India Quiz at IIT Kanpur - March 2013

IIT Kanpur . 2013 . j. ramanand
The Answer
Demanding Nation
A desi quiz for IIT Kanpur (internal event)
9 March 2013
by J. Ramanand

Format
Round 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 It
5 cartoons

Cartoonist:
Bal Thackeray
Occasion?

Cartoonist:
Abu Abraham
The subject?

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

Cartoonist:
Laxman
The project?

Cartoonist:
Ajit Ninan
The subject?

Answers
Death 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 God
Hath placed within my hand
A wondrous thing; and God
Be 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’ Ganesan
Z: 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 Banerjee
Character: Byomkesh Bakshi
Actor: 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 3
Some 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)
Answer
An 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?

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

Front Pages
(politics, business, and the heavier
stuff)
order reverses
16 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 Gandhi
2. 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 have
traditionally 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 ability
to 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 pages
A 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 pages
Answers so far. Guess the theme at this stage: 15
points
1. N. Ram
2. Khalid Mohamed
3. Nathuram Godse
4. Rajdeep Sardesai
5. Atal Behari Vajpayee (historic debut Hindi speech
at the UN)
6. Vir Sanghvi

Before we end
Some Thanksgiving
I blog at Infinite Zounds
Feedback at ramanand@gmail.com
See you soon

Op Ed pages
Theme: 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

India Quiz at IIT Kanpur - March 2013

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