India Quiz

India QuizInterrobang 2016(also run at the November 2016 k-circle Quiz of the month)Final

Birds of a FeatherSix images of like-minded individuals coming togetherID them allWritten, +5 for each correct identification+10 if all correct

1.

2.

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5.

6.

Exchange sheets

1.

Arundhati roy and Edward snowden

2.

LK Advani and Gen. Zia Ul Haq

3.

AR Rahman and Yesudas

4.

Jyoti Basu and Fidel Castro

5.

Sitaram Yechury and deng xiaoping

6.

EMS Namboodiripad and nicolae ceausescu

Dries Clockwise 16 questions+10/-10 on the pounce+5/-5 on partial pounce, wherever applicable

1. What is Ali describing?Confessions of a Thug is an English novel written by Philip Meadows Taylor in 1839 based on the Thuggee cult in British India. Ameer Ali, the anti-hero protagonist was said to be based on a real Thug called Syeed Amir Ali whom the author was acquainted with.In the novel, the beauty and vastness of something is described by Ali, who was on a "professional" recce of this city in the early 19th Century.He described an entity "whose surface was curled into a thousand waves, whose crests as they broke, sparkled like diamonds and threw their spray into our faces as they dashed against the stonework of the embankment. We stood a long time gazing upon the beautiful prospect, so new to us all and wondering whether the sea.... could be anything like what was before us."

The Hussain Sagar

2. Who is X? Who is Y?An astrophysicist and a proponent of steady state cosmology, Xs autobiography Chaar Nagaratle Majhe Vishwa' (My Universe of Four Cities) was unanimously selected for the Sahitya Akademi award in the Marathi literature category in 2014.We know X for having written scientific papers, science fiction, novels, short stories and popular science literature in English, Hindi and Marathi.A globally renowned personality, X also appeared on Y's wildly popular thirteen-part television series in the 1980s which covered a wide range of scientific subjects, including the origin of life and a perspective of our place in the universe.Image of X follows.

(A) Jayant Narlikar; (B) Carl Sagan

3. List of?

Winners of the Scripps National Spelling Bee

4. (a) Who is X? (b) What practise was this, and why was he unable to continue with it at Adelaide?Known for his penchant for doing so every time his side ends up on the side of success, X discovered in Adelaide last year that he couldnt continue with the same practice.The specific reason being that these costed USD 40,000 (Rs 24 lakh) and the pair that went with it costed as much as Rs 50,000.

(A) Mahendra Singh Dhoni (b) these were sophisticated led bails that cost too much for him to take home.

5. A floral clock or flower clock is a large decorative clock with the clock face formed by carpet bedding, usually found in a park or other public recreation area. (A) Where would you find the most famous example in India? (b) Which company was responsible for its installation? (images follow)

Lalbagh, Bangalore

6. After whom are these awards named?The Ministry of Textiles hands out an award annually for outstanding weavers who have made valuable contributions in keeping alive Indias handloom heritage. The most recent awardee was a silk weaver from Kanchipuram, who received Rs. 6 lakh in financial aid to innovate and create 10 new products.

The Ministry of Home Affairs hands out another award of the same name, for conspicuous acts of physical/moral courage displayed under circumstances of danger to the life of the rescuer in saving the life and property of member(s) of another caste/community/ethnic group during caste conflicts/communal riots/ethnic clashes. This award carries a cash prize of 3 grades Rs. 2 lakh, Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 50,000.

Kabir

7. What was everyone vying to host?There were plans to host it in Calcutta as early as 1997. At that time, two 600-acre sites in the vicinity of the Bangalore airport were also examined. However, the Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu wanted his state to host it and 1,367 acres were reserved on the outskirts of Hyderabad.In 2004, competition arose from Mumbai, to change the location from Hyderabad. In the end these projects were never realized, possibly owing to anti-tobacco legislation, and a change in government policy. Both projects then were declared "dead" in the second half of 2004, when the Maharashtra government decided "not to waste money on ___ _____ while there are more serious issues", and the Hyderabad location was converted to an IT park for technology companies.

The Indian Grand Prix

8. Rajesh Rajamani on what creation?Recently, I got a chance to look at a web-comic series called Royal Existentials. I observed that Aarthi, the creator of this web comic format, had used Mughal miniature paintings to illustrate contemporary angst in a comic format. I liked the idea and created something similar with Raja Ravi Varmas and Mughal paintings and shared it with my friends on Facebook, said Rajesh and added, One particular comic about death penalty went viral and after that, I decided to create an exclusive page for the web comics.

Inedible India

9. Who was Jameel's mother, who died of a brain haemorrhage in 1992?""My mother was wronged, gravely wronged," said Jameel, 60, as wrinkles on his face rearranged themselves in remembrance of circumstances triggered by her fight, which he calls an "izzat ki ladai"."My mother was a simple, purdah-observing woman. At such a late age (60, by most accounts), the publicity, paper-baazi she was very ashamed of all this. She didn't say much but kept stewing over it."This bottling up of emotions took its toll. "She developed high blood pressure and frequently fell ill," said Jameel, a 'property broker' (local euphemism for somebody without a steady job), who lives in a modest house in Indore."

Shah Bano

10. Why is Sarfaraz Scared?Sarfaraz (name changed) is a rickshaw puller in the city who is scared that he may be attacked by Hindutva and Islamist groups. The reason is that it not only reveals his identity, but also discloses the place where he stays with his family.Though not many knew about his identity since it made the headlines in 2009, the recent release made his small circle bigger.This is not something welcome. I have not watched it but those who did, told me that my actual name has been used.In a sense, my life has been endangered because now people know my real name and the place where I stay. Of course that makes me scared for my life, he said.

He was the rickshaw puller who was caught in a compromising position with insert name of professor as seen in Aligarh. His identity was not protected by the movie.

11. (a) Identify the Lady. (b) What role did the pundit play in an oft-parodied 1998 cult classic?

(A) Neerja Bhanot; (B) Ibu Hatela from Goonda

12. Give me X and the Work.In 1891, X moved to Chicago with his wife and children. It is almost certain that he was aware of Vivekananda's famous appearance at the Parliament of the World's Religions in 1893, since he was a reporter for the Evening Post at the time. Between 1896 and 1899, Vivekananda's lectures in the US and the UK were published in the form of four books - Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Raja Yoga. Thomas Schwartz, writing X's biography, says that he was captivated by the books and the philosophy in them. This influence apparently translated directly to the construction of the four characters in X's breakout work, published in 1900. The first is in search of her true place in the world, as visualised in the Karma Yoga; the second is searching for wisdom and intellect, in the manner of the Jnana Yoga; the third is searching for unconditional love, found in the Bhakti Yoga; and the fourth is looking for faith and strength, found in the Raja Yoga.

L Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz

13. Who are X and Y? What function do they perform? How do they continue to perform this function in South India?In Hindu mythology, X was born when Brahma sang sacred hymns over the halves of the egg shell from which Y was hatched. While the father of both has been said to be the Saptarishi Kashyap, X's mother in the Mahabharata (where X is listed as a serpent, though this is not how we primarily know X) is Kadru,the mother of the Nagas,, while Y's mother is Kadru's elder sister Vinata. The connection between X and Y ostensibly ends here, given that they are both very different in terms of species and size. However, both X and Y consequently end up performing the same kind of function to two different gods. While X performs this for Indra, Y performs this function for Vishnu.

Airavat and Garuda; KSRTC and TSRTC bus services are named after them

14. In April 1976 Acharya Kripalani fell seriously ill. He was taken to hospital, where all manner of tubes and wires were put into him. When a friend came visiting he had a fresh complaint: I have no constitution all that is left are __________!FITB.

Amendments

15. Fill in the blanks with the most (in)famous element of this list.The Delhi government's Higher Education and Skill Education Guarantee Scheme. (Jul '15)__________ ____ (Jul '15)A centre for innovation set up by the Assam government. (Jul '15)GlobalSat, a UN-backed satellite system whose primary function is Disaster Risk Reduction. (Aug '15)Wheeler Island. (Sep '15)An unexplored mountain peak in Himachal Pradesh. (Oct '15)

Aurangzeb Marg; all renamed in honour of Abdul Kalam

16. Why were indian banks never exposed to bad housing debt?In his 2015 book An Economist in the Real World, Kaushik Basu posits an explanation for why India was relatively immune from the 2007 sub-prime housing crisis. He points to a well-established practice in the Indian housing market, which ensures that the value of housing debt is always only a fraction of the value of the property itself. Because of this, Indian banks can almost always recover the entire value of a bad debt by selling the house, something American banks couldn't do because the loan value usually exceeded the market price of the house after the market crashed.

Because you can only get a loan to the extent of the listed value of the property, which is lower than the actual value in india because payments are made in black to evade property tax.

Dries antiClockwise 16 questions+10/-10 on the pounce+5/-5 on partial pounce, wherever applicable

17. What was the last name of this commission agent and oil merchant who was aggressively pursued by Jinnah?"When Mohammed Ali Jinnah set up the planning committee of the Muslim League (on the lines of the national planning committee of the Indian National Congress) in September 1944, he invited Mohammed Hasham ______ to be a part of it. But _____ did not want to join the League formally for personal and business reasons. He was then assured by Jinnah that he could serve without publicly signing the Muslim League pledge.Jinnah reportedly sought out ______ once again when he was forming the first cabinet in Pakistan to serve as his finance minister. But ______ rejected the offer and decided to stay on in India and nurture his oil business."

Premji

18. This is Americas largest advocacy group for what ethno-economic demographic?

Gujarati Motel owners

19. Etymology of what place?There are many stories about the origin of its name. X, the first half of the word in the Karbi language means goat and Y, the second half refers to the colour red; literally meaning the land of red goats (deer).There is another legend saying that a saint had camped at the Narmora Beel Lake located here when an old couple namely X and Y had approached him. They expressed their grief at not being able to have children and the saint consoled and blessed them stating that their name together would be known for generations.Some historians believe, however, that the name was derived from the Karbi word 'kajiror gaon', which referred to a village closeby.

Kaziranga

20. (a) Who were X and Y? (b) What was the SPG uncomfortable with?It was June 1985 and there was an interesting visitor at X's residence. A 31-year old Y who was staying at the Ashoka hotel came with two senior lieutenants. When the trio reached the security screening area, the newly- raised Special Protection Group (SPG) raised an alarm.They spotted something on the person of Y and the lieutenants which alarmed them. The trio tried to explain that they considered it an accessory which they all sported. However, both the IB and the SPG were unanimous in stating they had to be taken off. Y refused. "This is my protection, how can I take it off?"Finally, after nearly 45 minutes, a compromise was reached. Y was allowed to go inside with it as long as he agreed to be escorted by two SPG guards who would ensure that no sudden moves were made.

(a) Rajiv Gandhi; Velupillai Prabhakaran; (b) Cyanide capsule

21. What is the inspiration behind this sequence from the 2005 film Anandabhadram?

Raja ravi Varmas paintings

22. What is the object being spoken about?

Tipus tiger

23. (a)Who (b) on whom?Watching ______ bat is like admiring the Qutub Minar; tall, timeless, solid. You admire it for the virtues, not for its style. For nine hours and 21 minutes, he chiselled away the England attack and the sculpture that he left behind represented perseverance and craft. There was the usual stoic, expressionless face under the helmet, but you could see the determination in his eyes as he planted himself at the wicket, struck root and bore fruit.Only occasionally, the bat wavered in its resolve but the mind put it on the right path again, almost in admonishment, and the bat grew broader and straighter ... He may never be a Gavaskar, but he at least represents the great man's virtues, even if by proxy. It would be a relief too, to know that he will never throw away his wicket for nobody guards his crease more fiercely.

(a) Harsha Bhogle; (b) Ravi Shastri

24. Where have you seen this guy?Ravi Bhatia is an Indian TV actor, originally from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. Ravi left his house after an 82% in his Class 12 Board Examinations, went to Delhi, took up odd jobs, and finally ended up getting a transfer to Mumbai. He has achieved moderate success in his shows such as Dharam Veer, Raja KI Aayegi Baraat, and Hamaari Beti Raj Karegi.

How can she slap?

25. (a) What temple? (b) Which animals' did these secretions belong to?In 12th century texts, it was depicted that kings would be bathed in the Punugu oil created from their secretion for aromatic purposes. In the 21st century, the temple has used this oil to anoint the main image every Friday.Due to the weekly occurrence of this practice, nine of them were raised to easily collect the secretions. In 2002, due to the endangered nature of the animals, this practice came under fire. The topic cropped up again in 2008, this time accompanied by the confiscation of these due to the violation of the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act. The temple tried to re-obtain them by stating that without these animals, it would go against their ageless religious practices. If that plan failed, they had hopes of funding a zoo refuge for these animals and in turn be able to collect their secretions.

(A) Tirumala Tirupati Devastanam; (b) Civets

26. Whose Wikipedia page?

PN Oak

27. (a) Which newspaper? (b) Who is his grandson, who followed Kailash Nath and his son Shiva Nath into the same profession?Kailash Nath _____ was a prominent politician and lawyer who was part of some of the most riveting cases of his times, including the INA trials.He was one of the founders of Associated Journals Ltd. and one of the seven original subscribers of the Memorandum of Association of the company which published ________ ______ and two other newspapers.

(A) National Herald; (b) Justice Markandey Katju

28. (a)What was this controversy and what change did he make? (b) What phrase, coined by him went on to become a salutation, a slogan, a battle cry, and is also reflected in the name of a Mumbai college?Abid Hasan Safrani (born Zain-al-Abdin Hasan) was a Hyderabadi who went on to become an officer in the Indian National Army and later, a diplomat. There was an acute controversy regarding something after Independence between the Hindus and the Muslims. However, when the Hindus gave up their insistence on it, he was touched by the gesture and made this change, which is reflected in his name.

The colours on the National Flag; jai hind

29. Put funda.During the British Raj, India developed a formal hierarchical system for this. Apart from what was reserved for the British monarch, the more important of the hundreds of vassal rulers of princely states involved in indirect rule were classified in a particular way as per the protocolary privilege for the rulers of these states to be greeted. This classification depicted the prestige of these states in the eyes of the British.The highest of these so-called ______ states were Hyderabad, Mysore, Jammu and Kashmir, Baroda, and Gwalior. Even locally, the Nizam, Maharajas, Princes, etc. were all deeply keen on protocol and ensured that this was practised as a matter of faith and any departure from it was not taken kindly by them.

Salute states, for the gun salutes their rulers were entitled to receive.

30. (a) What was the point of the curved roads?(b) Why did the gates have metal protrusions?The Golkonda Fort was well known for its fortifications to keep enemy armies at bay from seizing the fort. The fact that it was constructed on the top of a hill made it easier to spot armies coming in from miles afar. Once the Qutb Shahi dynasty came into power, the mud fort was expanded into a massive fortification of granite, extending around 5 km in circumference.The fort has nine gates on the outer wall. The entrance to each gate has a curved road winding downwards. The gates also had metal protrusions.

(a) Battering rams; (b) war elephants

31. Why did Baba Amte leave Anandwan? (or) Where did he go?Most of Baba Amtes life was devoted to the care and rehabilitation of leprosy patients. While he lived and worked at Anandwan for most part of his life from 1950, he left for a few years in 1990 for something else. He shifted to Madhya Pradesh and went on to build and live in the Nijibal ashram in Kasrawad. While leaving Anandwan, he said"I am leaving to live along the _______. _______ will linger on the lips of the nation as a symbol of all struggles against social injustice."

To join the narmada bachao andolan

32. What project is this?The Sterling Investment Corporation, an arm of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, undertook this project and appointed Deepesh Salgia as Director. Hollywood executives were initially approached for help, but their sales quotations were found to be too high.In 2002, Umar Siddiqui, managing director of the Indian Academy of Arts and Animation (IAAA) proposed to do so at a fraction of the cost. To convince the Group of the project's commercial viability, the IAAA made a four-minute video clip and showed it to them. It was approved and a go-ahead was given. Shapoorji Mistry, grandson of producer Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry, thought it a fitting tribute to complete his grandfather's unfinished dream.

The colourisation of Mughal-e-azam.

The end.

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