Christ University India Quiz 2016 - Prelims

The Christ University National Quiz Championship 2016
The India Quiz
Prelims

Content and Presentation
Sameer Dharur

Acknowledgements
Harish Krishna
Rama Subramanian
Nitish Khadiya
Navin Rajaram
Major Chandrakant Nair

 34 questions.
 Questions 27 to 34 carry two points each, and will resolve ties.
 42 points in all.
 No negatives. Feel free to take guesses for every question.
 Malpractice is too much effort. Don’t bother trying.
 Good luck!
The Deal

1.
One of Karnataka’s several places of devotional importance is this spot on
the slope of the Brahmagiri Hills in the Kodagu district that is regularly
thronged by people from the state.
Owing to its historical and cultural significance, a temple was established
around 5th century AD and extensively renovated a few years ago to account
for the demand.
Why exactly does this place hold special importance to the people of the
region, an interest further reinforced in recent times?

The birthplace of River Cauvery.

2.
The Cartostat 2C is a special series of satellites launched by ISRO in June
this year. Known in internal jargon as the ‘Eye In The Sky’, its USP is to
provide high quality observational data of specific areas with its
panchromatic cameras producing images in which a single pixel covers
0.6 metres.
As a result of these features, what significant purpose of national interest
did it help accomplish recently?

The surgical strikes across the LOC.

3.
The Delhi Junction Railway Station is the oldest one in the NCR,
operational since 1864 with the construction of the main buildings by the
British government in 1903.
What does the exterior take inspiration from?

4.
About 5 years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Panvalkar from the posh Chowpatty area of
South Mumbai made news for their obstructionism when asked to vacate
their apartment by their local developer Rohan Lifescapes, who wanted to
demolish the existing building to make way for a high profile collaboration.
However, this deal fell by the wayside since it dragged on for too long –
with the Panvalkar family holding on despite all odds. The famous Lodha
Group jumped in and took the partnership forward, with the project
expected to be fully operational in 2018.
What famous project was this, whose owner had high praise for the city’s
real estate scene?

5.
From the mid 1950s, several young politicians made it to the Parliament and
caught the attention of the older guard.
One such was from the Balrampur constituency in UP who rose to fame
through a series of speeches around the country. PM Nehru was so
impressed with his speeches in the house that he rang up Rasgotra – then a
diplomat in the UN and a close aide – and told him to ‘personally take special
care of the young man, who had great leadership potential’.
Who was this MP, who eventually fulfilled Nehru’s expectations of him?

6.
Elevation training masks are special wearables that restrict breathing,
making people feel like they are at a higher altitude and getting them out
of breath sooner than normal. They are known to help condition the
lungs and strengthen the diaphragm, improving the overall oxygen
intake.
Why have these devices generated interest online over the past two
months, owing to popular culture?

Amitabh Bachchan’s mask in Pink.

7.
The Diggi Palace Hotel – like many others in Rajasthan – was once a royal
palace, owned by the Khangarot Rajputs since its construction in the
1980s, and later converted into a heritage hotel which is now one of the
highest rated places in its city on TripAdvisor.
Why exactly does this place garner international attention in January
every year?

Venue for the Jaipur Literature Festival.

8.
Yelena Sergeyevna is an illustrious athlete who notched up 3 bronze and
3 silver medals at the World Championships and the Olympic Games
between 1995 and 2000, in the prime of her career.
What is her better known last name, that has become popular in the
country over the last few months?

9.
Chaman Lal is a small business owner in Delhi whose products shot him
to national fame about 3 years ago.
He was responsible for the distribution of about 6 to 7 lakh items of this
product within the latter half of the year in keeping with the popular
demand in the region. Prepared by various artisans in the mohallas of old
Delhi, they were sold at a meagre Rs. 3 per item – which contributed to
their widespread usage, seen as rallying for a cause.
What exactly did he sell?

10.
The Bangladesh local body elections held earlier this month witnessed a
sharp rise in voter participation by about 14,000. The cause for this was
attributed to a significant bilateral event more than 40 years ago, further
ratified last year.
What brought about this jump in the turnout?

Enclaves given up by India being merged into
Bangladesh territory.

11.
In December 2006, more than 7 years after his crime, Manu Sharma was
finally convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Jessica
Lal.
Bina Ramani, the chief witness in the case, later remarked that this was a
pleasantly surprising verdict that went their way despite the accused’s
political clout. She attributed this to the protests of people on the streets
and their candle-light vigils, partly inspired by the media.
What other reason, from popular culture, did she attribute this awakening
to?

12.
India and Nepal have enjoyed a rich history of collaboration on key areas
of development over the years.
On Pranab Mukherjee’s visit earlier this year, this was further reinforced
with mentions of 3,000 scholarships to Nepalese students every year.
However, a special announcement was made on this visit that aimed at
improving the human resource and education development between the
two countries.
What move was this, that received widespread approval from their
teenagers and will take place in April every year?

Opening up the IIT JEE to Nepalese students.

13.
Trial by Fire is an upcoming non-fiction account of the harrowing lives of
the authors Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy whose last 20 years
have been absorbed entirely in legal proceedings. To their credit, their
efforts resulted in a landmark judgement that set a new precedent for
civic compensation in India.
What is the subject of this book?

The Uphaar Cinema fire tragedy.

14.
Starting off as a public health activist in AP and Bihar in the late 1990s, his
work caught the attention of the WHO bureaucracy and was summoned
for a role with the UN to head a mission in Chad. Here, he came across a
Planning Commission report on poor health indices in Indian states –
especially among the ones otherwise most prosperous.
He was then summoned by the government of one such state to help
formulate social policies in 2011 – and stayed on to serve additional
purposes culminating in his biggest success 3 years later.
Who is this individual, now much-sought-after in the political circles?

15.
TR Balamani was a renowned icon of Carnatic music who spent over 50
years training students at the Bharatiya Sangeetha Fine Arts Society in
Matunga, as well as at her house. One of her most famous students
started training here in the 1960s for a period of 10 years, after which the
first formal performance in 1982 has been followed up by numerous
national and international accolades ever since.
Who was this student, whose moniker comes from the place of training?

16.
A cloth was added to British military headgear – during the colonial
period – as protection from the sun and sword cuts. It also helped
distinguish regiments and corps and is now a part of the uniform of many
groups world over.
What is this decorative cloth called, that derived its name from an Indian
equivalent?

Puggaree – derived from pagdi.

17.
Frustrated with the Mughal ruler Akbar Shah’s attitude towards
sovereignty, the British reduced his titular authority to 'King of Delhi' in the
1830s. They replaced Persian text with English text on the company's coins
and no longer saw themselves as subjects of the Mughal Emperor.
Akbar Shah asked someone who had just successfully overseen the
acceptance of a Reform Bill to appeal his case in the Court of St. James in
England. Since he was a envoy of the court, he was given a ‘royal’
honorific that stuck to his name ever since.
Who was this ambassador?

18.
Stephano, a successful builder, was an unrepentant fascist and kept a
leather-bound edition of Mussolini’s speeches in his front room. He
fought alongside the Wehrmacht against the Russians on the Eastern
Front.
During the war, he watched many Russian movies. When he returned, he
gave his children Russian pet names.
What pet name did he give his daughter Antonia?

19.
The Prosopis cineraria or the Khejri tree is a welcome sight in arid regions,
so much that it even got religious significance in many desert-dwelling
communities, especially in states like Rajasthan.
The following image shows a monument in the Khejrali village, named
after the tree, which commemorates an event from the 18th century that
resulted in the death of 363 people.
What happened here? OR What events did it inspire more than a couple
of centuries later?

The origins of the Chipko movement.

20.
Onesicritus was a naval commander working for Alexander The Great
who monitored maritime routes to Indian coasts for the purpose of trade.
He noted that the fastest route to reach some places on the eastern coast
was through sailing all the way around Sri Lanka or – alternatively –
switching to smaller boats, to help negotiate local conditions which made
it impossible for the travel of the regular ocean-based vessels.
What was the reason for this hindrance to navigation?

21.
The Great Indian Women’s Rafting Voyage was a famous 1994 event
which had 18 women in 3 rafts successfully completing the difficult
journey across the Ganges from Haridwar to Calcutta, covering 2155 KM
in 39 days.
Which illustrious woman, who scaled the peak of her career a decade
earlier, led the team on this voyage?

22.
In 1903, the Madarasa Tibbia in New Delhi came under the control of
physician Hakim Ajmal Khan, whose hard work and influence helped him
expand the college to a much larger site with space to maintain a vast
garden of herbs.
One of the very few to have been President of both the Indian National
Congress and the Muslim League, Hakim Ajmal Khan wanted the new
name of the institute to appeal to both Hindus and Muslims.
What did he eventually name it, with an appropriate blend of the two
cultures and the field of medicine?

The Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College.

23.
In the fiscally sensitive times of the years following independence, the
Nehru government had a close eye on foreign exchange being used by
the country.
One of the observations made was that far too much of it was being
squandered by a significant chunk of the population on an ‘unimportant’
purpose – following which he summoned the services of a French born
industrialist to help with putting an end to this.
What line of products was conceived, that – to this date – enjoys a
dominant influence in its field all over the world?

The founding of Lakme cosmetics by JRD Tata.

24.
Call Health is an innovative technology-oriented business in the
healthcare space that is fast gaining traction and expanding from its base
in Hyderabad.
It was setup in 2013 and is headed by a distinguished team of leaders, but
its chief backer had chosen to remain hidden for a long while until a
recent investigative report that revealed this association, which was a
follow-up of his previous pet venture in happier days.
Who is the lesser known brain behind this company, who has been out of
the business spotlight for the last 8 years?

25.
Constructions around India by local princes during the British reign began
to have a Western influence. One of the prime examples of this trend is
the Cooch Behar Palace in West Bengal that was constructed in 1887 and
modelled on a similar structure from Europe, making the dome a highly
unusual first in local architecture.
What structure was it inspired by?

26.
In his last annual report submitted to the government in September,
Raghuram Rajan formalized the idea of having an interest free window to
offer cost-plus financing, deferred payment and deferred delivery products
– a departure from the long held view of the RBI that prohibited the same.
He noted that this would make India join 51 other countries to implement
such a proposal and directly benefit over 180 million people in the country.
What proposal was this? OR Why did he suggest doing away with interest
for these banking products?

Islamic banking, which discourages the idea of
interest as per Sharia law.

27.
Tilak Raj was a part-time left arm spinner who played for the Baroda Ranji team
in the 1980s. His claim to fame on the field came in January 1985 in a game
against Mumbai while bowling on the 3rd day.
He was so upset with what had happened that he refused to pose for
photographs with one of the Mumbai batsmen the next day, whose exploits
earned him a place in the history books. The batsman also recalled that
witnessing a similar event roughly a decade ago from close quarters took him
down memory lane.
What feat did this batsman accomplish? How did he relive it in the late 2000s?

Ravi Shastri hitting six sixes in an over.

Being on commentary during Yuvraj Singh’s 6
sixes in the 2007 World T20.

28.
The following is a trailer from an upcoming TV show to be aired on Star Plus,
directed by Nikhil Advani who was approached by the channel after his work
on a critically acclaimed 2013 film that dealt with a similar subject.
The show is also widely viewed to be an adaption of another blockbuster series
aired in the USA over the last 5 years.
What was this Bollywood film, that shares its name with one of the most
famous military operations in world history? Which American series is this show
inspired from?

29.
Menander was a Greek king who ruled over the Punjab region in circa 200 BCE.
He challenged any priest or scholar to beat him in philosophical debate. For
years, nobody succeeded until a Buddhist monk called Nagasen arrived on the
scene and tied the king into knots, convincing him that he wasn’t merely his
body or its parts but a self that transcended matter.
In 1950, the intellectual honesty and conversion to Buddhism by the king was
greatly praised by someone who founded one of Aurangabad’s biggest
universities – and named a college within it after the Indian variant of the king’s
name.
Who was this? How did Nagasen’s clever ploy to outwit the king become popular
among the Indian public 3 years ago?

30.
Captain Vikram Batra, one of India’s most decorated officers from the Indian
Army, is best known for his valour during the Kargil War where he led one of
the toughest military operations in the country’s history.
Carrying out a near-impossible attack during Operation Vijay, he eventually
succumbed to injuries. Throughout his career, he used a catchphrase to
indicate the success of his missions to his peers in the Army – that was later
picked up by a certain advertising campaign and made famous all over the
country in the early 2000s.
As a result of his bravery, what elite group of 21 people did he join – the last
person on this list as of today? What was this ad slogan he popularized?

Recipient of the Param Vir Chakra.

‘Yeh Dil Maange More’, used by Pepsi.

31.
The F46 classification is an impairment type for upper limb(s) affected by
deficiency, muscle power or range of movement. For the last 12 years, this
category was excluded from a certain competitive space – with an Indian
creating a world record before the hiatus and breaking it after.
Upon doing the latter recently, he cheekily remarked that the 12 year wait
was reminiscent of an event of mass importance to several people,
occurring in 2016 at one of its locations in North India.
Who was this? What was he comparing the wait to?

32.
The Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh is a picturesque tourist site that was thus
described in a famous 1901 work of literature – “At last they entered a world -
a valley of leagues where the high hills were fashioned of the mere rubble and
refuse from off the knees of the mountains. Surely the Gods live here. Beaten
down by the silence and the appalling sweep of dispersal of the cloud-
shadows after rain. This place is no place for men.”
What work was this, one of the earliest of its kind to vividly describe the Indian
landscape? Why does this site attract a specific group of tourists after dusk,
like a few other places in the country?

33.
The Three Tenors was a popular operatic group through the 1990s and the
2000s – comprising Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti –
with famous performances all over the world.
Their debut was in July 1990 at the historic Baths of Caracalla in Rome whose
recording became the best selling classical music album of all time. The
concert was intended as a tribute to an event happening in the city the next
day, and the success was attributed significantly to the conduction of the
concert’s two most important orchestras.
Who was behind these successes? What occasion was this concert on the eve
of?

The 1990 FIFA World Cup Final.

34.
Indianama was a recent art exhibition held on the occasion of India’s 69th
Independence Day, with contributions from 69 artists around the country
depicting some of the most important moments in Indian history.
In the images that follow, identify the two events depicted – the first from
the 1990s and the second from the 1950s.

The Kashmiri Pandit exodus from the Valley.

The first ever general election.

Christ University India Quiz 2016 - Prelims

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