Welcome to the Prelims!

Rules : 1. 35 questions in the prelims 2. 11-20 are starred questions(*) and will be used to

resolve ties 3. In case teams are tied after that then the tie would

be resolved by sudden death from Qs 1 onwards 4. Top 8 teams in the finals 5. Please switch off your cell phones 6. Please write all answers in CAPITAL LETTERS 7. Fill out all the details in the answer sheets 8. Quizmasters’ decision is final

In India, it is primarily an artificial embankment,

dyke or dam. In certain Chinese ports which have

or have had commercial links with England, it is

the name given to the water-front. Incidentally

one of these is in Hyderabad as well.

What is the name given to such embankments

which comes from the Hindi word for “dam” ?

1

The Answer is ….

Bund ( or Tank bund)

While most of the buildings in Fatehpur Sikri are

made of red sandstone, one is entirely made of

white marble. Whom does the building

commemorate ?

(Pic next slide)

2

The Answer is ….

Salim Chisti

In 1985, Rick Macintosh, the GM of Microsoft

Canada was summoned to the Canadian Department

of Agriculture since they had quarantined the first

units of Microsoft’s version of a product. Not

knowing better, the Dept of Agriculture officials

thought that the product posed a health risk to

Canada. Which Microsoft product was this?

3

The Answer is ….

Microsoft Mouse

(they thought that Microsoft has importing live Mice instead

of the first version of the Microsoft Mouse )

While working alongside Shekhar Kapur on Bandit

Queen, he first heard stories about this person.

Fascinated with the person, he finally made this

movie about a renegade which was released to

critical as well as commercial success in 2012.

Which movie ?

4

The Answer is ….

This position (pic next slide) is one of the toughest

ones in gymnastics. It is popularly known by two

terms. One is from Christian iconography (8 letter

word), the other shares its name with a Prussian

and German military decoration. Name either.

5

The Answer is ….

The Crucifix or the Iron Cross

What term meaning ‘residents from earliest of times’ or

‘original inhabitants’ is given to close to 8% of the Indian

national population, thus making them the largest tribal

population in the world?

6

The Answer is ….

Adivasi

Which 4 wheeled vehicle will be delivered by this

spacecraft tomorrow?

7

The Answer is ….

Curiosity ( the latest Mars rover)

The first of these was the Bombay Sinhagad

Express in 1978. The second was the Flying Rani in

1979. This innovation was a necessity to

accommodate the increasing number of passengers

on these trains. An AC variant of this running from

Ahmedabad to Mumbai will begin sometime soon.

What innovation am I talking about?

8

The Answer is ….

Double decker train

This visitor centre opened to mark the 75th

anniversary of which iconic US landmark?

(pic next slide)

9

The Answer is ….

Golden Gate Bridge

What type of cake gets its name because it

contains equal measures of flour, egg, butter and

sugar?

10

The Answer is ….

Poundcake

This word has its origins from the days of sailships

when a carved wooden decoration would be placed at

the prow of a ship (pic next slide) which served as a

marker of the ship’s identity. Though they appeared

impressive or even menacing, they did not serve any

practical purpose on the ship. Today they have

disappeared from ships, but the word lingers on.

What word?

11*

Clue:

The Answer is ….

Figurehead

In the Indian Army, the ranks of Colonel and

below are called “field ranks”, signifying that the

officer is active in the battlefield as part of his

duties. What is the corresponding name for

officers of rank Brigadier and above?

(Hint: They take their name from something that

they are entitled to display.)

12*

The Answer is ….

Flag Ranks

Heads of state have an influential bureaucrat who

helps them prepare for international summits. These

bureaucrats do not have final decision making

authority but their job is to clear the way for the

leader at a major summit. What are such people

called?

The name is the same as that given to someone who

performs a similar role in a completely different field.

13*

The Answer is ….

Sherpas

What does this art installation at Delhi Airport

depict?

14*

The Answer is ….

Suryanamaskar

Which is the longest track and field event at the

2012 London Olympics?

15*

The Answer is ….

50 Kilometer Walk

Vaasantikaswapnam is the 1892 Sanskrit translation

of which play by William Shakespeare?

16*

The Answer is ….

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A reference to which historical event, that

occurred in 1415, has been blanked out in the

next visual?

17*

The Answer is ….

Battle of Agincourt

This ( pic next slide) is actress Ojas Suniti Vijay

performing her play titled “Le Mashale” which

was performed in many Indian cities including

Hyderabad to great acclaim. Whose life is this

play all about?

18*

The Answer is ….

Irom Sharmila

The salts of this element are radio opaque and

show on a radio graph. Patients are made to

swallow these salts before radiographs are taken

to diagnose ailments of the digestive tract. And

the radiographs look as follows. Which element?

19*

The Answer is ….

Barium ( used in the Barium Meal Test)

Permanent Account Number or PAN is a sequence

of 10 digits consisting of alphabets and numbers

which is unique to every tax payer. What does the

5th character of the PAN number represent for an

individual tax assessee ?

20*

The Answer is ….

The first letter of your surname/last name

Photographer Dina Goldstein’s visualization of

whose married life?

(pictures on next slide)

21

The Answer is ….

Married life of Barbie and Ken

What medically rare condition connects the two

clips?

22

The Answer is ….

Bombay blood group

What English word for a geographical feature

comes from the Greek word for “neck”?

23

The Answer is ….

Isthmus

It literally means “insatiable in giving”. According

to Tibetan sources it was part of a list of 5 which

included Vikramshila, Somapura, Odantapura and

Jaggadala. Amartya Sen is spearheading an effort

to revive this.

What are we talking about?

24

The Answer is ….

Nalanda University

Something that you associate with a computer,

derives its name from the item circled in red

(next slide). What?

25

The Answer is ….

Enter/Return key (The handle on the keyboard was called a carriage return to

force the paper to go to the next line. The name of the

“return” or “enter” key is derived from this handle in the old

typewriters)

The TV show Dharampatni was broadcast on Imagine TV.

The show’s protagonist was Mohan who is sent abroad at a

young age and returns after completing his studies. When

he returns, he is completely changed, especially in the

aspects of in his behaviour and ideologies. Under pressure

from his family, he marries Kastur, who has opposing

ideologies. She is a dutiful wife who loves him dearly and

always puts him first. Over time, love blossoms between

them.

On whose married life is this TV show based?

26

The Answer is ….

MK Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi

Which corporate entity was this “streaker”

protesting against? He appeared in an English

Premier League match in 2011 -12 season.

(pic next slide)

27

The Answer is ….

Allegedly, the term “Superstar” was coined by

journalist Devyani Chaubal of “Star and Style”,

for the first time for which actor?

28

The Answer is ….

Rajesh Khanna

During the NASSCOM India Leadership Forum 2012,

Sir Richard Hadlee, during his talk on innovation,

cited the example of the 1992 Cricket World Cup

and how New Zealand introduced two remarkable

innovations to the game of cricket. If using Mark

Greatbatch as a pinch hitter was one, which was

the other?

29

The Answer is ….

Opening the bowling with a spinner

(Dipak Patel)

An app was recently doing the rounds on Facebook

which asked users to assign a distinct name to every

friend and share on Facebook, since every friend

holds a unique place in our life. Users could choose

from a pre-populated list of tags like diva, bindaas,

etc. or coin their own unique friend types. These

tags got published on the Facebook page.

Which brand was this app promoting?

30

The Answer is ….

Airtel,

as part of its “Har Friend Zaroori Hota

Hai” campaign

His original pen name meant "lion" and was drawn

from his given name. After he came across a bad

poem by someone with the same pen name, he is

said to have changed it to a word meaning

"dominant". Incidentally, his original pen name is

the same as the name of a leader in the Middle

East who is currently in a lot of trouble.

Whom are we talking about?

31

The Answer is ….

Mirza Ghalib who earlier went by the

pen name “Asad”

Which stone gets its name from the same Latin

root word as this fruit due to their similar

appearance?

(pic next slide)

32

The Answer is ….

Garnet (from granatum which means

dark red)

What rather ironic name is given to this fish

because of its hunting methodology as seen in this

video?

33

The Answer is ….

Angler Fish

The logo of the 1996 Miss World competition held

in Bangalore was based on a 1500 year old

painting called the Flying Apsara which is shown

in the next slide. Where would you find this

painting?

34

The Answer is ….

Ajanta Caves

Christopher Walken reading whose “work”?

35

The Answer is ….