Cannabis Indica 2015 - The Finals

ASKQANCE 2015
CANNABIS 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

Clockwise
1 • 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

Swatantra Party
Any party has to swear it is socialist,
to register itself

Writers directing movies based on
their works
Buddhadev 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

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

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

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 ofVienna and spies.
Explain the reason for this title.
6

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

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

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

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

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.

• 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

Women taking to vocal music could
not find men to accompany them,
hence they stuck to play
accompanying instruments

Hobson’s Choice
2 • 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

• 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

Kishmish
from the island Kishm

Umeedwar
for candidates in an election
from Umeed (Hope)

Elephantiasis
In Malayalam it was called perikal

Dal-chini for Cinnamon
came from dar-e-chini (wood of China)

Clockwise
© Nexus Consulting
3 • 12 Questions

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

Louis Malle
The BBC was thrown out of India

• This is the LakenHalle (Cloth Hall), a 13th century commercial
building inYpres, 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 theYpres Cloth Hall?
Why were the blueprints of this structure needed in the mid
1900s?
14

Calcutta High Court
TheYpres Cloth Hall was destroyed by German
artillery inWWI, 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

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

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

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

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

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

Willingdon Island (Cochin)
Island Express

• Connect the two videos and the audio
21

Lorna Cordeiro
Singing 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

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

• 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

S. Chandrashekar
Astrophysical Journal (ApJ)

Wipe the Grid
© Nexus Consulting
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 AWARDWINNERS – 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 BATSMENWITH 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 MEDALWINNERS FROM INDIA SINCE 1930
MILKHA
SINGH
KUMARASAN
SUDALAIMANI
TINTU
LUKKA
P T
USHA
SYED
MODI
ROOPA
UNNIKRISHNAN
WOMEN’S
HOCKEY
DINESH
KHANNA
SHINY
ABRAHAM
BACK TO LIST

STATE CHIEF MINISTERSWHO FINISHED A FULL TERM
FAROOQ
ABDULLAH
KESHUBHAI
PATEL
MADHAV S.
SOLANKI
V P
NAIK
PARKASH
SINGH BADAL
S 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
RATNAM
TAPAN
SINHA
SHAJI
KARUN
BIMAL
ROY
B V
KARANTH
BACK TO LIST

RULERS OF THE DELHI SULTANATE
QUTBUDDIN
AIBAK
IJAZUDDIN
KHILJI
ABU BAKR
SHAH
RAZIYAT-UD-
DIN SULTANA
NASIR
FIRUZ
KHIZR
KHAN
GHIYASUDDIN
TUGHLAQ-II
SIKANDAR
SHAH SAYYID
BAHLOL
LODI
BACK TO LIST

INDIA’S FOREIGN MINISTERS (MEA)
K C
PANT
JAWAHARLAL
NEHRU
MORARJI
DESAI
MADHAVSINH
SOLANKI
M C
CHAGLA
LAL BAHADUR
SHASTRI
DINESH
SINGH
GHULAM
NABI AZAD
ATAL BEHARI
VAJPAYEE
BACK TO LIST

WINNERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL GANDHI PEACE
PRIZE
JULIUS
NYERERE
A T
AYIRARATNE
AMNESTY
INTNL.
GERHARD
FISCHER
MARGARET
THATCHER
CHANDI P.
BHATT
KAILASH
SATYARTHI
JOHN
HUME
RAMKRISHNA
MISSION
BACK TO LIST

Anti-Clockwise
© Nexus Consulting
5 • 12 Questions

• 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

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

• 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

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 ज्यूँ, कित सीखे हो सैन
ज्ों ज्ों िर ऊं च््ो ि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 रैन
लोग 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

• 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

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

• In the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the Indian football team lost in
the semi-finals toYugoslavia 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

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

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

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

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

Half Widows
Their husbands disappeared during police
custody or Army operations

Begum Akhtar
Sang 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

Mintal Trauma
5 • 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.

Coins heavier than the normal weight of a
coin of that value
(piedfort means heavy foot)

Scinde Dawk (Sind Post)
which is in present day Pakistan

Anti-Clockwise
6 • 12 Questions

• 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

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 theVictoria museum, Calcutta?
14

In the 35th chapter “Thuravu” (Renunciation),
this couplet goes:
யாதனின் யாதனின் நீங்கியான் ந ாதல்
அதனின் அதனின் இலன்.
Transliteration
YaadhaninYaadhanin 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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(IslamicYear 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

Akbar
The previous calendar was lunar and out of
sync with agricultural seasons, and people
found it hard to pay taxes

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

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!

Cannabis Indica 2015 - The Finals

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Andere mochten auch

Andere mochten auch (20)

Ähnlich wie Cannabis Indica 2015 - The Finals

Ähnlich wie Cannabis Indica 2015 - The Finals (20)

Mehr von Navin Rajaram

Mehr von Navin Rajaram (12)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Cannabis Indica 2015 - The Finals