ASKQANCE 2015CANNABIS INDICA

The finals

Navin Rajaram

Finals Rules

• 6 Rounds

• Clock & Anti-Clock – 24 Questions each

• 3 Special Rounds in between

All the best, do take guesses

Clockwise1• 12 Questions

• +10 on Bounce, +10/-5 on Pounce

• When S V Raju died recently, he was mourned as the last

identified member of something that was a genuine national

force in 1967 and had all but collapsed by 1971.

• In 1996, Raju and his secretary LR Sampat were still running

the entity from Maharashtra and wished to revive it.

• On attempting to re-register the entity again, they were told to

swear something as per a 1989 amendment of the India

Representation of People Act, and refused to do so,

challenging the amendment in a High Court Petition.

What was S V Raju the last member of?

What did Raju refuse to do, something that any new entity

must do at the time of registration?

1

Answer

Swatantra Party

Any party has to swear it is socialist,

to register itself

Connect

2

Answer

Writers directing movies based on

their worksBuddhadev Das Gupta – Kaalpurush

M T Vasudevan Nair – Nirmalyam

Jayakanthan – Yaarukkaga Azhuthan

• Strychnos potatorum (Nirmali) or the _____-nut seeds, mentioned in

the Sushruta Samhita, have been in use in India as native remedies

for gonorrhea, syphilis, diarrhea and other ailments.

• Recent papers published in Health Journals suggest that the most

popular use of these seeds in rural India is because of the presence

of proteins, which in turn are able to bind with cadmium and

produce a coagulant effect.

• Over a period of half an hour to 63 hours, these seeds achieve the

binding process and provide the desired results to those without

access to expensive means or alternates like aluminium sulphate.

What application of the strychnos potatorum is popular in rural

India?

3

Answer

Purification of water/ Reduce turbidity of

water

The seeds are rubbed on the insides of the storage pot or

directly put in the water. After a few days the water turbidity

reduces.

• The Sariputra-prakarana, dated to sometime between 78-144 AD,

written by Asvaghosha came to light in a horde of manuscripts

found in the oasis city of Turfan near the Gobi desert and deals

with the conversion of the two chief pupils of Buddha, Sariputra and

Maudgalyayana.

• The work’s title suffix prakarana refers to a perfected social format

with set pieces and the manuscripts were found concordant the

time of Kanishka, the Kushan emperor.

• In its writing and grammar, the work also deviated in a significant

way from predecessor literature, giving it a unique distinction.

What first does the Sariputra-prakarana lay claim to?

Also, how did it deviate from previous literature?

4

Answer

The first Indian drama

Written in Classical Sanskrit as

opposed to Pali based form prevalent

then

• In 2009, the NH502A project was announced in Mizoram as

part of the Look East policy by the UPA government and a

complicated project began in which land titles issued by the

Lai Autonomous District Council began to be bought over.

• When complete, NH502A will run south from the town of

Lawngtlai upto 90 kms before crossing into Myanmar, then

continue for another 110 kms into Myanmar till Paletwa and

then from there finally to Sittwe.

• The result will save India crores of rupees and is expected to

boost GDP significantly.

How is the project expected to save money?

5

Answer

Reduced time and distance to

Calcutta by taking the sea route

instead of the Siliguri corridor

• Memoirs of V Ramnarayan, a Ranji

cricketer from 1975-1981, who took

96 wickets at 23.23 and made it into

the Rest of India squad for the Irani

trophy.

• The title of the book is not about a

position but both a homage and

regretful look back on why he could

never fully achieve his dreams.

Name the title of the book, that may

remind you of Vienna and spies.

Explain the reason for this title.

6

Answer

Third Man

Never played Tests because he had to contend with 2 world

class spinner contemporaries – Prasanna and

Venkatraghavan and hence was always the third man if they

did not play.

• Having visited Turkey in 1934 and seen Kemal Ataturk’s

experiments there, he felt something similar could be done in India

to help a diverse population overcome cultural barriers.

• In 1935, he met Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, the famous linguist and

educationist, who had already published A _____ _____ for India in

the Calcutta University Journal; the two debated until midnight in a

Viennese café and Chatterjee convinced that the ______ ______

would give India a unified, monolithic cultural structure.

• Inspite of Gandhi’s opposition, he implemented these ideas

successfully within his group and found that both North and South

Indians were able to communicate easily under high pressure.

Who?

What idea did he implement?

7

Answer

Subhash Chandra Bose

Roman Script for Indian Languages

• Painting from the Bikaner museum depicting a 1679 injunction in

action, prompting a letter to be written. Translated excerpts :

• “It has recently come to my ears that, on the ground of the war with

me having exhausted emptied your treasury, your Majesty has

ordered the ______ for imperial needs to be supplied with it. The

infamy will spread from west to east that the Emperor of Hindoostan,

coveting the beggar’s bowls, takes ______. Many of your forts and

provinces have gone out of your possession and the rest will soon do

so as I will ruin and devastate them. If you believe in the true

Heavenly book, you will find there is Rab-ul-alamin (God of all men)

and not Rab-ul-Musalmin (God of Muslims).”

Who wrote this letter to whom?

What (blank) prompted this letter to be written?

•

8

Answer

Shivaji to Aurangzeb

Jizya tax on non-Muslims

• In 1998, when a thriving con trade was unearthed in objects that

were gifted as goodwill symbols to various countries by Richard

Nixon, a team was put in place to identify where the originals were.

• India was gifted these objects twice – once in 1973 when a

delegation of 3 including Evans and Schmitt handed these over to

Lok Sabha Speaker G S Dhillon, who later gave them to the

Parliament Museum in New Delhi, where they sit today.

• The other time India received these gifts was in the early 1970s – a

highly valued assortment of 4 pieces that passed through Indira

Gandhi’s hands and are shamefully untraceable to this day.

What objects were the focus of this search and identify mission?

9

Answer

Moon Rocks from the Apollo missions

• In the city of Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province (not

in India), many women such as Nicole, Mamy and Dada have

had kids with distinctly Indian features.

• This has been a cause for embarrassment to India with an

official inquiry that has led to official charges being filed

against atleast a few individuals.

• In some cases the children have died due to birth

complications or HIV related disorders and this has resulted in

no further inquiries being possible.

What are such babies being called or how exactly has this

controversy come about?

10

Answer

Peacekeeper Babies

Indian forces as part of the UN Peacekeeping

force in Congo have fathered these children

• Walking through Park Street cemetery, one will come across this

carved obelisk above the tomb of an English teenager, who died in

1800, and was the subject/title of a famous 19th century poem.

• The poem was written by Walter Landor who had fallen for the

beauty on a visit to Wales, just before her departure to India to find

______ _____ ______, as was custom for women of that time.

• In a 1993 book, the heroine, Lata, is walking with Amit past the

same tomb when he informs her that the lady died, not because of

her separation from Landor, but because of a “surfeit of

pineapples” - the incident shatters all feelings Lata has for Amit.

Whose tomb is this/Name the title of Landor’s poem?

Fill in the blanks with the name of the 1993 novel.

11

Ah what avails the sceptred race,

Ah what the form divine!

What every virtue, every grace!

______ ______, all were thine.

______ ______ whom these wakeful eyes

May weep, but never see,

A night of memories and of sighs

I consecrate to thee.

Answer

Rose Aylmer

A Suitable Boy

• In T M Krishna’s A Southern Music, the author writes about

devadasis who played percussion instruments, but lost their

roles during the Brahminization of Carnatic music at the turn of

the 20th century.

• However, even after this Brahminical shift, many women

mridangists, such as K. V. Kanakambujam and V. S. Janaki

managed to remain on stage until the 1950s.

• This, as per the author, was not necessarily due to changing

attitudes towards women but due to highly ironical reasons.

What was the unfortunate reason why women mridangists

managed to hold their jobs?

12

Answer

Women taking to vocal music could

not find men to accompany them,

hence they stuck to play

accompanying instruments

SCORES

Hobson’s Choice2• 8 Questions on words/terms associated with

the India or what once was India

• +5 per correct answer

• +10 if you get all correct

• Under the British colonial rule, East India Company

employees who accepted gifts such as weapons,

jewels or antiques were required to deposit these in

the Company’s treasury, known by this term.

• Several countries such as India and Bangladesh

continue to use this term for the repository of objects

that Ministers receive as gifts during diplomatic

exchanges.

What word, of Sanskrit/Persian origin, that

translates to “treasure-house”?

1

• One of the largest islands in the Persian Gulf, it was called

Queixome by the Portuguese and _____ by the Arabs.

• Plentiful in dry fruits, a certain variety of seedless fruit,

bunches seldom exceeding 5 inches in length, was

brought from this island in 1812 to St. Petersburg and then

introduced elsewhere.

• The seedless output product, of a greenish tint that turned

amber over time, was a favourite with Europeans.

What local word used for this fruit in India came from a

rhyming duplication of this island’s name?

2

• For many years, this city in India held a curious connection for

Arab geographers, who originally wrote it as Azīn, but then

omitted a crucial diacritical point, and it became Arin.

• This passed to medieval Christian geographers as the name of

an imaginary point on the equator, the intersection of the

central meridian with that circle used to denote the habitable

hemisphere of the earth, as per their belief.

What city name, that served as the first meridian for Hindu

astronomers from which they calculated their longitudes?

3

What Hindi word, which we often hear in a

competitive context, comes from Persian

and is used because the competitors were

expectant or desirous of being considered

favourably in terms of their representation

or request?

4

• The state bird of Nagaland, the Blyth’s _____ or the grey-

bellied _______ is found throughout north-east India,

Myanmar, east Tibet and China.

• The birds in this genus are called “horny pheasants”

because of two brightly coloured fleshy horns on their

heads, that they erect during courtship displays.

• As a result of this trait, the birds take their name from a

composite of two roots – the Latin word for “billy goat” +

the ribald half-goat deity from Greek mythology.

What bird?

5

• This affliction occurred with varying degrees of

frequency along the Malabar coast, also being

common in the lower provinces of Bengal and the

Madras coast.

• It was often confused with leprosy, because it spread

bottom up to the scrotum and other areas above the

waist, with high fever and hypertrophy of the skin.

In the absence of proper diagnosis, what disease was

then called Cochin-leg or the curse of St. Thomas?

6

Because this edible was bought for sale from the

Chinese, the people of Hormuz (present day Arabia),

called it by a term that literally meant ‘wood of China’.

In India, the word used by the Arabs has further got

corrupted to give us a word that many would interpret as

‘a lentil based preparation and sugar’.

Name the word used in India for this edible.

7

In the general sense, the root word refers to a community or

a nation but when applied to the Sikhs, it refers to an armed

body of soldiers who have existed since the beginning of

the Khalsa.

Since a leader of such a body is ordained to lead the group

and there are five Takhts across the country, 5 such leaders

are appointed by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak

Committee (SGPC).

What leadership position, that comes from the root

word?

8

Answers Follow

• Under the British colonial rule, East India Company

employees who accepted gifts such as weapons,

jewels or antiques were required to deposit these in

the Company’s treasury, known by this term.

• Several countries such as India and Bangladesh

continue to use this term for the repository of objects

that Ministers receive as gifts during diplomatic

exchanges.

What word, of Sanskrit/Persian origin, that

translates to “treasure-house”?

1

Answer

Toshakhana

• One of the largest islands in the Persian Gulf, it was called

Queixome by the Portuguese and _____ by the Arabs.

• Plentiful in dry fruits, a certain diminutive variety of fruit,

fruit bunches seldom exceeding 5 inches in length, was

brought from this island in 1812 to St. Petersburg and then

introduced elsewhere.

• The seedless output product of a greenish tint that turned

amber over time was a favourite with Europeans.

What local word used for this fruit came from a rhyming

near reduplication of this island’s name?

2

Answer

Kishmish

from the island Kishm

• For many years, this city in India held a curious connection for

Arab geographers, who originally wrote it as Azīn, but then

omitted a crucial diacritical point, and it became Arin.

• This passed to medieval Christian geographers as the name of

an imaginary point on the equator, the intersection of the

central meridian with that circle used to denote the habitable

hemisphere of the earth, as per their belief.

What city name, that served as the first meridian for Hindu

astronomers from which they calculated their longitudes?

3

Answer

Ujjain

What Hindi word, which we often hear in a

competitive context, comes from Persian

and is used because the competitors were

expectant or desirous of being considered

favourably in terms of their representation

or request?

4

Answer

Umeedwar

for candidates in an election

from Umeed (Hope)

• The state bird of Nagaland, the Blyth’s _____ or the grey-

bellied _______ is found throughout north-east India,

Myanmar, east Tibet and China.

• The birds in this genus are called “horny pheasants”

because of two brightly coloured fleshy horns on their

heads, that they erect during courtship displays.

• As a result of this trait, the birds take their name from a

composite of two roots – the Latin word for “billy goat” +

the ribald half-goat deity from Greek mythology.

What bird?

5

Answer

Tragopan

Tragus + Pan

• This affliction occurred with varying degrees of

frequency along the Malabar coast, also being

common in the lower provinces of Bengal and the

Madras coast.

• It was often confused with leprosy, because it spread

bottom up to the scrotum and other areas above the

waist, with high fever and hypertrophy of the skin.

In the absence of proper diagnosis, what disease was

then called Cochin-leg or the curse of St. Thomas?

6

Answer

Elephantiasis

In Malayalam it was called perikal

Because this edible was bought for sale from the

Chinese, the people of Hormuz (present day Arabia),

called it by a term that literally meant ‘wood of China’.

In India, the word used by the Arabs has further got

corrupted to give us a word that many would interpret as

‘a lentil based preparation and sugar’.

Name the word used in India for this edible.

7

Answer

Dal-chini for Cinnamon

came from dar-e-chini (wood of China)

In the general sense, the root word refers to a community or

a nation but when applied to the Sikhs, it refers to an armed

body of soldiers who have existed since the beginning of

the Khalsa.

Since a leader of such a body is ordained to lead the group

and there are five Takhts across the country, 5 such leaders

are appointed by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak

Committee (SGPC).

What leadership position, that comes from the root

word?

8

Answer

Jathedar

from jatha

SCORES

Clockwise

© Nexus Consulting 2015

3• 12 Questions

• +10 on Bounce, +10/-5 on Pounce

Short clip from a 9-part documentary miniseries.

Name the director.

Acknowledged much later as path-breaking, the documentary

was criticised for a “biased and derogatory view” and led to

only one of 2 instances (besides 1975) when the Indian

Government did something. What happened because of this

documentary in 1970?

13

Answer

Louis Malle

The BBC was thrown out of India

• This is the LakenHalle (Cloth Hall), a 13th century commercial

building in Ypres, Belgium that served as the main market and

warehouse for the Flemish traders and cloth makers.

• Architect Walter Granville chose this building as the model for a

structure that was completed in 1862; the Biblical figures of Truth,

Benevolence and Charity are seen near the entrance.

• Sometime in the mid 1900s, the mayor of the Indian city where

Granville’s structure stands, received a request for this structure’s

blueprints and repaid the favour.

What structure was modelled on the Ypres Cloth Hall?

Why were the blueprints of this structure needed in the mid

1900s?

14

Answer

Calcutta High Court

The Ypres Cloth Hall was destroyed by German

artillery in WWI, so they rebuilt it using the

Calcutta High Court plans

• A dongmo is a hollow pipe-like wooden instrument that you

might come across if you travel north of the Vindhyas.

• Often carved with intricate patterns and decorated with

copper/brass on the outside, the dongmo is essentially a

cylinder with a hole on top, through which a rod with a flat

circular base goes all the way inside.

• The usage of the dongmo involves pouring the item in

question and adding the solid items, then pushing the rod in

an up and down motion to achieve the correct consistency of

the end product.

What is the dongmo used for?

15

Answer

As a whisk for Po Cha/Butter Tea

(Accept Tibetan tea/Ladakhi tea)

• In 1547, Henrique Henriques, a Jesuit missionary arrived at

Tuticorin but faced numerous hurdles in spreading God’s

message.

• In 1557, he received a book Doctrina Christam that was based

on St. Francis Xavier’s Portuguese prayers and was joined by

Fr. Manoel de Sao Pedro in 1562; both of them then initiated a

project that got the approval of their superiors.

• Their work was ably assisted by a workman in Goa called Joao

Goncalves, who sent his casts to Kollam, from where the final

output was produced in 1577 – a full 30 years since Henriques

had entered India.

What was the result of these efforts?

16

Answer

Thambiran Vanakkam - The first book printed in

Tamil script

Books printed in Tamil before this were in Roman script

• Historians contend that one of the reasons why the Rashtrakutas

built the Kailasa temple at Ellora was because they wished to

recreate the holy land in the Deccan region, where they ruled.

• In the late 10th century, the Rashtrakuta power dwindled and

another dynasty decided to emulate them to re-create the holy land

where they ruled.

• This attempt involved frequent expeditions up north to collect

something that would sustain their version of the holy land.

Which dynasty?

What did they do to recreate the holy land – something that was

commemorated in the name of a place?

17

Answer

Cholas

They trucked up north, filled vessels with

Ganga water and brought it back to the tanks of

the Tanjore temples, hence the name

Gangakondaicholapuram

• In 2011, while researching for a book, he found that the red and

white drape of the Kunbi tribals had disappeared over time due to

persecution by Portuguese colonials and decided to revive the lost

weave.

• With help from an NIFT student and one of the last of the Kunbi

weavers, he revived the drape and reinterpreted it with naturally

dyed hues such as indigo, a manjistha red dye and a black shade

made from iron fermented with jaggery.

• The first 12 pieces of his collection, went to prominent sari

enthusiasts, including a related pair of women, who are rarely seen

in any other attire.

Who was the designer, who revived this lost weave?

Who were the related pair, among the first to order it?

18

Answer

Wendell Rodricks

Sonia & Priyanka Gandhi

• Occupying around 27 sq km of land at a height of 1525m, the

Apatani tribes of Arunachal Pradesh live in a high density region

with a climate/terrain that does not many agriculture options.

• However, they innovate by wet paddy farming on terrace slopes

between the months of February-May, and divert every stream from

the hills to these terraces where the paddy needs water.

• Over time, this farming technique has been cleverly integrated with

a new means of livelihood that is simultaneous with the paddy

cultivation season, yielding the Apatanis a new income stream.

What have the Apatanis cleverly integrated with the terrace

paddy farming ?

19

Answer

Fish farming

The Apatanis use the flooded rice terraces to rear

fish and when the paddy is ready to be harvested,

so are the fish.

• In 1814 after taking possession of the coast from the Dutch, the

British found that a large sandbar obstructed entrance to the docks

and vessels had to anchor offshore at the mercy of the weather.

• Freeman-Thomas, the marquess of _______ and governor of Madras

Presidency, commissioned Robert Bristow to construct an inner

harbor and use the material dredged to create something.

• The operative word in Train no. 16525/16526 refers to this entity,

because the train used to terminate at the Harbour Terminus here.

(the train terminates elsewhere today)

What entity (blank), the shares its name with a sporting location

in Mumbai?

What is the train name?

20

Answer

Willingdon Island (Cochin)

Island Express

• Connect the two videos and the audio

21

Answer

Lorna CordeiroSinging with Rafi in the song “Maria”

Inspired Anoushka’s character “Rosie Noronha” in Bombay

Velvet – the movie is also a dedic to her

The Konkani movie is based on her life

• In 1981, this government backed market leading firm, which

was primarily focused on mechanical technology, decided to

shift to the material shown to avoid becoming obsolete.

• But when its products were launched, they were too expensive

and the firm decided to revert to mechanical technology, citing

lack of customer interest.

• In the mid 1980s, import restrictions were lifted and the item

shown was imported in huge quantities, costs dropped and

this firm still took 10 years to switch over to the new

technology – a case of too little, too late.

Which firm?

What material’s fluctuating prices caused this?

22

Answer

HMT

Quartz

In X’s autobiography Kaigazi Pairahan (Attire of Paper) is a description

of a trip to Aligarh after certain events:

“And then I went to Aligarh after many years. The thought of meeting

the Begum made my hair stand on end. She (the Begum) had already

been told that it was based on her life. She looked at me with eyes that

conveyed excitement and joy, took me in her arms and drawing me to

one side said “Do you know, I have a pearl of a son by God’s grace?”

I couldn’t restrain my tears…And I realized that moment that flowers can

be made to bloom in rocks. The only condition is that one has to water

the plant with one’s heart’s blood.”

Whose (X) memoirs was this extract a part of?

What was inspired by the Begum’s life?

23

Answer

Ismat Chughtai

Lihaaf

• During his time between 1952-1971 as Chief Editor of this

publication at the University of Chicago he was known as a near

autocrat and broke many an aspiring researcher’s heart.

• Of particular tragic note was John Waddell the Third’s paper “An

Empirical Determination of the Continuum Source Function in the

Solar Photosphere” that went back and forth in a reject-rewrite

cycle, prompting the dejected young man to kill himself by

crashing his car.

• One fine morning, John Waddell the Second, the young man’s father

called the Editor and said “Do you know who killed my son? You

did.” The distressed editor went about editing the manuscript and

published it in a shorter form, still conforming to his exacting

standards - tempering his pedantry with compassion.

Who? What publication?

24

Answer

S. Chandrashekar

Astrophysical Journal (ApJ)

SCORES

Wipe the Grid

© Nexus Consulting 2015

4• Choose a topic based on availability

• 6 out of 9 options are correct.

• +4 per correct option chosen.

• Forfeit all your points gathered when you choose a wrong option.

• Maximum 3 minutes per team per grid

• Take your points and run by quitting at any point.

WIPE THE GRID TOPICS

SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARD WINNERS – ENGLISH

INDIAN STATE ANIMALS

INDIAN ENTRIES IN UNESCO INTANGIBLE HERITAGE

BOLLYWOOD REMAKES OF SOUTH INDIAN FILMS

INDIAN TEST BATSMEN WITH A BATTING AVG > 40

ARTISTS CONSIDERED NATIONAL TREASURES BY GoI

CWG MEDAL WINNERS FROM INDIA SINCE 1930

STATE CHIEF MINISTERS WHO COMPLETED A FULL TERM

NATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION

RULERS OF THE DELHI SULTANATE

INDIA’S FOREIGN MINISTERS (MEA)

WINNERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL GANDHI PEACE PRIZE

SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARD WINNERS - ENGLISH

TEMSULA

AO

BADRINATH

CHATURVEDI

R K

NARAYAN

SALMAN

RUSHDIE

JEET

THAYIL

UPAMANYU

CHATTERJEE

C. RAJAGOPAL

-ACHARI

ROHINTON

MISTRY

ESTHER

DAVID

BACK TO LIST

INDIAN STATE ANIMALS

PHAYRE’S

LANGUR

SWAMP

DEER

DEER

(CERVIDAE)

WILD

ASS

ASIATIC

LION

BENGAL

TIGER

GAYAL FISHING

CAT

FLYING

FOX

BACK TO LIST

INDIAN ENTRIES IN UNESCO INTANGIBLE HERITAGE

VEDIC

CHANTING

RAMMAN OF

GARWHAL

CHHAU

DANCE

RAMLILA OF

RAMAYANA

YAKSHAGANA

THEATRE

KITE FLYING

GUJARAT

BIHU

DANCE

BUDDHIST

CHANTING

MUDIYETT

THEATRE

BACK TO LIST

BOLLYWOOD REMAKES OF SOUTH INDIAN FILMS

MR. AND

MRS. KHILADI

RAM AUR

SHYAM

AAKHREE

RAASTA

JEEVAN

DHAARA

DE DANA

DAN

RAANJHANAA

SHAADI

NO. 1

KABHI KHUSHI

KABHI GHAM

DABANGG

BACK TO LIST

INDIAN TEST BATSMEN WITH A BATTING AVG > 40

M A K

PATAUDI

SACHIN

TENDULKAR

C

RAMASWAMI

NAVJOT

SINGH SIDHU

PRAVIN

AMRE

ROHIT

SHARMA

RUSSI

MODI

POLLY

UMRIGAR

DILIP

SARDESAI

BACK TO LIST

ARTISTS CONSIDERED NATIONAL TREASURES BY GOI

NANDALAL

BOSE

G.

TAGORE

A.

TAGORE

R.

TAGORE

SAILOZ

MUKHERJEA

MUKUL

DEY

GOPAL

RAO

NICHOLAS

ROERICH

SILPI

BACK TO LIST

CWG MEDAL WINNERS FROM INDIA SINCE 1930

MILKHA

SINGH

KUMARASAN

SUDALAIMANI

TINTU

LUKKA

P T

USHA

SYED

MODIROOPA

UNNIKRISHNAN

WOMEN’S

HOCKEY

DINESH

KHANNA

SHINY

ABRAHAM

BACK TO LIST

STATE CHIEF MINISTERS WHO FINISHED A FULL TERM

FAROOQ

ABDULLAH

KESHUBHAI

PATEL

MADHAV S.

SOLANKI

V P

NAIK

PARKASH

SINGH BADALS C

MARAK

R.

HEGDE

WILLIAMSON

SANGMA

P.VASUDEVAN

NAIR

BACK TO LIST

NATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION

SATYAJIT

RAY

HANSAL

MEHTA

B

LENIN

HRISHIKESH

MUKHERJEE

MANI

RATNAMTAPAN

SINHA

SHAJI

KARUN

BIMAL

ROY

B V

KARANTH

BACK TO LIST

RULERS OF THE DELHI SULTANATE

QUTBUDDIN

AIBAK

IJAZUDDIN

KHILJI

ABU BAKR

SHAH

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5• 12 Questions

• +10 on Bounce, +10/-5 on Pounce

• As per the Indian Constitution, the State of Emergency can be

declared by the President when he/she perceives grave threats to

the nation via internal or external disturbances.

• One type of emergency is the National Emergency under Article

352, declared thrice during 1962 (Indo-China war), 1971 (Indo-Pak

war) and 1975 (Indira Gandhi).

• A second type is the State Emergency, also called President’s Rule,

under Article 356 where a state is deemed unfit to govern itself.

What is the third kind of emergency under Article 360 which the

President can declare, but the Parliament must pass by vote?

India has never had this type of Emergency declared, but it came

close once and avoided it. How was it avoided?

1

Answer

Financial Emergency

By placing the gold assets as collateral for

foreign credit in 1991

• During WWII when the United Kingdom could not meet the

demand for Armoured Fighting Vehicles, India developed a series

called the Wheeled Armoured Carriers – Indian Pattern.

• Weighing over 2500 kg, it had a 14 mm armour impervious to

regular bullets, seated 3-4 people and was instrumental in key

victories in Syria, North Africa, the Malaya Command, the Italian

front and more.

• Two of these were found in an Indian Army scrapyard and a fully

functioning model was rebuilt in 2014 again, to commemorate the

war-time effort.

What alternate name were these armoured carriers called, in

reference to where they came from?

2

Answer

Tatanagars

• In the Skanda Purana, Lord Shiva created an all-devouring

monster to destroy Jalandhara, but having consumed

everything, the monster needed more food.

• The Lord asked it to appease its hunger by devouring its own

body commencing from its tail; the monster went on to

consume its own body leaving only its face in tact.

• The Lord was pleased by the monster's glorious face

devouring its tail and blessed it with fame and respect.

What name did the monster get?

Where (generic, not specific location) are you likely to see

this monster?

3

Answer

Kirtimukha

Temple entrances/pinnacles motif

• An interesting communication between these two 16th/17th century poets

occurred when one poet, a devout Hindu, heard of the other poet, a

Muslim, giving alms without making eye contact. The Hindu poet trolled:

“ऐसी देनी देंन ज य्ूँ, कित सीखे हो सनैज्ों ज्ों िर ऊंच््ो िरो, त््ों त््ों ननचे नैन”

(Summary: why give alms in this peculiar fashion?)

• The Muslim contemporary completed the couplet with utmost humility:

“देनहार कोई और है, भेजत जो ददन रैनलोग भरम हम पर करे, तासो ननचे नैन”

(Summary: The Giver is the almighty, but the world gives me the credit

unnecessarily, so I lower my eyes in embarrassment.)

Name the two contemporaries – one, a favourite of Akbar and the other

who is considered the forerunner of a rich poetic tradition.

4

Answer

Rahim

Tulasidas

• Born in Satara in 1851, Edward Hamilton Aitken (eha) spent most of

his life in India, going on to be a founding member of the Bombay

Natural History Society and developing a reputation as a naturalist

with a penchant for humour.

• In 1902, while investigating the illness of workers in the Goa salt

pans, he came across a saltwater fish called the striped panchax

with a peculiar feeding characteristic.

• At his insistence, all ornamental fountains in Mumbai were stocked

with this fish, a measure that would soon become the norm, even in

home aquariums.

Why did he recommend the striped panchax to be introduced to

Mumbai’s fountains?

5

Answer

The fish fed on mosquito larvae, thus

preventing the spread of malaria

• Composed by a poet in the 1591-92, it was dedicated to the

Bundela Raja Inderjit of Orchha.

• Akbar’s interest and patronage of this literary work resulted in

artists from diverse painting traditions such as the Mughal,

Malwa and Mewar schools representing verses from it in their

art.

• Many paintings involve Radha and Krishna in loving poses,

juxtaposed with contemporary representations of jewellery,

havelis and local culture.

Identify the poet.

Identify the 16th century work, that also shares its name with

last (72nd) melakarta ragam in Carnatic music.

6

Answer

Keshavdas

Rasikapriya

• In the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the Indian football team lost in

the semi-finals to Yugoslavia after leading 1-0 until the final ten

minutes.

• In the 1960 Rome Olympics, a similar symptom manifested where

India drew 1-1 to France and lost to both Hungary (2-1) and Peru

(3-1).

• The common thread again was France equalizing as well as both

Peru and Hungary scoring the match winning goals in the dying

moments of the game.

Besides the usual lack of fitness/mental toughness reasons, what

specific reason was cited by analysts for these losses?

7

Answer

Up until the late 1950s, Indian domestic football

matches were restricted to 70 minutes instead of

the 90 minutes so the players possibly lost steam

in the last 10 minutes

• In December 2002, cinematographer Sunny Joseph told K S

Sasidharan, the director of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI)

of being in possession of a long lost document, that was last seen in

the 1950s.

• The document, dating to the late 1930s, had been lost after the

Prabhat Film Company had gone out of business and sold off all its

assets but was found in a dustbin off Law College Road, Pune.

• The NFAI held a special function to mark the return of the document

and went ahead and framed it at their office for posterity.

Who/what production of the Prabhat Film Company received this

certificate?

Where had they received it, one of the first instances of an Indian

production getting such a recognition?

8

Answer

Sant Tukaram

Venice Film Festival (1937)

• In 1842, when the British won over this city (outside India), General

Nott decided to take this artifact to Agra, inspite of local mullahs

and custodians’ pleas to leave it behind.

• When the artifact arrived in India, Lord Ellenborough proudly

made a proclamation to the Chiefs and Princes of India that an

insult from many centuries ago had been avenged.

• While the artifact’s link with Ellenborough’s claim remains

apocryphal, the proclamation was meant to appeal to popular

sentiment and further divide support for Britain on religious lines.

Which city, outside India, was this artifact brought back from?

As per Lord Ellenborough, what was this artifact claimed to be?

9

Answer

Ghazni

from Mahmud of Ghazni’s tomb

The gates of the Somnath temple

• In the May 2013 issue of International Journal of Scientific and

Engineering Research, a certain Prasham Vora published a

paper explaining the science behind these structures.

• Using solid state mechanics, he explains that the use of

sandstone is one reason, while another reason has to do with

these structures having horizontal grooves, unlike regular ones

with vertical grooves or no grooves at all.

• The horizontal grooves supposedly reduce rigidity, leading to

more area in the M/EI diagram and hence more deflection.

What structures are being analysed by this paper?

Where can you see them?

10

Answer

The Jhulta Minara/Shaking Minarets of

Ahmedabad

Shaking one minaret leads to vibrations in the

other as well, although the passage between the

two is vibration free

• In December 2013, 22 years after the first such incident occurred in

Kashmir, a group of religious clerics met under an initiative of

Ehsas – a civil society group, and overruled a previous fatwa.

• The new decree allowed a period of four years before the woman

could look towards a suitable replacement and begin a life of

normalcy, if she wished.

• To the women who were the subject of the fatwa and now the new

ruling, this was a meaningless attempt to bring their lives back on

track.

What two-word term was used by the press to refer to these

women over the last few decades of the state’s conflict?

What is common to these women?

11

Answer

Half Widows

Their husbands disappeared during police

custody or Army operations

Connect the 3 videos

12

Answer

Begum AkhtarSang the song in the 1942 movie Roti

The version of Hamari Atariya Pe in Dedh Ishqiya is inspired by her rendition

Her thumri “Ab ke saawan ghar aaja” plays in the Dhobi Ghat scene

SCORES

Mintal Trauma5• 5 Questions on Stamps and Currency

• +5 per correct answer

• +10 if you get all correct

Who/what does this stamp commemorate?

1

Only once has the India minted what are called piedfort

(also spelt piefort) coins. This was done on the occasion of

International Year of the Child. From the French

etymology, briefly tell what is a piedfort coin?

2

In 1971, India Post released a 20 paise stamp as a tribute

to someone. This was the first stamp, which showed a

clearly identifiable bird species, not as the subject nor

as a stylised pictorial, but in a cultural context.

The curious part was that the cygnus variety is hardly

found in India (except as a migrant), and a correct

depiction might have been its cousin, the bar-headed

Anser indicus.

Who was the stamp paying tribute to?

3

In 2012, Asia’s first postage stamps

celebrated 160 years of existence,

having been first released by Chief

Commissioner Bartle Edward Frere.

While India Post commemorates

anniversaries related to this, it ensures

there is no official mention or stamps

honoring the occasion on its printed

issues, because of the name under

which the early postage system was

known.

What was the early postage system

called?

4

5

One of the rare occasions

when a Rs. 60 coin was issued

to mark 60 years of an

organization headquartered

in Kochi, employing more

than 10 Lakh people in the

rural areas.

Name the organization,

whose operative product is

an English word derived

from Tamil.

Answers Follow

Who/what does this stamp commemorate?

1

Answer

Pigeon Post/ Postal Pigeons

Only once has the India minted what are called piedfort

(also spelt piefort) coins. This was done on the occasion of

International Year of the Child. From the French

etymology, briefly tell what is a piedfort coin?

2

Answer

Coins heavier than the normal weight of a

coin of that value

(piedfort means heavy foot)

In 1971, India Post released a 20 paise stamp as a tribute

to someone. This was the first stamp, which showed a

clearly identifiable bird species, not as the subject nor

as a stylised pictorial, but in a cultural context.

The curious part was that the cygnus variety is hardly

found in India (except as a migrant), and a correct

depiction might have been its cousin, the bar-headed

Anser indicus.

Who was the stamp paying tribute to?

3

Answer

Raja Ravi Varma

In 2012, Asia’s first postage stamps

celebrated 160 years of existence,

having been first released by Chief

Commissioner Bartle Edward Frere.

While India Post commemorates

anniversaries related to this, it ensures

there is no official mention or stamps

honoring the occasion on its printed

issues, because of the name under

which the early postage system was

known.

What was the early postage system

called?

4

Answer

Scinde Dawk (Sind Post)

which is in present day Pakistan

5

One of the rare occasions

when a Rs. 60 coin was issued

to mark 60 years of an

organization headquartered

in Kochi, employing more

than 10 Lakh people in the

rural areas.

Name the organization,

whose operative product is

an English word derived

from Tamil.

Answer

Coir Board

SCORES

Anti-Clockwise6• 12 Questions

• +10 on Bounce, +10/-5 on Pounce

• These spongy, steamed rice cakes are a Goan delicacy and are

usually eaten with a spicy pork dish accompaniment like the bafat,

sorpotel or alongside chicken xacuti or mutton curries.

• An important item in Catholic weddings, birthdays, feasts and

communions, the cakes made of rice, coconut, sugar and dal are

steamed in locally crafted copper utensils called comfro or

tandooro.

• The difference with the traditional south Indian idli is in the

fermentation technique, that, one could say, is very Goan in nature.

What are these cakes called, a name that may remind you of a

troubled Asian country’s capital?

What is different about the fermentation for these cakes?

13

Answer

Sanna

Coconut toddy is used for fermentation

• While one way to send messages was chapatis, the modus operandi

also involved ____ ____ for X to receive consent on participation.

• While the choice of _____ _____ was incidental, since it was used in

special pujas performed by a close Brahmin friend of X, it also

allowed circulation among a platoon of 25-30 soldiers.

• Each soldier would detach a piece from it, committing himself to

the cause, until only the stalk remained – the number of stalks that

came back indicated the number of willing participants.

FITB, with what was used for this cryptic form of

communication.

Who was the mastermind X, whose achkan coat and a lock of

hair is preserved today at the Victoria museum, Calcutta?

14

Answer

Tatya Tope

Red Lotuses

In the 35th chapter “Thuravu” (Renunciation),

this couplet goes:

யாதனின் யாதனின் நீங்கியான் ந ாதல்

அதனின் அதனின் இலன்.

Transliteration

Yaadhanin Yaadhanin Neengiyaan

Nodhal

Adhanin Adhanin Ilan

(Whenever man renounces, he suffers no

pain)

15

In the 2nd chapter “Vaansirappu”(Glory of

Rain), the couplet goes:

துப்பார்க்குத் துப்பாய துப்பாக்கித் துப்பார்க்குத்

துப்பாய தூஉ மழை

Transliteration

Thuppaarkkuth Thuppaaya Thuppaakkith

Thuppaarkkuth

Thuppaaya Thooum Mazhai

(O Rain, you not only create everything we

eat, you are food itself)

Out of the 1330 Thirukkural couplets, these two are very special.

How does Thirvalluvar subtly bring out the moods of letting go

and the union of the rains meeting the earth in these respective

couplets?

Answer

Lips do not touch each other while reciting the

renunciation couplet

Lips come together for each word while reciting the rains

couplet

• In the early 1980s,this architect predicted that the system of dams

under construction in Karnataka will raise the level of the

Ghataprabha and submerge an existing town under water,

recommending a new town settlement.

• The Government took notice in 1985 and commissioned his agency

to develop a new town to house around 10,000 people –

accommodating the displaced persons from the old town and factor

in population growth.

• For the new town plan, the architect prescribed a plan that was

inspired by ancient Indian mysticism and the cosmos.

Which North Karnataka town? (+4) Who was the architect? (+3)

What was the town plan inspired from? (+3)

16

Answer

New Bagalkot

Charles Correa

Mandala

In his own words:

We were huddled in our track suits and under blankets to keep

ourselves warm. I was training with Ruhi Sarialp of Turkey and was

getting ready when an official stopped me because a prize distribution

ceremony was on. (15 minutes later when it was time) I was 19 and a half

years old and inexperienced. I should have insisted on some time to

warm up. That was my first mistake – not to warm up. My second was to

go flat out on my first attempt. We had a total of six and I should have

taken it easy at the start.

As I got my foot off the board, I felt a sharp pain in my right hamstring

muscle, heard a thwack like the snapping of a bowstring..”

Whose story, described as one of independent India’s earliest

tragedies at the Olympics?

17

Answer

Henry Rebello

Missed out on a 1948 Olympics medal due to a torn

hamstring after making it to the triple jump finals

• In 1972, while filming the Gemini Ganesan starrer Velli Vizha, he

suffered a massive heart attack and assumed his end was near.

• After 24 hours, when the doctors pronounced him out of danger, he

decided he’d live the rest of his life governed by 4 rules:

– Never smoke another cigarette for the rest of his life

– Never work with big name film stars because of date issues and

go with new faces.

– Make movies with direct or indirect relevance to people

– <A fourth rule>

Who?

What was the fourth rule, followed for most of his films thereon?

18

Answer

K Balachander

A strong female protagonist at the centre of

films

• In the early 1900s, information on this disease was minimal and it

claimed many lives in Assam and West Bengal, passing off with

names such as Sirkar’s disease or Cachexial fever.

• In 1920, the man (shown) discovered an organic compound he

called Urea Stibamine, that had no painful effects and improved

upon traditional antimony based means to overcome the protozoan

Leishmania donovani.

• By 1933, close to 3.5 Lakh lives were saved in Assam alone with

Greece, France and China requesting the medicine.

Who developed this treatment, earning himself a Nobel

nomination in 1929?

What disease, that the Health Ministry has vowed to eliminate

from India by 2015?

19

Answer

Upendranath Brahmachari

Kala azar / Black Fever

• There were 3 factors that were considered in the design

– Comfort was important, hence tall ceilings, marble flooring and

hundreds of windows for air circulation were the norm.

– Combined living was the norm, so it was not unusual to have

more than a 100 rooms for extended families to be together

when the males were out for a longer period of time.

– The third, and perhaps most important, norm was keeping the

entire structure raised at a level of 5 to 6 feet and having multiple

levels in the space right after the entrance.

What were these factors considerations for?

What 8th century incident is purported to have introduced the 3rd

design element?

20

Answer

Chettinad/Chettiar Houses

The Poompuhar flood forced them to

migrate inland

• On 14 November, 1971, the PNS Ghazi, a trench class diesel

submarine sailed under the command of Commander Zafar Khan

but stopped sending messages after November 26.

• As anxiety grew, the fate of the Pakistani carrier became clear

when the Indian Command announced that PNS Ghazi had been

sunk off the coast of Vishakapatnam on 3rd/4th December.

• Surprisingly, this announcement came from the Indian Command

on December 9, a full 6 days after the submarine’s sinking,

prompting speculations about why the Indians had kept it under

wraps for a full week.

Why was the announcement made on December 9 - a clever war

time tactic in retrospect?

21

Answer

The INS Khukri was sunk on the western coast on Dec

9, so the late announcement was a diversionary tactic

to keep up war time morale

• Spurred by Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s vision of swaraj, Arya Bhashyam

became a firebrand revolutionary and was known for daring acts,

most famous of which was scaling the ramparts of Fort St. George

on January 26, 1932 and hoisting the Indian tricolour.

• Known as a painter and sculptor of repute, Bhashyam refused a

pension after independence and eked out a living with art and

sculptures such as the statues of Mahatma Gandhi Mahatma at the

Thakkar Baba Vidyalaya in Madras, of Sathyamurthi at the Rippon

Buildings, and of Vaidyanatha Iyer at the Madurai Corporation.

What, however, is his most famous output, that still sells very

well in South India and adorns the walls of many a home?

22

Answer

Subramanya Bharathi’s portrait

• While King Shashanka is credited with introducing the Bengali

calendar, it was modified by astronomer Fataullah Shirazi on the

orders of someone with more than a passing interest in culture.

• The new synthetic calendar dubbed Calendar of God, combined

the Islamic Hijri millennium, the local Bengali calendar and the

year 1556 AD, a momentous year for the individual.

• The entire exercise ensured that tax collection was infinitely

simplified, but the Bengali calendar year being computed with a

complicated formula : 963(Islamic Year in 1556 AD) + Gregorian

year – 1556 {eg: Bengali year now is 963+2015-1556 = 1422}.

Who introduced this calendar, now adopted by Bengalis?

How did the calendar simplify tax collection, as opposed to the

earlier system?

23

Answer

Akbar

The previous calendar was lunar and out of

sync with agricultural seasons, and people

found it hard to pay taxes

LAST QUESTION

SCORES

From a 2007 article in The Telegraph by Pamela Hicks, daughter of

Lord Mountbatten :

“It was 1947 and I received a letter asking to be by her side and was

honoured to accept. I nearly did not make it as my father had just

become the Governor General. With the riots, there was a lot of

anxiety but eventually we were allowed to go to Britain for 10 days.

Before we left, my parents saw X, who wanted to give a present but

had no possessions to give. My father, however knew he still had

something with him and requested if it could be used to make a gift,

that would be the equivalent of the Crown Jewels. This was done and

when we took it to Britain, the Queen wrongly thought it was a

________ and hence “a most indelicate gift and horrible thing.”

What occasion was Pamela Hicks travelling to?

Who was X and what was X’s gift misinterpreted as?

24

Answer

Princess Elizabeth’s wedding

Mahatma Gandhi gifted her hand spun

khadi, which was misinterpreted as a

loincloth

Thank you & Come back for Cannabis indica 2016!