gyanartha 2014 finals

Finals

Rounds

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Clockwise (Swaraj) Round!

Rules

17 questions

Infinite pounce

+10 on pass, +10/-5 on pounce

Write answer, be careful, specific, will be

strict!

Raise hand

Wait for God (refer to prelims instructions)

Madras rules for bounce…

Ready, Steady, Go!

Question

This Cochin born author broke a decade’s writer’s

block in 1990 when he wrote a short story about a

priest who abandons his cassock and saves a tribal

girl. The priest is motivated by an unconventional

real life sportsman, then in the news, who used

to behave similarly in his sport i.e. leave his

comfort zone and do things to help his team.

Identify the author and the sportsman/story.

01

NS Madhavan

Higuita

01

Question

Shortly after the United States formed, French

nobleman Count Buffon began propagating an

insulting theory about animals in the New World.

The US ambassador to Paris was outraged and told

him, “the rein deer[sic] could walk under the

belly of our X” and even arranged for a stuffed X

to be sent to Buffon. Name the ambassador, X,

and what was the theory? (3 answers)

02

Thomas Jefferson, moose,

New World fauna was stunted

02

Question Connect these 6 photos

03

Question Connect these 6 photographs.

03

Norman Rockwell painting

inspirations

03

Norman Rockwell paintings

inspirations

03

Question

Watch the video.

Who is the character played by the lead actor?

There is one significant way in which this

portrayal is not true to reality.

How?

Why?

(3 answers)

04

1) Walt Disney

2) Disney was a chain smoker

which the movie doesn’t show.

3) Because it’s a Disney

production and it’s against

their own guidelines!

04

Question

An early version of this character appeared in “In the

Rukh” which was “a tale about Indian Forestry work”.

It appears to have been inspired by an 1852 pamphlet

by Sir WH Sleeman with the introduction: “A recent

enquiry…has led to a fruitless search…for some

trustworthy account of what has been…believed

in…since the days of Romulus and Remus, but…there

appears to be very little reliable evidence…” Which?

05

Mowgli 05

Question

In 1918, German mathematician/physicist

Hermann Weyl introduced the notion of a “Y

theory”, which is useful in studying physical

properties and their variations across space-time.

Weyl likened this to how, in those days, at

national borders, travellers had to change from

one XY to another. What is “Y theory”?

06

gauge theory 06

Question

Connect.

07

tennis player names!

B. Pasternak => B. Becker

M. Navratilova => M. Hingis

G. Vilas => G. Coria & G. Canas

Tommy (Who) => T. Robredo

07

Question

In late 2009, the _______ Tourism Federation,

responsible for attracting more visitors to a

certain US state, changed its name in an effort to

put an end to jokes about them.

Why was the name changed?

08

Wisconsin, WTF!

08

Question

Connect the 2 clips.

09

Tansen singing Raag Deepak

which caused spontaneous

combustion effects…

…and his daughter singing Raag

Megh which brings down the

monsoon.

09

Buzzer Splash

Buzzer Splash

Scoring: +3/-3

Sports

Politics

Literature

Arts and Entertainment

Science

History

Audience Q

Score Check!

Audience Question

The Perpetual Maritime Truce of 1853 ended on 1

December 1971, after the UK announced its

intention to end its protectorate over the Trucial

Coast. The next day, Umm al-Quwain joined 5

others to form what?

A1

UAE A1

Audience Question

This phrase is first recorded in 1731 when Royal

Navy sailors petitioned officers. In order to not

identify anyone as a ring leader (and invite

punishment), they signed their names in a non-

hierarchical circle or ribbon. It’s now used in

aviation, computing and most familiar to us in

sports. What?

A2

round robin

A2

Score Check!

Question 1. A 30-40 km road by Vasco Núñez de Balboa from Santa

María la Antigua del Darién to Bay of San Miguel.

2. A narrow trail built by the natives discovered in 1515,

by Capt. Antonio Guzman.

3. In 1533, another road was built along the Chagres

River called Las Cruces Trail, used till the late 1800s

4. A 47 mile railway.

What came next?

10

the Panama Canal 10

Question

What is this thing called? It is more or less

ornamental now, but why was it first devised?

(2 parts) [Bigger next slide]

11

rat guard

To keep plague-ridden rats

from jumping onto/off ships

11

Question

When the sender of this message [next slide]

died, an obituary said “there was family, a few

old friends, and an entire nation to mourn his

passing, but the nation that grieved for him was

not his own. It was _______.” Fill in the blank.

12

Bangladesh

12

Question

3 clips based on books will be shown. The Clip I

book is an important part of the book/movie from

which Clip II is taken. One of the plot elements in

the Clip III book/movie (which you will hear

about) is related in a kind of symmetrical manner

to the Clip II book/movie. Name all 3

books/movies. Explain how II & III are related. (4

parts)

13

Clip I – Daphne du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’

Clip II – Ken Follett’s ‘The Key to Rebecca’

Clip III – Michael Ondaatje’s ‘The English Patient’

‘The Key to Rebecca’ is about a German spy trying to

infiltrate British intelligence in Alexandria, who is

helped by a guide to cross the Sahara desert. The spy’s

codes are based on ‘Rebecca’.

‘The English Patient’ is about a Hungarian explorer/spy

who helps a German spy cross the desert.

So Book II is about the spy, Book III about the guide,

both real life co-travellers and Book I is referenced in

both.

13

Question

Connect:

1. The nickname of Joe Martin, a New York City

Fire Department hero of a bold 1922 rescue

2. The 26th President of the US

3. The London terminus of the Heathrow Express

4. The capital city of Manitoba, Canada

14

bears

08

Question

Till 1975: A peasant on a mule

In 1976: A bear cub by an oak

1977–1988: A girl under an umbrella

1995 onwards: Enchanted Wanderer, the

character of the novel by the same name by

Nikolai Leskov [pic]

What are these?

15

Chess Oscar statuettes

15

Question Per legend, this temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was

built by a Queen Manikaavati of Alajpur to

commemorate the miraculous cure of her husband.

She took a vow that she would fast until she could

see the shikhara of the temple. Although it seemed

impossible that it could be finished quickly enough

for her to survive, the king found an artisan who was

able to complete the shikhara in a week’s time.

Which temple? How did he manage this? (2 parts)

16

Kailash temple at Ellora

Built via top-down excavation 16

Question

Impressed by European military tactics and

leadership, Maharaja Ranjit Singh started to hire

French officers to train and command his army. A

number of Frenchmen thus served with the Sikhs.

The respect and affection that they gained lived

on in Punjab to recent times, in some cases even

to this day. In what way?

17

Naming their sons Jarnail, Karnail,

Laftan etc. after French ranks

(General, Colonel, Lieutenant etc.)

17

Score Check!

Around the World!

Rules

5 visual questions re: abandoned places

Written

Answer in 2 parts

Part A: Name the country

Part B: Depends on the question

4 points for each part (total 40 points)

Not just a test of geography, there’s

sports, sci-tech, history, cinema etc.

Question D1 Part A: Name the country.

Part B: Name the place.

Question D2

Part A: Name the country.

Part B: What is this?


Part B: What event?

D3


Part B: What event?



D4

D4 Part A: Name the country.




D4

Exchange Sheets



India

Dhanushkodi



Tunisia

Star Wars I/New

Hope Tatooine set

D3


Part B: What event?

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics



D4

Peru

Macchu Picchu



Ukraine

Chernobyl

Score Check!

Reverse (Swaraj) Round!

Rules

17 questions

Infinite bounce

+10 on pass, +10/-5 on pounce

Write answer, be careful, specific, will be

strict!

Raise hand

Wait for God (refer to prelims instructions)

Madras rules for bounce…

Question

Prolific though he was, Isaac Asimov was

criticized for the absence of 2 prominent tropes

in his works, one of which was sexuality, and the

other is a staple of his genre. In response to these

criticisms, he wrote “The Gods Themselves”,

which contains _____, sex and _____ sex. The

book won both the Nebula and the Hugo awards.

What is the missing ingredient?

18

18 aliens / extra-terrestrials

Question

What do these maps show? (2 things needed)

19

Question 19

19 Monsoon progress and pied crested

cuckoo (papeehara) sightings

Question

2 of the 3 most common artistic interpretations of

a particular figure are Mater Dolorosa and Stabat

Mater and most commonly found in paintings

rather than in sculpture. What is the third one

(with one very famous example)?

20

Pieta 20

Question

Connect the video and the scorecard, one of

those “only time in history” things.

21

Scorecard is from 2007 World

Cup, Ed Joyce (ENG) gets out to

Boyd Rankin (IRE)

Video is from ENG-IRE ODI in

Sep 2013 when Joyce (now IRE)

gets out hit-wicket to Rankin

(now ENG)!

21

Question

Legend has it that when Kaalidaasa’s intellectual

wife found out that he was a mere woodcutter,

she kicked him out and told him to come back

only when he had acquired true knowledge. When

he returned, his wife asked “Asti kaschit

vaagviseshah?” which translates roughly to

“What’s so special about your language?” As a

tribute to her, what did he do?

22

He used each of the 3 words in her

question as the start of 3 works!

Kumaarasambhavam starts “Asti

uttarasyaam dishi...”

Meghadootam with “Kaschit

kaanta...”

Raghuvamsam with “Vaagarthaviva

samprukthou...”

22

Question

On 17 January 1794, French scientist Joseph

Dombey set sail for Philadelphia. He was carrying

two objects that, if they had made it to the US,

would have resulted in the US not being an

aberration in a certain respect today. His ship had

to re-route to the West Indies due to a storm,

where he got involved in local politics, fell ill,

and died. What was he carrying?

23

a 1m. length of copper wire

&

a copper 1 kg. weight

So that the US would convert to

the SI system…

23

Question Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Seleucid king attacked Egypt

in 168 BC. His path across the desert was blocked by

an old Roman ambassador who delivered a message

from the Senate asking the king to withdraw, or

consider himself to be at war with Rome. Antiochus

said he needed time to discuss, the Roman did

something (reminiscent of a story from Indian myth)

and said “Before you ____ this ____, I need your

reply.” What did the Roman do?

24

drew a “line in the sand”

24

Question

In the 2011 census in India, almost everyone was

counted individually and had to respond to a

questionnaire. In one special case however, the

authorities merely took a photograph and took a

headcount from the picture. No questions were

asked. Who were counted thus?

25

Sentinel Island tribals 25

Question

Connect these clips (not exhaustive).

26

Lyrics mostly from the Bible

26

Buzzer Splash

Buzzer Splash

Scoring: +3/-3

Sports

Politics

Literature

Arts and Entertainment

Science

History

Audience Q

Score Check!

Audience Question

This area was ceded to the British and was

therefore called Ceded Area, which was widely

seen as derogatory. In November 1928, after a

serious discussion at the Andhra Maha Sabha

meeting, its current name, based on the dynasty

of the Vijayanagara Empire, was adopted. What?

A1

Rayalaseema A1

Audience Question

What 2-word term did French demographer,

anthropologist and historian Alfred Sauvy coin to

refer to countries that were unaligned with either

NATO or the Soviet bloc during the Cold War? This

also separated the technologically advanced

countries from the others.

A2

Third World

A2

Score Check!

Question

The next slides show 2 versions of the same

Indian Railways timetable i.e. same route, same

trains etc. Why are there two versions and what

is the blanked out word? (2 parts)

27

Question

The next slides show 2 versions of the same

Indian Railways timetable i.e. same route, same

trains etc. Why are there two versions and what

is the blanked out word?

27

Konkan Railways has a special

“monsoon timing”, to account

for bad weather, landslides etc.

27

Question

A Russian aristocrat Andrey Matveyev represented

Peter the Great in London. Matveyev was

detained and roughed up by some bailiffs who

demanded money from him. The Russians

complained. The British apologized. And the

British Parliament enacted a new law to prevent

future reoccurrences. This incident marks the

origin of a notion/concept. Which?

28

diplomatic immunity 28

Question

The Byzantine Empire is thought to have been the

first to use this creature as a symbol in heraldry

(it later became popular across Europe). It was

supposed to represent the dual sovereignty of the

Emperor, secular and religious. It is also supposed

to reflect Constantinople’s location [next slide]

and the empire’s ambition. What symbol?

29

Question 29

double headed eagle 29

Question

Sarpa (snakes), rudraksha, Ganga, mruga

(animals), pushpa (flowers), damaruka, and

nishkara are collectively called what, which is

also the name of something in music?

30

Sankaraabharanam 30

Score Check!

4 more…

Question

This custom is commonly perceived to have

started in ancient Rome, but no Roman work of

art or text describes it. Jacques-Louis David’s

painting [next slide] provided the starting point

and its identification with Roman culture was

further developed in other French neoclassic

works. What custom?

31

Roman/Hitler/Nazi/fascist salute 31

Question

Stephen Jay Gould, reviewing “_____: XY and the

Summer of ’41” about a sporting record said that

Ken Keltner made two great plays and denied the

sportsman in question the prospect of a lifetime

advertising contract with a ketchup company.

Who is the player being referred to, and tell us

what record is the book about? (2 parts)

32

Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting

streak 32

Question

In January, lingerie brand Aerie announced a new

type of ad campaign [next slides]. How is this

campaign unique/different from the previous

ones?

33

Question 33

No Photoshop! 33

One More Question…

Thanks, thanks, thanks

Content help

Anil Kumar K.

Priyambad Pattanayak

Nitish Khadiya

Diwakar Pingle

Coords: @choultry / [email protected]

Question

Abdul Husain was First Surgeon to Asaf Jah VI of

Hyderabad. Pleased with Husain’s services, the

Nizam conferred on him the title Arastu Yar Jung.

This is one example of occasions where a learned

person has been named Arastu in recognition of

their knowledge and expertise.

Why Arastu?

34

Arastu = Aristotle = wisdom 34

Nanni Namaskaaram!

gyanartha 2014 finals

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