2005 quizzes

  1. Sumedha's Adventure Quiz
  2. Raghu and Rao's Quiz
  3. Fall Quiz 2005 by Dinesh and Raghu [prelims]
  4. Hirak's India Quiz
  5. Ranga Quiz 3
  6. Hirak's Flower Quiz

 

Quiz by Ranga

To view the answers select the coloured line that you see. The text is of the same colour as the background

  1. What are Standard, Super and Ashoka the most common (possibly exhaustive) brands of?

    Auto meters in India!

  2. In 1987, Imran Khan, being fed up of allegations, introduced something for the test match between West Indies and Pakistan. What?

    First instance of neutral umpires.
    Piloo Reporter was asked to umpire in that match.

  3. When Buddhism was spreading its wings, the number of converts from other religions to Buddhism was increasing at a rapid pace. This was especially true of Hindus. So, Hindu purists propagated something that seeked to nullify the conversion. What?

    Buddha was made the 9th avatar of the Dashavataar series replacing Balarama.

  4. During the Ashes Test at Lords in 1993, this quote became famous "I always love watching the shocked faces of the members when they see me here and their embarrassment when they realize who it is". Who made the quote?

    Queen Elizabeth about sitting in the Lord's Long Room (which until recently was open only to men).

  5. "Did you know that a city with the Sanskrit name for ginger is mentioned in the Ramayana, indicating that in 2000 BC this city was already the capital of the ginger trade? Did you know that although tamarind has been used in India from the most remote times against scurvy, it is also known for its effectiveness against mouth and throat infections?" Many such questions were posed as part of a marketing campaign for this guy's book "The Garden of Life: An Introduction to the Healing Plants of India". It was the 3rd in a series of books on India the first two being "A Second Paradise: Indian Courtly Life 1590-1947", and "A Desert Kingdom: The Rajputs of Bikaner", each taking nearly 2 years to compile. On being asked what if he were to be elected Chief Minister of his state, he jokingly replies "That would be my hobby!". One more selling point for the book was that it was edited by an ardent admirer of Indian culture, Jacqueline Kennedy. In fact, he claims to know Nancy Reagan, Gore Vidal, Mick Jagger and President Sukarno personally on a first name basis too. Who is this?

    Navin Patnaik.

    (He graduated from Harvard where he came in touch with many famous personalities. The connection to Sukarno is through his father J. Biju Patnaik who fought with Sukarno in the Indonesian War of Independence.)

  6. Identify.

    Charlie Chaplin (without the moustache)

  7. Out of the night that covers me,
    Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
    I thank whatever gods may be
    For my unconquerable soul.

    In the fell clutch of circumstance
    I have not winced nor cried aloud.
    Under the bludgeonings of chance
    My head is bloody, but unbowed.

    Beyond this place of wrath and tears
    Looms but the Horror of the shade,
    And yet the menace of the years
    Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

    It matters not how strait the gate,
    How charged with punishments the scroll,
    _________________________
    _________________________

    - “Invictus”, William Ernest Henley

    I am the captain of my fate
    I am the master of my soul.

    These lines were quoted by Timothy McVeigh in defense of his decision about the Oklahoma bombing.

  8. Lal Bihari was born in the village of Azamgarh in UP. In 1976, when he went to the bank to apply for a bank loan, the clerk told him that he had died earlier declared by his uncle who had then annexed his piece of land to his own. Then started a long series of actions including a court case that ran for 18 years before he was recognized as being alive. During this time, he started a Mritak Sangh (meaning “The Association of the Dead”) to find out all those who are officially dead but alive. This sangh became actively involved in bribing the officials and obtaining land back. “Fight them their way” is his popular saying. How was he honored?

    He was given the Ig Nobel prize in 2004.

  9. After the churning of the Ocean, a rock was broken from Mount Meru and fell in the salt ocean. This rock had 3 peaks, so it was named Tri-Kuta. Then, for the purposes of making a nice palace for the pastimes of the demigods, Viswakarma made this _____. What?

    Sri Lanka was born.

  10. This poster from real-life inpsired what?

    The movie "Blair Witch Project"

    The clue is "Last seen camping ..." in the visual.

  11. Duality 1: "X was walking back from a visit down in Branton Hill's manufacturing district on a Saturday night. A busy day's traffic had had its noisy run; and with not many folks in sight, His Honor got along without having to stop to grasp a hand, or talk; for a mayor out of City Hall is a shining mark for any politician. And so, coming to Broadway, a booming bass drum and sounds of singing, told of a small Salvation Army unit carrying on amidst Broadway's night shopping crowds. X, walking towards that group, saw a youg girl, back toward him, just finishing a long, soulful oration.". What's the claim to fame of this paragraph?

    It is an excerpt from the book "Gatsby" by Ernest Vincent Wright which doesnt have the letter 'E'.

  12. Duality 2: In 1745, the first performance was after George II's army was defeated at the Battle of Prestonpas by the Jacobite claimant to the British throne Bonnie Prince Charles. Joseph Haydn was so impressed by the performance that he spread its fame to his home country Austria, and then Germany. Watizit?

    The piece is "God save the King", Great Britain's national anthem. Austria has its national anthem set to the same tune and is called "God save Emperor Franz" while the German version is called "Das Lied der Deutschen". The piece changes to "God save the Queen" when a Queen is the monarch in Great Britain.

  13. Connect Duality 1 and Duality 2 (slightly involved)

    Gatsby->Great Gatsby->F. Scott Fitzgerald -> Francis Scott Key (the great uncle of Fitzgerald) -> Star Sprangled Banner (US national anthem) -> God Save the King/Queen (Britain's National Anthem).

    Thank you!

  14. Duality 3: Firstly the British and the French came to an agreement in early 1960s to produce A. Being a joint project, the French wanted to set themselves apart in the final run and decided on a subtle change to the name to give B. B was also claimed to be “consistent” with the French language. Soon Britain also changed the name from A to B. What are we talking about?

    The product is the Concorde. Originally it was called Concord and then the French decided to append an 'E' since the pronunciation of the word meant that the word couldnt have a consonant-ending.

    Connection to Duality 2:
    God Save the King originated from Britain and was used by other countries while Concorde was first used in some other country before being adopted by Britain finally.

  15. Connect: Great Depression, Fat Boy and Donald Bradman.

    The number 29.

    Great Depression - 1929.
    Fat Boy was dropped over Nagasaki by Enola Gay - a B-29 bomber.
    Bradman - 29 centuries.