Shows & Music.


Package that with everybody's favourite multi-million dollar franchise Harry Potter
and you get a recipe for success.
Quizzitch was our biggest event & also the biggest event organized by a Student
Society in SNU.
This was also the first time we used social media to form a connect with the event.
The FACTion Facebook November Event Sweepstakes made it viral in SNU. The
trailer for it was also very well received. We also gave prizes worth ₹7,000 to the
winners. While there were audience question prizes too.
- Anagh Narain, Czar


Quizzitch

THE 6 ELEMENTS

Techworld
What technology from Facebook allows you to search for "Photos of my female
friends liked by me" ?
What is the name of a new desktop computer showcased by Razor that can be
modified, upgraded even by a toddler?
What was the successor to the critically acclaimed Kickstarter project Pebble
Smartwatch?
Nest Labs, a company famous for their beautiful thermostats were recently taken
over by which Tech giant?
True or False. XOLO X900 and the Google Nexus 4 have the same architecture.

Quills
What are The Practical Potioneer, Exsquisitor & Gotham Globe?
With every avatar Vishnu takes, there is his loyal follower taking an avatar too,
for example with Ram, Laxmana and with Krishna, Balrama. Who is this
follower?
Which Indian Writer is also a member of the U.S President’s Committee on Arts
& Humanities appointed by President Barack Obama?
Mark Twain predicted that his life will end with the passing of an astronomical
object. Name the object.

The only consulting detective of all time was modelled after whom ?

21

Even we can’t believe how far
we’ve come this past year ,
but now the real fun begins.
Now that we know what we’re
capable of, it’s time to
experiment, it’s the time to take
risks. And one of our new
daredevil act has been featured
beyond this page. Dig in and get
to know few of the events
that we’ll be having this year.


Stellarium
This past year it has become common for a club to align themselves
with us or vice versa to conduct quizzes on topics pertaining to that
club. We’ve successfully conducted the UN Day Quiz in association
with SNUMUN, Tekhnologiy in association with the now
disbanded STIC and of course Quizzitch in association with CineU.
In this long line of associations we have aligned ourselves with
Celestia.Explora, SNU’s Astronomical Society to give you this

January SNU’s very first Astronomy Quiz, Stellarium

Elixir ‘14
Elixir, a sweetened aromatic solution of alcohol and water.
THAT, and quizzing is what keeps blood still running in our
veins. This time as part of Elixir, we have two awesome quizzes
to take part in, a Gen Quiz and a Conspiracy Theories quiz, both
nerve wrecking and enough to make you high. Get to know
what these 2 events offer you.

24


Breeze Main Quiz
Remember that one day when you sat in your room, binge-watching backto-back episodes of Downtown Abbey and Game Of Thrones? Remember
all the time you wasted on fantasy football leagues and watching cricket
matches which, for all you know, could be fixed? Are you aware of
everything which happens under Kim Kardashian’s Skirts? Put on your
thinking turbans, and get ready to take part in this exhilarating journey
across the warp and weft of this amazing, dynamic, definition defying,
quiz of ours.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES
AND URBAN MYTHS
Do you think the Apollo 11 landing video was shot in a studio?
Was there a 2nd gunman in JFK's assassination?
Have you played Stairway to Heaven backwards and heard the satanic
chanting?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above then we have the perfect
treat for you. Conspiracy Theorists and Urban Myth believers, Get ready
for The Conspiracy Theory & Urban Myths quiz. The prizes are not a
myth. And the only conspiracy is having fun.

25


FACTion AVANT GARDE
We have spent the last semester trying to get SNU interested in
quizzing. This meant having easy quizzes on topics that interest
everyone. But that also meant disappointing the few hard-core
quizzers we had.
To answer this problem, we are proud to present to you Faction
Avant Garde. Faction AG will be a brand of high difficulty &
complexity quizzing to cater specifically to the seasoned quizzer. It
will include a series of quizzes, dedicated rounds in other quizzes &
specially labelled questions. We hope this endeavour which follows
our "something for everyone" belief is received as warmly as
everything we have brought forth till now.

26

THE 6 ELEMENTS

Celluloid
Which two movies have swept this year’s Oscars Nominations?
Last year out of no where Beyoncé released a ‘visual album’ on iTunes,
what was the album called?
Halle Berry is set to star in a TV Show by CBS. Name this TV Show which
has Steven Spielberg as one of its executive producers.
Which was the first Bollywood movie to be released in the IMAX Format
with Dolby Atmos Sound?
Connect Glee, Arrow & Justice League.

CELESTIA
Name this ambitious endeavour that aims to establish a permanent human colony
on Mars by 2025.
Which comet was touted as the “Comet of the Century” but met its end when it
went all Icarus?
Last year an online poll to name the most-recently discovered moons of Pluto was
started. A name was selected with the maximum number of votes but due to some
reasons it was rejected by IAU. What was this name?
The Space Mission Apollo 8 took an iconic picture during its mission. Name the
title of this picture.
What is the name of the collection of roughly 50 galaxies to which the Milky Way
belongs?
Powered by

27

From the Bratva

The

BRATVA


By Ankit Shai

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality Warren Bennis
He envisioned creating a functional quizzing society, and ended up
laying the foundation stone for the university's most functional and
popular society run at its core by just 5 like-minded individuals who as
a group knew what clicked and how to achieve it.
FACTion was founded in a time when every other individual was
starting a society just for the sake of it. It was during this time that
Anagh held up his bit as the head of the society protecting it from
falling a victim to staleness, inactivity or even worse - extinction. He
forced the very interested of the lot to make quizzes for the sake of
keeping the society afloat. And once the fab 5 got a taste of it (quiz
making and subsequent success), there was no looking back.
Even without any competition or yard sticks to measure ourselves
against, Anagh led FACTion to excel at every event. Dishing out
highly successful quizzes one after the other to the quiz fanatics and
all else, FACTion did finally achieve mind numbing numbers in terms
of participant-attendance - we overran the capacity of the largest
seminar hall in SNU during our last venture!

29

Every cool idea the rest of the BRATVA gave, he knew how to make it
cooler and viable. Awesome shells, cooler fonts – he even put thoughts
into the nooks and crannies. Well before every event he put in place all
the nuts and bolts, foresaw problems and installed a check even before
the problem surfaced and distributed responsibilities appropriately.
Whatever he missed, the rest of the BRATVA nudged in. He conducted
regular meetings, with pre-conceived agendas and new ideas for us to
work on or better and took in ideas positively.
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
And you sure did!
Way to go, CZAR

30

By Anagh Narain & Shravan Kumar
His tall sturdy built is hard to miss but his jovial & fun filled personality
is hard to forget. He has been a progressively integral part of FACTion. It
is hard to please him without facts. He respects facts greatly and tends to
accumulate a lot of “information” in his own memory. He spends an
enormous amount of time and energy performing every task he sees as
important, especially if it contributes to the achievement of a specific
goal.
On the flipside, it is hard to make him budge one he’s hooked onto
something. Despite the fact that he prefers to do things alone, he can also
work as part of a team if necessary. His creativity, sense of humour is
very different from anything we have ever seen. His sometimes radically
different point of views, give us all a new perspective and makes each
decision that we make on behalf of FACTion, more thought out and
smart.
He truly is a lively person to have around. And the FACTion will always
cherish his company.

31


by B.Deewang
He can be called the heart of Bratva, if the other four handle the bodily
functions, he handles or is the core. He is the one who has never led us
astray from the true purpose of our society as well as Bratva, quizzing.
Being a seasoned and hard core quizzer his inputs and insights have
always been highly valued. His experience is the reason that our highly
praised quizzes aren't just "pretty faces" but have substance. He is a
visionary in his own right. His vision for the society as well as quizzing
at SNU is extraordinary and we, the Bratva stand by it.
His insistence on talking to the 'peeps' makes him a highly
favoured quiz-master. And of course his legen – wait for it – dary
questions, they send you mind on a trip to Tahiti.
His place in Bratva is irreplaceable, he bring everything to the table and
more. In a nutshell he is a great quizzer, a good quiz-master, a good
partner and a hard worker. He has been instrumental in helping
FACTion reach its current status, that of one of the most popular and
active society of SNU.

32

by Ankit Shai
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of
each member is the team.” ― Phil Jackson
So is true about FACTion too, the BRATVA rather.
Bhuvan, with us right from the inception of FACTion has been a team
player all along. He had been indispensable during our first big outing as
a society and hasn’t stopped yet. Full of useful suggestions, this diehard
Harry Potter fan has always been "a help-giver to anyone who deserved
it". (See what I did there?). Prompt with all the responsibilities given to
him, never late to the meetings he attended, Bhuvan has been an integral
part of the supersquad we like to call the BRATVA.
When during our meetings, we drifted on to "really awesome" things we
could do to improve our quiz, Bhuvan played an important role in
grounding us and keep things viable. However, he never stepped back
when we were bent on implementing those "really awesome" things.
Cuz' we know "One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for
real bona-fide stupidity, there ain't nothing that can beat teamwork."
His quizmaster style - clear and composed.
From one Elixir to another, it’s been a loooo...short journey yet.
You have really been a strong backbone to the BRATVA.

33


by B.Deewang
The showman of our lot. His skills have come to our rescue more than
once. His ability to adapt during any of our event and the ability to
converse with the audience without letting their interest slip away is a
rare gift that this person possesses. He has been instrumental in the
development of FACTion. His take on a few areas are unique and
different.
A humble person, he is always ready to listen to what others have to
say. His contribution to the society have been appreciated a lot of
times. One of the few people of the inaugural batch who approached us
in the time we needed help.
His effort, dedication and commitment to FACTion have never gone
unnoticed. He is an important nut, screw and bolt.


34

What is Quizzing?
We at FACTion like to reply with these signature sentences
–

“IT IS NOT TRIVIA.”
“It is not much about the hard disk as
much it is about the RAM.”
A quiz is designed to churn your brain. It is designed to
make you think. It is NOT designed to test your memory.
We've got our school and college exams for that.
We say, QUIZZING IS FUN. Well of course we'll say that,
we run the quizzing society. But I'm sure many of you share
the same feeling and enthusiasm towards quizzing.
The joy in knowing that you know more than your
friends/enemies is unparalleled, and of course the fun in
watching them get burnt is inexplicable.

Quizzing IS hard fun.

FACTion
WIRE
facebook.com/factionquiz
k faction@snu.edu.in

FACTion Wire #1

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