2. 1
The Panchamukha Shiva or Five headed Shiva (also called Sadashiva) is a manifestation of
Shiva where the five heads represent – Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver),
Shiva (the destroyer, anger) and two invisible heads, never seen by any mortal.
This was the official seal of the Rashtrakutas. Where in Bombay would you find this
enduring image?
5. 2
Answer
Hilsa fish is called Pala in Bombay. This place where the Pala fish was unloaded was called
the Pala Bandar, hence Apollo Bunder by the British
BACK
6. 3
It was the first Anglican church built in Mumbai by the British back in 1718. It faced the
western gate of the old Bombay fort and hence the name of the area is Churchgate.
Name the church
8. 4
Maratha Mandir is an iconic cinema hall of Mumbai. And it has a history of playing
movies for years. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge has been playing for 14 years now and
earns the theatre Rs. 25 lakhs per annum (full air conditioned hall with ticket prices at Rs.
20, Rs. 17 and Rs. 14).
In 1960 this film was released here and ran for four years – the entry fee at that time was
4 annas, 8 annas and 12 annas. Elephants were used to bring the reels of the movie.
Name the film
10. 5
The 1973 Ranji Trophy final had Tamil Nadu playing Mumbai at the Chepauk. Tamil Nadu’s
captain was Venkat, Mumbai’s captain was Ajit Wadekar. Mumbai had six test players
including Gavaskar, Sardesai and Solkar. Tamil Nadu had VV Kumar and Venkat.
The scores
Mumbai 151 and 113
Tamil Nadu 80 and 61
Mumbai won by 123 runs in 2 days and 1 ball (on the third day)
Off the forty wickets 33 wickets were taken by spinners.
For Mumbai, who took 8/16 in the first innings and 5/18 in the second? It was his best
performance of his career but he never played test cricket.
12. 6
Mahatma Gandhi commented on the communal teams playing in the Bombay
Quadrangular tournament. This later led to the tournament winding up in the ‘40s.
However according to Ramchandra Guha’s book, Mahatma Gandhi had a very important
role to play in the tournament, specifically the Hindus team in 1924.
In the 1924 edition of the tournament, Hindus with CK Nayudu, DB Deodhar, LP Jai and
captained by P Vithal defeated the Europeans. The captain P Vithal scored a century in
the first innings.
Incidentally, P Vithal’s elder brother Pandurang Baloo was a great slow bowler, one of the
first spinners of India.
How did Mahatma Gandhi impact the Hindus team of 1924?
13. 6
Answer
P Vithal was an untouchable. His brother though popular was never made captain. But
after Gandhi’s movement against untouchability, the Hindus team made Vithal the
captain. KN Prabhu, the great cricket writer and reporter for Times at the time, notes how
the victorious team (all upper caste Hindus) raised Vithal on their arms in the victory lap
BACK
14. 7
He was born in 1800 and died in 1865. He belonged to a wealthy family of Goldsmiths of
the Daivadnya caste. He is known in history as a great philanthropist and educationist. He
was one of the founders of Elphinstone College, the Great Indian Peninsular Railway
(which is now Central Railway) and the Bombay Association (an organisation to serve the
rights of the residents of Bombay). He was also the first Indian member of the Asiatic
Society.
There are three prominent landmarks in
Bombay named after him – a busy junction
in South-Central Bombay (near Grant Road
Station), a road leading from the junction
and a major flyover in Central Bombay.
Name?
18. 9
This album released in 1995. Allmusic.com has given it a 2.5 rating with the following
comment
This album constitutes ____ ____ ‘s thrust for serious music credibility
[…]
The result is a New Age pastiche drawing together from contemporary classical and
folk/pop music influences into a smooth, pleasant, at time soporific whole, a tour around
a religious world by way of Muzak-style instrumental tunes
There are twelve tracks in this album, each one a Dance with a God from a different
culture.
Name the artist and the track (obviously it has a Bombay connection)
19. 9
Answer
Ian Anderson – In The Times of India (Bombay Valentine) from Divinities – twelve Dances
with God
BACK
20. 10
In 1972 Band X were scheduled to visit Singapore on their way to a tour in Australia. But
this happened.
“1972, Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew was Prime Minister then. His government had no
patience for youth culture. Closing down the pubs and clubs that automatically destroyed
the livelihoods of Singapore musicians. The government also would not put up with
youthful fashion. That meant "long-haired males would be served last" at all government
offices. Band X called off their visit to Singapore. They went to Bombay instead.”
- BigO, Records of Indeterminate Origin
In Bombay, they were at the EMI studios jamming with the Bombay Symphony Orchestra.
They reworked on two of their songs. However, they were never commercially released.
Some audio tapes survive. 22 years, later two surviving members of the band came out
with an album that recreated the project, this time with Egyptian and Moroccan
musicians.
Name the band
22. 11
From the blog of Girish Shahane, 19th March 2009
Girish has traced some research that list the cause of decline in a particular predatory
species X. Over the years, the population of this species in South Asia has fallen 95%. And
researchers have said the cause is Diclofenac – muscle pain reliever used in bovine
animals. Diclofenac is extremely strong and affects the kidneys.
The X species by taking in Diclofenac through the flesh they fed upon ended up killing
themselves.
There are efforts to revive the species, especially in Bombay. This is because a particular
religious significance to a particular community.
Name the species
24. 12
Gautam Benegal is an artist, writer, filmmaker and illustrator. He has been in Mumbai for
over 20 years now struggling to find fame. Recently, he started a new project making a
collection of paintings on a popular culture of Bombay. Parallel can be drawn to Toulouse
Lautrec and George Grosz.
In an article in the DNA on Feb 1, 2009 he writes about this project. I quote from there
“No matter how dauntingly expensive a city may be, no matter how hopelessly out of
reach those grails of success that we have each of us pledged to pursue would seem,
every civilised place has its respite. A place where you can say time-out and rest your
feet. Every bonecrushing system has its cracks where an ant in the world of giants may
exist in grace for a while. In 1987, a fellow who had just left the safety of his family and
hometown with no great job to speak of could still….”
What is this project about?
26. 13
The Gate of Mercy Synagogue also called Shaar Harahamim was built by two brothers –
Samuel Ezekiel and Isaac Ezekiel in 1796. They were serving in the British Army and in the
battle against Tipu Sultan, they were taken prisoners. They were condemned to death but
when Tipu Sultan asked them their caste, they said they were Bene Israelis. On being told
that this ‘caste’ is mentioned in the Koran, Tipu spared them and set them free.
They returned to Bombay and built the synagogue as thanksgiving. It is the oldest
synagogue in Bombay and is still functional. The local name of this synagogue is Juni ____
(meaning Old <place of worship>). The word used for the place of worship can be
misleading.
What area in Bombay gets its name from this misleading local name of this synagogue?
28. 14
This critically acclaimed major novel in Indian English writing, the first by the author,
begins with three quotations from Firdausi’s Shah-nama, TS Eliot’s The Journey of the
Magi and Tagore’s Gitanjali. The last line of the novel reads
“Luck is the spit of the gods and goddesses”, the artist replied and slipped out of the gate,
padding softly in his bare feet.
Name the novel
30. 15
I have mixed opinions about this award winning writer. I find his work to be too
depressing and boring. But he writes well.
He has a trilogy of his travels in India over 20 years. In his first book, he writes of the
corruption at immigration and customs in Bombay. In his third, in the first chapter titled
‘Bombay Theatre’, he writes “Bombay is a crowd.” But he later found out that the crowd
on the road was because of Ambedkar Jayanti.
A sitter, name the writer.
