Indian family 'Brainiest' in UK

The UK has once again reason to be proud of its multi-cultural population: In October this year technology giant Nintendo went on a nation-wide search for ‘Britain’s brainiest family’, and after a long hunt it declared the Chouhan family from Leicester as the winners.

Three of the five-member family participated in the contest: Chhaya, 17, Amar, 10, and their mother Karen, 51. They completed the various puzzles and brain teasers in the ‘Big Brain Academy computer game’ and to the cheers of Karen’s husband, J. Chouhan and eldest son, Ashok, they bagged the £20,000 cash prize.

The search for the brainiest family began on 13th October, with Nintendo holding regional contests in shopping centers across Britain. After searching the country far and wide and scanning Glasgow, Gateshead, Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham, London Milton Keynes, Southampton, Bristol and Kent, Nintendo shortlisted more than 300 families for the final round to be held in London.

The prize money of £20,000 is to be divided equally between both the Chouhan kids, according to an agreement signed by the family. Chhaya will receive £10,000 which will go towards the payment of her university fees. As for Amar, his £10,000 will be kept in a Trust Fund until the time comes for him to start further studies.

Nintendo UK marketing director Dawn Paine said, “We all know what an expensive necessity education can be so this is an amazing prize for the family.”

The Chouhan family is no doubt thrilled with this bit of luck! An ecstatic Karen said, “We’re both amazed and speechless. This is such an amazing prize and Chhaya and Amar will benefit so much from the free university fees.”

The campaign was developed by a research company, BD-NTWK, and the finals were hosted by TV personality Lorraine Kelly. With the help of this contest, BD-NTWK put their latest product, the Wii game "Big Brain Academy" through a trial run.