Dad's hobby is my profession: Derek O' Brien.

(From The Economic Times)

I HATE the term quiz line: I am in the business of making knowledge interesting which will help people succeed. People often come and ask me how I came into the quiz line but that is not what I do.

HAVING A great father has its advantages and disadvantages: Neil O'Brien is like an institution in his chosen field of work. I respect that. But I do not compete with my father. take my lineage as a very big challenge. What was a hobby for my father I have turned into a profession. That was no mean task but one think I have succeeded in achieving in some measure. I have therefore satisfactorily converted my father's hobby into a profession. In fact, my father is a walking encyclopedia on various subjects.

I HAVE tried to change popular perceptions about quiz: And the business of knowledge in the past 20 years. I started work as a journalist with Sportsworld. I followed that up with an eight year stint with Ogilvy and Mather.

I HAD been conducting quizzes right from the college level: When Dilip Chatterjee who conducted the North Star quiz left the country and the job, a new quizmaster was required for the show. There were quite a few contenders for the job, but I was selected. This was in 1988.

IN 1991, The Economic Times was looking for a quizmaster for a quiz programme in Bangalore: This small quiz was meant for company executives, I was told. The idea sounded good and I took it up. This quiz later became extremely popular as the ...