iit kanpur quiz by ramanand

IIT Kanpur . 2013 . j. ramanand

The Answer Demanding Nation

A desi quiz for IIT Kanpur (internal event)9 March 2013by J. Ramanand


FormatRound 1 – They Said It (5)

Round 2 – Front Pages (16)

Round 3 – The Page 3 Round (4)

Round 4 – Back Pages (16)

Round 5 – Op Ed (7 + 1)


They Said It5 cartoons


Cartoonist: Bal ThackerayOccasion?


Cartoonist: Abu AbrahamThe subject?


Cartoonist: ShankarCartoon became controversial last year.What word is blanked out?


Cartoonist: Laxman

The project?


Cartoonist: Ajit Ninan

The subject?


AnswersDeath of Indira

Gandhi

“Constitution” – cartoon removed from school textbooks over depiction of Ambedkar

Tendency of the then President F.A.Ahmed to sign ordinances

during the Emergency

India’s manned mission to the moon

P. Chidambaram (after he was

attacked by a shoe-thrower)


Back Pages(because we like to start with Sports, Entertainment, and the lighter side of life)

16 questions


In the preface to a book published in 1998 (it was a compilation of the first season), he wrote:

"I clearly recall my impressions of it when I first saw it, on a grey day, sunk in a sofa at my sasural in Surrey. This was way back in 1985. The effect was electric. And this was certainly not for idiots."

What?


Siddhartha Basu in the preface to the first Mastermind India quiz book.

Answer


Mexico - ‘refresco’ – (a brand of soft drink)

Brazil – ‘cervijinha’ – (a small beer)

Iraq – (a small coffee)

France or North Africa – un petit cadeau

Malaysia – kopi duit

India - ?


“chai pani” (or any other local and spirited euphemism for a bribe)

Answer


What is special about this question from the 1994 Miss India contest:

"What do you know about the textile heritage of India & what's your wardrobe like?"


1994 was the only time the Miss India contest ended in a tie (between Ms. Sen and Ms. Rai). This was the tie-breaker question, which Ms. Sen had the less worse answer to.

Answer


These words are spoken by poet and musician Rafiq Ghaznavi at the beginning of films produced by Mehboob Productions.

Its English translation:

“The Plaintiff might wish you a million ills, but what of it? That alone happens that God allows”.

What is the Urdu version?


“muddai laakh buraa chaahe to kyaa hotaa hai,wahi hotaa hai jo manzuur-e-khudaa hotaa hai”

Answer


In the Davis Cup of 1974, India beat Australia at Calcutta, followed by the USSR in the semis at Pune.

Soon after, while at the Stockholm Open, the Amritraj brothers discovered that the Indian Tennis Federation had done something without consulting the Indian government or them.

Anand Amritraj got into trouble for yelling at the Association President and was asked to apologize.

What had happened?


India had forfeited its place in the final against South Africa on grounds of protesting against apartheid, thus saying good-bye to perhaps its best chance of winning the Davis Cup.

Answer


Writer William Dalyrmple says that he was shocked when Benazir Bhutto told him she thought highly of this book and had got most of her information about a certain period from it.

Dalrymple dubs this book as “terrible shlock pop-history – the (Indian Independence) Movement for Imbeciles”.

Which book?


“Freedom at Midnight”

Answer


"The Calcutta Chromosome" by Amitav Ghosh is subtitled "A Novel of Fears, Delirium and Discovery".

It begins with these lines:

"This day relenting GodHath placed within my hand A wondrous thing; and GodBe praised. At his command, Seeking his secret deeds with tears and toiling breath, I find thy cunning seeds, O million-murdering death"

Who wrote these lines?


Ronald Ross; the poem is about malaria and the book’s plot involves malaria.

Answer


XY and Z had acted together in a handful of films, such as a remake of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer “Khuddar”, another film called “Justice Gopinath”, and later, in one of XY's last films.

Since the producers of a new film starring Z wanted to call it “X”, Z asked them to take permission from the family of XY before going ahead with it.

Identify XY and Z.


XY: ‘Sivaji’ GanesanZ: Rajinikanth

Answer


In 1887, M.K.Gandhi set sail for London to become a barrister at law. He carried with him four letters of introduction to famous Indians in England. Three of these were Dr. P.J.Mehta, Sjt. Dalpatram Shukla, and Dadabhai Naoroji.

Who was the fourth?


Kumar “Ranji” Ranjitsinhji.

Answer


1980 was a good year.

+ X’s greatest moment came in this year+ It was also an Indian first+ Liem Swie King was the final hurdle

+ Y was an obvious reincarnation of a 1975 Hollywood film and one of the top films of that year+ Kishore and Rafi both received Filmfare nominations for Y+ The music directors won a Filmfare award

A November 2007 film release hopefully did not eclipse the above two from public memory

Identify X, Y, and Nov. 2007 film. And the connection, of course


X: Prakash Padukone

Y: The Subhash Ghai film “Karz”.

In 2007, Prakash’s daughter Deepika made her debut in “Om Shanti Om” which was a pastiche of “Karz”.

Answer


+ ‘Pachcha’ : Saatvik && Rajasic

+ ‘Taadii’ : - Type 1: Taamasic - Type 2: Wild men - Type 3: Semi-human divinities

+ ‘Katthi’: Rajasic && Tamasic

+ ‘Kari’: Demonic females

+ ‘Minukku’ : Pious females, Sages

What are these?


Different colour masks in Kathakali that represent the attributes of the characters wearing them. For instance, “pachcha” (i.e. “green”) would be worn by actors playing noblemen such as Rama or Arjuna.

Answer


One of this director's next film projects is based on a character that was made famous on Doordarshan twenty years ago. Incidentally, the director bears a facial resemblance to the actor who became famous for that role, and has often been mistaken for him.

Who is the director, and what is the character?


Director: Dibakar BanerjeeCharacter: Byomkesh BakshiActor: Rajit Kapur

Answer


This is the Indian daffodil. Which dish, made famous by the Mughals, gets its name from this?

Image: http://www.flowersofindia.net/


Nargisi Kofta (“nargisi” is an alternate name for “narcissus”)

Answer


“Lajong” in this football club's name means “our own” in the local language. As can be seen from its logo, the club seeks to represent the entire North-East.

Which city is this club from?


Shillong

Answer


The name of this dance form comes from a Sanskrit word.

One way to interpret the dance is as a fertility ritual. The other is that the lamp placed at the centre stands for God and the dancing in circles around it represents the cycle of rebirth, where the only thing constant is God.

Which dance form?


Garbaa (“garbha” == “womb”)

Answer


Gauhar Ara Begum was born on 17 June, 1631 and died in 1706, at a reasonably old age of 75. We may not find her death interesting, but why would her birth be significant?


Her mother Mumtaz Mahal died in childbirth while delivering here. Her father Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in Mumtaz’s memory.

Answer


Page 3Some Achaar.Some Gossip. Some side-al nudity.


Excerpts from a Tehelka interview:

“If you are intelligent enough to understand, I will explain, but if a Subhash K. Jha says, (mimicking in falsetto) “you were dancing[...],” I’ll say, **** off, yes, I was. So to answer your question, I do [it]. But it is very difficult to afford what I demand. You have to do it like a show, it has to be in an area where nobody drinks and eats, it will start at 9 pm and end at 11.30 pm, the stage will be 30 by 40 feet, we will make our entries, we will not chat with anyone, we will not eat your food, we will not take pictures […], unless we personally want to. We will come, […], and we will go away.”

Whose words?


Shah Rukh Khan about performing at weddings for money without being embarrassed about it.

Answer


In the state assembly, this CM was once asked who was living with him in a house for which he was collecting rent.

He replied: My daughter's mother.

Who?


K. Karunanidhi, who has two wives. Kanimozhi is the daughter in question.

Answer


In 1995, a case of obscenity was filed against this former national level swimmer and a former state level athlete. Another case was filed under the Wildlife Protection Act as well.

Eventually, the cases were closed.

Identify the people involved or identify the reason for this hullabaloo.


Remaining picture will be visible to those above 18

(mentally and chronologically)

AnswerAn ad for “Tuff’s Shoes” featuring then supermodels Milind Soman, Madhu Sapre, a python, and not much else (no one knows if the shoes were there).


Photos from whose wedding?


AnswerHema Malini and her mapillai.(I’ve always wondered about the photo’s authenticity)


Front Pages(politics, business, and the heavier stuff)

order reverses16 questions


From 1884, there were officially two in India: Bombay & Calcutta

An unofficial one was used by the Railways: Madras(soon became de facto)

One more at Port Blair

Official one changed in 1905, still used


Time zones

Answer


Independent India's first ever Ambassador to the Soviet Union was Vijayalakshmi Pandit, who held the post till 1949. Her successor held the post till 1952, when he returned to India to take up which office?


Vice President of India (the person being S. Radhakrishnan)

Answer


In Rushdie's Midnight's Children, this royal personage stands for the dying aristocratic class. She patronises The Hummingbird (a character based on Sheikh Abdullah) and is responsible for a silver spittoon that is important in the book's plot.

She is the Rani of a fictional place, which in true Rushdie style, is derived from a real name of a once princely state now in West Bengal.

What is this name?


“Cooch Naheen” from “Cooch Behar”

Answer


* XY is a common name in a region

* XY is the name of a person who co-assassinated his country's PM and later was himself killed

* XY is also the name of a person who held the highest regional post in that local region and was assassinated in 1995

* What is XY?


Beant Singh

1. The co-assassin of Indira Gandhi2. The former CM of Punjab

Answer


From 1947, India had a four tier system called Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D. This state of affairs lasted until about 1955-1956 when this system was reorganised in the form we now know.

What is this?


States/High level administrative divisions of India.

Answer


Image: Dr. Damodar Bhonsule, Panjim

Public Service message to promote the use of the bifurcated needle to do what?


J. Jayalalitha once brusquely ended their conversation by saying: “I must say it wasn’t a pleasure talking to you. Namaste”.

The Indian equivalent of Tim Sebastian, he was President of the Cambridge Union debating society in 1977.

Who?


Karan Thapar

Answer


Until his retirement in April 2012, Sebastian D'Souza worked as a photo editor for the Mumbai Mirror newspaper. Some of his work has received mention at the World Press Photo Awards in 2008.

What was the subject of this work?


Some years ago, an Indian company complained to the WIPO and ICANN over misuse of their brand name. Another company had registered a domain name identical to its own brand.

Submission: in 1995, the brand name was formed: - putting together its parent company’s 1st two letters (could easily have been the last two letters also) - and the word for “coin (of a certain metal)” in one language. - Brand enjoys good sales in South Asia and even in Dubai.

+ The other company (HQ in Dubai) - Contention: the same term coined by body + love/passion from a different language - appropriate as they sold body care products since 1997.

X lost the case as it could not prove Y had registered the domain in bad faith. What brand name was in contention?


Tanishq

Answer


This is a Persian title meaning "head preacher". The two most recent men to assume the title havetraditionally been bitter rivals of the family that has ruled the territory for most of the time. The previous person to hold the title was assassinated in turbulent times.

What is this title?


“Mirwaiz” (associated with the Hurriyat movement in Kashmir)

Answer


In June 1855, two leaders of this tribe, Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, declared a rebellion against the British (this happened in an area today found in Jharkhand). This was eventually put down but not before giving the rulers a scare. Which tribe?


Santhals

Answer


In 2012, this government body wrote to the Indian government seeking a change in its name. In particular, changing “Central” to “Indian, partly to avoid being confused with a similar body in Pakistan at international meets.

Which body?


The Central Board for Film Certification

Answer


What happened for the first time in independent India in the little region of Chini in Himachal Pradesh on 25 October 1951?

It happened this early as a precaution against possible snow later in the winter.


The first votes cast in India’s first general elections.

Answer


Billa and Ranga were two notorious criminals who were ultimately hanged for their crimes. What was instituted in the memory of two of their victims?


Sanjay and Geeta Chopra awards in the National Bravery Awards given each Republic Day.

Answer


If you took this test, apart from academic subjects, you may have had to demonstrate the abilityto jump a 5-barred gate on horseback with arms folded and stirrups crossed.

Romesh Chandra Dutt, Behari Lal Gupta, Surendranath Banerjee & S.B.Thakur were the next to achieve it in 1869.

Who was the first (in 1868) ?


The first Indian Civil Services entrant, Satyendranath Tagore

Answer


What was common to both victims of the following?

1. Sher Ali, a convict interned in Port Blair 8th Feb 1872

2. The Provisional IRA, more than 100 years later, on 27 Aug 1979


British Viceroys.

1. Lord Mayo at Port Blair (while in office)2. Lord Mountbatten (long after retirement)

Answer


Op Ed pagesA common theme

6 questions – written+15 (<=3 teams)+10 (otherwise)

Guess the theme at this stage: 15 points

2 slides with visuals for the same theme+10 +5

no negatives


Who co-authored this biography (“The Early Years”) of R.K.Narayan along with Susan Ram?


He wrote the (partly autobiographical) stories for three Shyam Benegal films: Mammo, Sardari Begum, and Zubeida.

Who?


Wrote “May it Please Your Honour!”

Identify.


Probably the last Indian to be an Oxford Blue in cricket (in 1987). Stats from Cricinfo:


English Translation of a speech (excerpted from a book, via Google Books). Speaker?


Op Ed pagesAnswers so far. Guess the theme at this stage: 15 points

1. N. Ram2. Khalid Mohamed3. Nathuram Godse4. Rajdeep Sardesai5. Atal Behari Vajpayee (historic debut Hindi speech at the UN)6. Vir Sanghvi


Before we endSome Thanksgiving

I blog at Infinite Zounds

Feedback at [email protected]

See you soon


Op Ed pagesTheme: Editors of Indian newspapers & Magazines

Slide 1 Photos: Annu Kapoor (the editor in “Mr. India”), Khushwant Singh, M.K.Gandhi, Satyajit Ray, Cho Ramaswamy, Bhakti Barve (as “Shobha” in “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro”.

Slide 2 Photos: Dileep Padgaonkar, M. J. Akbar, Vinod Mehta, Arun Shourie, Pritish Nandy, and that answer demanding national.


Edited & Published by J. Ramanand

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