India Quiz Finals (Interrobang 2016)

INDIA QUIZ
INTERROBANG 2016
(ALSO RUN AT THE
NOVEMBER 2016
K-CIRCLE QUIZ OF THE
Final

BIRDS OF A FEATHER
•Six images of like-minded individuals coming
together
•ID them all
•Written, +5 for each correct identification
•+10 if all correct

ARUNDHATI ROY AND EDWARD
SNOWDEN

SITARAM YECHURY AND DENG
XIAOPING

EMS NAMBOODIRIPAD AND
NICOLAE CEAUSESCU

DRIES CLOCKWISE
•16 questions
•+10/-10 on the pounce
•+5/-5 on partial pounce, wherever applicable

1. WHAT IS ALI DESCRIBING?
Confessions of a Thug is an English novel written by Philip Meadows
Taylor in 1839 based on the Thuggee cult in British India. Ameer Ali,
the anti-hero protagonist was said to be based on a real Thug called
Syeed Amir Ali whom the author was acquainted with.
In the novel, the beauty and vastness of something is described by
Ali, who was on a "professional" recce of this city in the early 19th
Century.
He described an entity "whose surface was curled into a thousand
waves, whose crests as they broke, sparkled like diamonds and threw
their spray into our faces as they dashed against the stonework of the
embankment. We stood a long time gazing upon the beautiful
prospect, so new to us all and wondering whether the sea.... could be
anything like what was before us."

2. WHO IS X? WHO IS Y?
An astrophysicist and a proponent of steady state cosmology,
X’s autobiography ‘Chaar Nagaratle Majhe Vishwa' (My Universe
of Four Cities) was unanimously selected for the Sahitya
Akademi award in the Marathi literature category in 2014.
We know X for having written scientific papers, science fiction,
novels, short stories and popular science literature in English,
Hindi and Marathi.
A globally renowned personality, X also appeared on Y's wildly
popular thirteen-part television series in the 1980s which
covered a wide range of scientific subjects, including the origin
of life and a perspective of our place in the universe.
Image of X follows.

(A) JAYANT NARLIKAR; (B) CARL
SAGAN

WINNERS OF THE SCRIPPS
NATIONAL SPELLING BEE

4. (A) WHO IS X? (B) WHAT PRACTISE
WAS THIS, AND WHY WAS HE
UNABLE TO CONTINUE WITH IT AT
ADELAIDE?Known for his penchant for doing so every
time his side ends up on the side of
success, X discovered in Adelaide last year
that he couldn’t continue with the same
practice.
The specific reason being that these
costed USD 40,000 (Rs 24 lakh) and the
pair that went with it costed as much as Rs
50,000.

(A) MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI (B) THESE
WERE SOPHISTICATED LED BAILS THAT
COST TOO MUCH FOR HIM TO TAKE
HOME.

5. A FLORAL CLOCK OR FLOWER
CLOCK IS A LARGE DECORATIVE
CLOCK WITH THE CLOCK FACE
FORMED BY CARPET BEDDING,
USUALLY FOUND IN A PARK OR
OTHER PUBLIC RECREATION AREA.
(A) WHERE WOULD YOU FIND THE
MOST FAMOUS EXAMPLE IN INDIA?
(B) WHICH COMPANY WAS
RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS
INSTALLATION? (IMAGES FOLLOW)

6. AFTER WHOM ARE THESE
AWARDS NAMED?
The Ministry of Textiles hands out an award annually for “outstanding
weavers who have made valuable contributions in keeping alive
India’s handloom heritage”. The most recent awardee was a silk
weaver from Kanchipuram, who received Rs. 6 lakh in financial aid to
“innovate and create 10 new products”.
The Ministry of Home Affairs hands out another award of the same
name, for “conspicuous acts of physical/moral courage displayed
under circumstances of danger to the life of the rescuer in saving the
life and property of member(s) of another caste/community/ethnic
group during caste conflicts/communal riots/ethnic clashes”. This
award carries a cash prize of 3 grades – Rs. 2 lakh, Rs. 1 lakh and Rs.
50,000.

7. WHAT WAS EVERYONE VYING TO
HOST?
There were plans to host it in Calcutta as early as 1997. At that
time, two 600-acre sites in the vicinity of the Bangalore airport
were also examined. However, the Andhra Pradesh CM
Chandrababu Naidu wanted his state to host it and 1,367 acres
were reserved on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
In 2004, competition arose from Mumbai, to change the
location from Hyderabad. In the end these projects were never
realized, possibly owing to anti-tobacco legislation, and a
change in government policy. Both projects then were declared
"dead" in the second half of 2004, when the Maharashtra
government decided "not to waste money on ___ _____ while
there are more serious issues", and the Hyderabad location was
converted to an IT park for technology companies.

8. RAJESH RAJAMANI ON WHAT
CREATION?
“Recently, I got a chance to look at a web-comic series
called Royal Existentials. I observed that Aarthi, the
creator of this web comic format, had used Mughal
miniature paintings to illustrate contemporary angst in
a comic format. I liked the idea and created something
similar with Raja Ravi Varma’s and Mughal paintings
and shared it with my friends on Facebook,” said
Rajesh and added, “One particular comic about death
penalty went viral and after that, I decided to create an
exclusive page for the web comics.”

9. WHO WAS JAMEEL'S MOTHER,
WHO DIED OF A BRAIN
HAEMORRHAGE IN 1992?
● ""My mother was wronged, gravely wronged," said Jameel, 60, as
wrinkles on his face rearranged themselves in remembrance of
circumstances triggered by her fight, which he calls an "izzat ki
ladai".
● "My mother was a simple, purdah-observing woman. At such a late
age (60, by most accounts), the publicity, paper-baazi… she was
very ashamed of all this. She didn't say much but kept stewing over
it."
● This bottling up of emotions took its toll. "She developed high blood
pressure and frequently fell ill," said Jameel, a 'property broker' (local
euphemism for somebody without a steady job), who lives in a
modest house in Indore."

10. WHY IS “SARFARAZ” SCARED?
Sarfaraz (name changed) is a rickshaw puller in the city who is scared
that he may be attacked by Hindutva and Islamist groups. The reason
is that it not only reveals his identity, but also discloses the place
where he stays with his family.
Though not many knew about his identity since it made the headlines
in 2009, the recent release made his small circle bigger.
“This is not something welcome. I have not watched it but those who
did, told me that my actual name has been used. In a sense, my life
has been endangered because now people know my real name and
the place where I stay. Of course that makes me scared for my life,”
he said.

HE WAS THE RICKSHAW PULLER WHO
WAS CAUGHT IN A COMPROMISING
POSITION WITH INSERT NAME OF
PROFESSOR AS SEEN IN ALIGARH. HIS
IDENTITY WAS NOT PROTECTED BY
THE MOVIE.

11. (A) IDENTIFY THE LADY. (B) WHAT
ROLE DID THE PUNDIT PLAY IN AN OFT-
PARODIED 1998 “CULT CLASSIC”?

(A) NEERJA BHANOT; (B) IBU
HATELA FROM GOONDA

12. GIVE ME X AND THE WORK.
In 1891, X moved to Chicago with his wife and children. It is almost
certain that he was aware of Vivekananda's famous appearance at the
Parliament of the World's Religions in 1893, since he was a reporter for
the Evening Post at the time. Between 1896 and 1899, Vivekananda's
lectures in the US and the UK were published in the form of four books
- Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Raja Yoga.
Thomas Schwartz, writing X's biography, says that he was captivated
by the books and the philosophy in them. This influence apparently
translated directly to the construction of the four characters in X's
breakout work, published in 1900. The first is in search of her true
place in the world, as visualised in the Karma Yoga; the second is
searching for wisdom and intellect, in the manner of the Jnana Yoga;
the third is searching for unconditional love, found in the Bhakti Yoga;
and the fourth is looking for faith and strength, found in the Raja Yoga.

L FRANK BAUM, THE WIZARD OF OZ

13. WHO ARE X AND Y? WHAT
FUNCTION DO THEY PERFORM? HOW
DO THEY CONTINUE TO PERFORM THIS
FUNCTION IN SOUTH INDIA?In Hindu mythology, X was born when Brahma sang sacred hymns
over the halves of the egg shell from which Y was hatched. While the
father of both has been said to be the Saptarishi Kashyap, X's mother
in the Mahabharata (where X is listed as a serpent, though this is not
how we primarily know X) is Kadru,the mother of the Nagas,, while Y's
mother is Kadru's elder sister Vinata. The connection between X and Y
ostensibly ends here, given that they are both very different in terms of
species and size.
However, both X and Y consequently end up performing the same kind
of function to two different gods. While X performs this for Indra, Y
performs this function for Vishnu.

AIRAVAT AND GARUDA; KSRTC AND
TSRTC BUS SERVICES ARE NAMED
AFTER THEM

14. IN APRIL 1976 ACHARYA KRIPALANI
FELL SERIOUSLY ILL. HE WAS TAKEN
TO HOSPITAL, WHERE ALL MANNER OF
TUBES AND WIRES WERE PUT INTO
HIM. WHEN A FRIEND CAME VISITING
HE HAD A FRESH COMPLAINT: ‘I HAVE
NO CONSTITUTION – ALL THAT IS LEFT
ARE __________!’
FITB.

15. FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE
MOST (IN)FAMOUS ELEMENT OF
THIS LIST.
•The Delhi government's Higher Education and Skill
Education Guarantee Scheme. (Jul '15)
•__________ ____ (Jul '15)
•A centre for innovation set up by the Assam
government. (Jul '15)
•GlobalSat, a UN-backed satellite system whose
primary function is Disaster Risk Reduction. (Aug '15)
•Wheeler Island. (Sep '15)
•An unexplored mountain peak in Himachal Pradesh.

AURANGZEB MARG; ALL RENAMED
IN HONOUR OF ABDUL KALAM

16. WHY WERE INDIAN BANKS
NEVER EXPOSED TO BAD HOUSING
DEBT?
In his 2015 book An Economist in the Real World, Kaushik Basu
posits an explanation for why India was relatively immune from
the 2007 sub-prime housing crisis.
He points to a well-established practice in the Indian housing
market, which ensures that the value of housing debt is always
only a fraction of the value of the property itself. Because of
this, Indian banks can almost always recover the entire value of
a bad debt by selling the house, something American banks
couldn't do because the loan value usually exceeded the market
price of the house after the market crashed.

BECAUSE YOU CAN ONLY GET A
LOAN TO THE EXTENT OF THE
LISTED VALUE OF THE PROPERTY,
WHICH IS LOWER THAN THE
ACTUAL VALUE IN INDIA BECAUSE
PAYMENTS ARE MADE IN “BLACK”
TO EVADE PROPERTY TAX.

DRIES ANTICLOCKWISE
•16 questions
•+10/-10 on the pounce
•+5/-5 on partial pounce, wherever applicable

17. WHAT WAS THE LAST NAME OF
THIS COMMISSION AGENT AND OIL
MERCHANT WHO WAS AGGRESSIVELY
PURSUED BY JINNAH?
"When Mohammed Ali Jinnah set up the planning
committee of the Muslim League (on the lines of the
national planning committee of the Indian National
Congress) in September 1944, he invited Mohammed
Hasham ______ to be a part of it. But _____ did not
want to join the League formally for ‘personal and
business reasons’. He was then assured by Jinnah that
he could serve without publicly signing the Muslim
League pledge.
“Jinnah reportedly sought out ______ once again when
he was forming the first cabinet in Pakistan to serve as

18. THIS IS AMERICA’S LARGEST
ADVOCACY GROUP FOR WHAT ETHNO-
ECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHIC?

19. ETYMOLOGY OF WHAT PLACE?
There are many stories about the origin of its name. X, the first half
of the word in the Karbi language means ‘goat’ and Y, the second half
refers to the colour ‘red’; literally meaning the land of red goats
(deer).
There is another legend saying that a saint had camped at the
Narmora Beel Lake located here when an old couple namely X and Y
had approached him. They expressed their grief at not being able to
have children and the saint consoled and blessed them stating that
their name together would be known for generations.
Some historians believe, however, that the name was derived from the
Karbi word 'kajiror gaon', which referred to a village closeby.

20. (A) WHO WERE X AND Y? (B)
WHAT WAS THE SPG
UNCOMFORTABLE WITH?
It was June 1985 and there was an interesting visitor at X's residence.
A 31-year old Y who was staying at the Ashoka hotel came with two
senior lieutenants. When the trio reached the security screening area,
the newly- raised Special Protection Group (SPG) raised an alarm.
They spotted something on the person of Y and the lieutenants which
alarmed them. The trio tried to explain that they considered it an
accessory which they all sported. However, both the IB and the SPG
were unanimous in stating they had to be taken off. Y refused. "This
is my protection, how can I take it off?"
Finally, after nearly 45 minutes, a compromise was reached. Y was
allowed to go inside with it as long as he agreed to be escorted by
two SPG guards who would ensure that no sudden moves were made.

(A) RAJIV GANDHI; VELUPILLAI
PRABHAKARAN; (B) CYANIDE
CAPSULE

21. WHAT IS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND
THIS SEQUENCE FROM THE 2005 FILM
ANANDABHADRAM?

22. WHAT IS THE OBJECT BEING
SPOKEN ABOUT?

23. (A)WHO (B) ON WHOM?
“Watching ______ bat is like admiring the Qutub Minar; tall, timeless,
solid. You admire it for the virtues, not for its style. For nine hours
and 21 minutes, he chiselled away the England attack and the
sculpture that he left behind represented perseverance and craft.
There was the usual stoic, expressionless face under the helmet, but
you could see the determination in his eyes as he planted himself at
the wicket, struck root and bore fruit.
Only occasionally, the bat wavered in its resolve but the mind put it
on the right path again, almost in admonishment, and the bat grew
broader and straighter ... He may never be a Gavaskar, but he at least
represents the great man's virtues, even if by proxy. It would be a
relief too, to know that he will never throw away his wicket for
nobody guards his crease more fiercely.”

(A) HARSHA BHOGLE; (B) RAVI
SHASTRI

24. WHERE HAVE YOU SEEN THIS
GUY?
Ravi Bhatia is an Indian TV
actor, originally from Mandi in
Himachal Pradesh. Ravi left his
house after an 82% in his
Class 12 Board Examinations,
went to Delhi, took up odd
jobs, and finally ended up
getting a transfer to Mumbai.
He has achieved moderate
success in his shows such as
Dharam Veer, Raja KI Aayegi
Baraat, and Hamaari Beti Raj
Karegi.

25. (A) WHAT TEMPLE? (B) WHICH
ANIMALS' DID THESE SECRETIONS
BELONG TO?
In 12th century texts, it was depicted that kings would be bathed in
the Punugu oil created from their secretion for aromatic purposes. In
the 21st century, the temple has used this oil to anoint the main
image every Friday.
Due to the weekly occurrence of this practice, nine of them were
raised to easily collect the secretions. In 2002, due to the endangered
nature of the animals, this practice came under fire. The topic
cropped up again in 2008, this time accompanied by the confiscation
of these due to the violation of the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act. The
temple tried to re-obtain them by stating that without these animals,
it would go against their ageless religious practices. If that plan
failed, they had hopes of funding a zoo refuge for these animals and
in turn be able to collect their secretions.

(A) TIRUMALA TIRUPATI
DEVASTANAM; (B) CIVETS

27. (A) WHICH NEWSPAPER? (B) WHO IS HIS
GRANDSON, WHO FOLLOWED KAILASH NATH
AND HIS SON SHIVA NATH INTO THE SAME
PROFESSION?
Kailash Nath _____ was a
prominent politician and lawyer
who was part of some of the
most riveting cases of his times,
including the INA trials.
He was one of the founders of
Associated Journals Ltd. and one
of the seven original subscribers
of the Memorandum of
Association of the company
which published ________ ______
and two other newspapers.

(A) NATIONAL HERALD; (B) JUSTICE
MARKANDEY KATJU

28. (A)WHAT WAS THIS CONTROVERSY AND
WHAT CHANGE DID HE MAKE? (B) WHAT
PHRASE, COINED BY HIM WENT ON TO BECOME
A SALUTATION, A SLOGAN, A BATTLE CRY, AND IS
ALSO REFLECTED IN THE NAME OF A MUMBAI
COLLEGE?Abid Hasan Safrani (born Zain-al-Abdin Hasan)
was a Hyderabadi who went on to become an
officer in the Indian National Army and later, a
diplomat. There was an acute controversy
regarding something after Independence
between the Hindus and the Muslims.
However, when the Hindus gave up their
insistence on it, he was touched by the gesture
and made this change, which is reflected in his
name.

THE COLOURS ON THE NATIONAL
FLAG; JAI HIND

29. PUT FUNDA.
During the British Raj, India developed a formal hierarchical
system for this. Apart from what was reserved for the British
monarch, the more important of the hundreds of vassal rulers
of princely states involved in indirect rule were classified in a
particular way as per the protocolary privilege for the rulers of
these states to be greeted. This classification depicted the
prestige of these states in the eyes of the British.
The highest of these so-called ______ states were Hyderabad,
Mysore, Jammu and Kashmir, Baroda, and Gwalior. Even locally,
the Nizam, Maharajas, Princes, etc. were all deeply keen on
protocol and ensured that this was practised as a matter of
faith and any departure from it was not taken kindly by them.

SALUTE STATES, FOR THE GUN
SALUTES THEIR RULERS WERE
ENTITLED TO RECEIVE.

30. (A) WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE
CURVED ROADS?
(B) WHY DID THE GATES HAVE METAL
PROTRUSIONS?
The Golkonda Fort was well known for its fortifications
to keep enemy armies at bay from seizing the fort. The
fact that it was constructed on the top of a hill made it
easier to spot armies coming in from miles afar. Once
the Qutb Shahi dynasty came into power, the mud fort
was expanded into a massive fortification of granite,
extending around 5 km in circumference.
The fort has nine gates on the outer wall. The entrance
to each gate has a curved road winding downwards.
The gates also had metal protrusions.

(A) BATTERING RAMS; (B) WAR
ELEPHANTS

31. WHY DID BABA AMTE LEAVE
ANANDWAN? (OR) WHERE DID HE
GO?
Most of Baba Amte’s life was devoted to the care and
rehabilitation of leprosy patients. While he lived and
worked at Anandwan for most part of his life from
1950, he left for a few years in 1990 for something
else. He shifted to Madhya Pradesh and went on to
build and live in the Nijibal ashram in Kasrawad. While
leaving Anandwan, he said
"I am leaving to live along the _______. _______ will
linger on the lips of the nation as a symbol of all
struggles against social injustice."

TO JOIN THE NARMADA BACHAO
ANDOLAN

32. WHAT PROJECT IS THIS?
The Sterling Investment Corporation, an arm of the Shapoorji
Pallonji Group, undertook this project and appointed Deepesh
Salgia as Director. Hollywood executives were initially
approached for help, but their sales quotations were found to
be too high.
In 2002, Umar Siddiqui, managing director of the Indian
Academy of Arts and Animation (IAAA) proposed to do so at a
fraction of the cost. To convince the Group of the project's
commercial viability, the IAAA made a four-minute video clip
and showed it to them. It was approved and a go-ahead was
given. Shapoorji Mistry, grandson of producer Shapoorji Pallonji
Mistry, thought it a fitting tribute to complete his grandfather's
unfinished dream.

THE COLOURISATION OF MUGHAL-
E-AZAM.

India Quiz Finals (Interrobang 2016)

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