Literature filler quiz, conducted under the aegis of Delhi University Literature Festival on 18th March 2023.

1. A LitFillerQuiz:
BOOKSONTHE
TABLE
DU Literature Festival X Quizzito–Gargi College

2. RULES
● Set of 20 questions.
● Qs will be literature-specific (mostly) with a hint of pop culture and non-fictional
representation.
● Qs are star-marked to resolve ties.
● One point for each correct answer.
● No negatives. Make your best guess.
● Blocking shall be restricted to social media (we do not condone blocking of hints
in any way).
● QM is God.
NOTE: QMs are not CoHo fans. Please don’t keep Great Expectations from us.

3. LET’S
BEGIN!

4. 1
This novel illustrates the battle that its author had with himself, between the
notions of western culture and revolution against the western culture. These two
ideas are depicted in two of the main characters of the novel. The narrative is
structured in the form of diary entries written by the three main characters.
Embedded in this novel is a historical movement which emerged as a radically
nationalist response to Lord Curzon's 1905 policy of partition. This was an
era when the very foundations of imperial administration in India was rocked by
Indian nationalism.
Identify the novel and the historical backdrop it is set in i.e. the movement
that emerged in response to Lord Curzon's partition policy.

5. 1
Y- Ghare Baire (Rabindranath Tagore)
Movement- Swadeshi Movement

6. 2
“The sky leans on me, me, the one upright
Among all horizontals.
The grass is beating its head distractedly.
It is too delicate
For a life in such company;
Darkness terrifies it.
Now, in valleys narrow
And black as purses, the house lights
Gleam like small change.”
This is an excerpt from a lesser known poem of a prolific poet, whose works reflect the
melancholic tones of her equally tragic life. Interestingly, this literary piece shares its
title with a famous 19th-century classic having a scheming ‘Byronic’ hero.
Give the title of the poem.

7. 2
Wuthering Heights
Novel by Emily Brontë (1847)
Poem by Sylvia Plath (1961)

8. 3
Ever since Sony announced X at a PlayStation 5 event in late 2020, some book readers have
been eager to know whether a certain author will make money off of it.
X is a recently released immersive, open-world, action role-playing-game based off a popular
book series. The website for X advises that the author isn’t directly involved, although
"their team" are. This isn’t the first time a production has attempted to distance itself from an
author.
Even before X's initial release date, numerous boycott requests have reportedly started to
surface from players all over the globe. Unsurprisingly, the author has at least once
responded to players asking for a boycott of X (tweet in the next slide).
Give funda behind this distancing and give X.

10. 3
X: Hogwarts Legacy
Funda: J.K Rowling’s controversial comments on
the transgender community/ transphobic tweets

11. 4
Hikari __ is a Japanese composer who creates chamber music. Born with a
developmental disorder, he underwent an operation after which he remained
visually impaired and epileptic and spoke less. Despite this, his parents recognised
his flair for music and had him formally trained in the discipline, following which his
first record came to sell over a million copies.
The conflicting feelings of having a disabled child, coming to accept them, and
celebrating their small victories came be to be a part of several of his parent’s
literary works, including _ ________ ______ and _ _____ ____.
Identify Hikari’s parent, a Nobel laureate who has often been likened to
Dostoevsky.

12. 4
Kenzaburo Oe
(The books in question
are A Personal Matter
and A Quiet Life)

13. 5*
Connect:

14. 5
Book- Mistress of Spices
Author - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

15. 6
On a dare from their sister, the author penned their first book, a mystery about a
soldier on sick leave who becomes embroiled in a poisoning at a friend's estate.
They are one of the most well-known mystery writers, and also hold the Guinness
World Record for the world's thickest book. On Friday, December 3, 1926, the
personality vanished from their Berkshire home. It was the perfect tabloid story,
complete with all the elements of one of the author's own 'whodunit' mysteries.
The author has also written six romantic books under a pen name.
What pen name did the author employ when publishing their romance novels?

16. 6
Pen Name: Mary Westmacott
Author: Agatha Christie

17. 7
In the literature of illness, this 1997 release is regarded as a classic. It is a memoir by journalist,
Jean-Dominique Bauby.
It details his life both before and after he suffered a severe stroke and developed locked-in
syndrome. Bauby spent two months, working three hours per day, seven days a week, as he
‘wrote’ the complete book, while still paralysed. A transcriber continuously recited a French
language frequency-ordered alphabet (E, S, A, R, I, N, T, U, L, etc.) using partner-assisted
scanning until Bauby signalled to select the desired letter.
Two days after the book's release on March 8, 1997, Bauby died of pneumonia.
How did Bauby communicate or signal which letter was to be selected?

18. 7
He blinked his left eyelid at the letter which
was to be selected.

19. 8
This person is seen making a cameo here in the 2011 film adaptation of one of their
works
Not only this, they have also done a Hitchcock-style cameo in a British mini-series But
their insistence on improvising their lines made it the most testing scene in the award-
winning series for Hiddleston, who starred in this series.
Identify the person in question and the novel-turned-series.

21. 8
Person - John Le Carré
Novel/Series - The Night Manager

22. 9
Connect (inexhaustive list)
C.S Lewis
Stephen King
Eric Arthur Blair
Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Nora Roberts
Agatha Christie
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

23. 9
Authors that used pseudonyms
C.S Lewis - Clive Hamilton (and others)
Stephen King - Richard Bachman
Eric Arthur Blair - George Orwell
Samuel Langhorne Clemens - Mark Twain
Nora Roberts - Jill March
Agatha Christie - Mary Westmacott
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson - Lewis Carroll

24. 10
Recognized for his use of contemporary Urdu in his ghazals and couplets,
this Urdu poet has been quoted in legislative assemblies and
parliaments in the Indian subcontinent. While most of his works were lost
to a house fire during communal riots of Meerut, he remains a significant
figure of modern Urdu literary traditions.
Who are we talking about?

25. 10
X- Bashir Badr

26. 11
Masnavis are long poems written primarily in Persian. X is credited to have written
perhaps the only long poem in Persian written by an Indian poet about an Indian
city. This is the Chiragh-i Dair (the lamp of the temple).
X wrote about this city when he visited it on his way to the capital of India in 1827, calling
it the ‘Kaaba of Hindostan’, underlining the religious significance of the place.
Which city is this, and who is X, primarily known for writing in a language which
did not exist before 1775?

27. 11
X- Mirza Ghalib City-
Banaras/Varanasi
Language is Urdu

28. 12
As she relived that time in her life, ____said, “There are so many things I didn’t write in
1992 because I was afraid…” proceeding to describe her escape from the Convent in
Jammu, flattening herself on the top bunk, enveloped in danger and avoiding detection by
people who entered the compartment looking for a runaway nun!
Given above is an excerpt from an article written by ____’s first editor in English, where
they recollect her fearless take on religious hypocrisy and caste consciousness.
Despite having a strong base, her first book was rejected due to being grammatically
incorrect and off-key. Even after its English translation and subsequent release, the
book was largely ignored and was reviewed by only one magazine.
The following year was, however, a surprise as it won the Crossword Awards (2000) and
is widely regarded as a gateway to Dalit autobiographies.
Identify the author and the language she writes in.

29. 12
Bama (she’s a Dalit feminist author and a teacher as well)
Tamil language
P.S.: DU GE syllabus (Marginalities in Indian Writing) has
her writing Sangati, too!

30. 13
The term X was first coined by Czech writer Karel Čapek who is perhaps best known
for his play "Rossum's Universal _ _ _ _ _ _” (6, plural). The play explores themes of
technological progress, human nature, and the ethics of creating a said form of life.
The word X comes from a Czech word which means ‘forced labor’ or ‘work’. Čapek
used the term to describe the workers in his play, who were tasked to perform jobs
that were too dangerous or difficult for other people to do. The word quickly caught on
and has since become a staple of science fiction and popular culture. It is often
credited with introducing the concept of a common theme in science fiction.
Identify X.
(blanks are indicative)

31. 13
X- Robot/Robots

32. 14
A new book titled ‘The Planetary King’ was recently (beginning of March) launched in
New Delhi, deliberately on the birth anniversary of the pertaining king. In her book, the
author shines new light on the ruler, who has evidently been overlooked by history and
historians.
Interestingly, he is also associated to a symbol, the misinterpretation of which was sewn
onto prison uniforms around the 1940s in a certain country.
Who is this king, someone who was involved in both astrology and astronomy
and what is the symbol, seen in two very important monuments in Delhi?

33. 14*
King - Humayun
Symbol - Star/Star of David/Seal of Solomon
Found on the gateway of the Purana Qila, and the
Humayun’s tomb.
Ebba Koch is an Austrian author and historian.

35. 15*
Given below are the posters of three movies, there is something common
among all of them in a literary context.Identify the literary connection.

36. 15
All these movies are adaptations based on
Shakespeare's plays and are directed by Vishal
Bhardwaj
Maqbool - Macbeth
Omkara - Othello
Haider - Hamlet

37. 16
What are these?
Madripoor
Genosha
Symkaria
Transia
Latveria
Attilan

38. 16
Answer: Fictional
countries in Marvel
comics

39. 17
While he is known for his work in the fantasy and sci-fi genres, this writer has also written for
film, television, and comics. One of his lesser-known works is in the English-language
adaptation of the Japanese anime film ‘Princess Mononoke’, directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
A huge fanboy of Miyazaki, he was brought on board to write the English-language script for the
film's Western release. His work on the film helped to cement his reputation as one of the most
talented writers of his generation.
His writing style is characterized by its imaginative world-building, vivid imagery, and complex
characters, as well as its use of mythology and folklore to create stories that are both
fantastical and deeply human.
Identify this writer.

40. 17
X - Neil Gaiman (author of "American Gods" and
"Coraline")

41. 18
This author is one of the most lauded authors of today’s time; aside from the numerous
accolades that have come their way- they’ve also been proclaimed as “the voice of our
generation” courtesy how they capture the dilemmas and troubles faced by the youth.
However, another defining feature of their writing is their aversion towards using a
particular punctuation mark (one that normal writers would definitely use while writing
conversations between people). The author has spoken out about this defining trait
saying- “I didn't see any need for them, and I don't understand the function they
perform in a novel.”
ID the author.

42. 18
X- Sally Rooney
Punctuation: quotation marks/inverted
commas

43. 19
“My favourite piece of information is that X, brother of _____ and _________, died standing
up leaning against a mantle piece, in order to prove it could be done. This is not quite true, in
fact. My absolute favourite piece of information is the fact that young sloths are so inept that
they frequently grab their own arms and legs instead of tree limbs, and fall out of trees.”
This is an excerpt from Douglas Adams’ book ‘The Salmon of Doubt’. Even though it was
clarified that he did not die ‘standing up leaning against a mantle piece’, the story was so
fascinating that it served as inspiration to Douglas Adams.
Whose death is being talked about?

44. 19
X - Branwell Brontë
He died of Tuberculosis
Also a painter, it is said that Brontë painted himself out of
this painting of his sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne in
1834.

45. 20*
In recent years this scene which involves a subtle physical gesture made by character X
has gone viral over the internet with fans obsessing over the tension and poeticism of it.
Ehis Osifo even went on to call it as the ‘steamiest scene in the cinema’ in her Buzzfeed
article .
In one of the interviews the film's editor described the scene as follows
"That little _________ ____ ___ _____ is almost like there's an electricity still running
through it from the touch "."He's maybe shaking it off but he wasn't expecting it, let's put it
that way."
ID the physical gesture and X.

46. 20
Hand flex
X - Mr. Darcy

47. THANK
YOU!
quizsoc.gargi
quizsoc.gargi@gmail.com
Cherrie L. Chhangte, What Does An Indian Look Like (DO READ!)