Cannabis Indica 2014 - The India Quiz Finals

CANNABIS INDICA 2014
The finals

Hrishikesh Varma & Navin Rajaram
By
Mitesh Agarwal & Navin Rajaram
Hrishikesh Varma & Navin Rajaram

56 Questions

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Hobson’s Choice - 8
Clockwise – 20
KQA Rules Apply - 8
Anti-clockwise – 20

Cannabis Indica 2014

HOBSON’S CHOICE
• On words from the
Hobson-Jobson
dictionary
• 8 Questions – Written
• +5 per Answer
• Bonus of +10 for all
correct

1
• This word was originally used to refer to the indigenous
Syrian Christians.
• The derivation of the word is a bit obscure- some sources say
it is a bastardized version of the words “mother’s son”- as in,
sons of local women who had had intercourse with foreign
colonists while others say it is a Tamil mispronunciation of
the Arabic “mu’abbar” for “over the water”.
• Dr Hermann Gundert’s view, however, is that it was an
honorary term given to colonists from the West.
What word, probably familiar to others due to a 1921
incident?


2
• The exact origin of this name is unclear - but it is possibly
connected with the Sanskrit ulūka, meaning 'an owl,' both bird
and a primate taking their name from their wailing note.
• British accounts of these animals state that they were
frequently tamed in the North East, and often become a great
pet.
• In the forests of the Kasi Hills, when there was neither sound
nor sign of a living creature, by calling out ___!___! one
sometimes could wake a clamour in response from the _______,
as if hundreds had suddenly started to life, each shouting ___!
___! ___! at the top of his voice.
What animal?


3
• This common flower gets its English name apparently from
the use it was put to in the Madras Presidency- when the
petals of the flowers were crushed, they turned black and
were put to a certain use.
• The scientific name of the flower (given by Linnaeus) is a bit
a of a misnomer, as it is not closely related to true _____ ,
although it is indeed found aplenty in the country which
forms part of the scientific name.
• The English name is a literal translation from the Tamizh,
and the Malay word for the flower, ‘Kempang sapatu’, also
means the same.
What common flower name?


4

• This group claim to have been to set up by a great
leader, but that claim is of doubtful authenticity.
• Their name comes from being “worshippers of Him
who is without time, eternal.”
• A possible origin of this order is that it was the
outcome of the struggle to reconcile warlike activity
with the abandonment of the world.
Which group of people?


5
• A common misconception is that
the term for these objects, which
continue to be used in Indian
houses, derives from a preferred
consumable that was served on
them.
• On the contrary, the name derived
from the local words that indicate
how many support structures this
object rested on.
What term?


6

• The name of this water body comes from a nearby town
of the same name, that was the seat of a Dutch factory
for a long time, and is often mentioned in Dutch
accounts of the place, as an important post on the
Coromandel coast.
• The oldest known reference to this place is
Pazhaverkkādu, which means 'old acacia forest’.
Name this place, that has nothing to do with felines
and near which an institution of national importance
is based.


7
• One of the earliest known mentions of the word in Hindustani
is in Ain-i-Akbari, but the Sanskrit word itself is much older,
and probably is from the word “chitra”, which means
“variegated, speckled” in this context.
• The best place to acquire one of these, according to colonial
sources, was the Madras coast.
• The less complimentary meaning with which we associate it
now was first recorded in a letter by George Eliot in 1851,
where she wrote: “The effect is _____ and would be unbecoming.”
What word?


8

• Derived from Persian, it literally means “first fruits” and
was used for offerings/tributes that were presented
during a first meeting by a vassal to a greater noble or
king.
• It also had other meanings in the financial sense such as a
fine on appointment renewal, a payment exacted on lands
which were originally rent-free or a quit-rent.
What term, that was quite common in Mughal or Awadhi
courts, in the context of a spread of gifts/presents or
lands on offer?


Exchange Sheets
Answers follow


Moplah/Mappila
As in, the 1921 Moplah Rebellion


Hoolock Gibbon


Shoe Flower (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)


5
• A common misconception is that
the term for these objects, which
continue to be used in Indian
houses, derives from a preferred
consummable that was served on
them.
• On the contrary, the name derived
from the Hindi words that
indicate how many support
structures this object rested on.
What term?


Teapoy,
from “teen pai” (three feet)


Chintz/Chintzy


Peshkash


CLOCKWISE
20 Questions
Infinite Bounce: +10,0
Pounce: +15/-10

1
• Moirang , situated 45 kms south of Imphal, is famous for
various things including the deity Lord Thangjing as well as
the origin of the famous Khamba-Thoibi dance.
• The people of Moirang gather every year on Jan 24 to
celebrate the birth anniversary of a famous son and often
speak of him on a first name basis.
• But more importantly, the little known claim to fame of the
town comes from something Colonel Shaukat Hayat Malik
did on April 14, 1944 – the first instance of something like
this happening.
What happened and why was this instance special?


Raising of the Indian National Flag
First time the Indian National Flag was raised in an area
liberated from the British
(Moirang was the INA headquarters and officially under Indian
control)


2
• In 1965, after approvals, a 450 ton consignment of Lerma Rojo &
Sonora 64 left to Pakistan and India but was stopped at Mexico,
then went by a 30 truck convoy to Los Angeles, reaching LA after
a detour due to the Watts riots.
• At LA, a Mexican bank refused to honour the Pakistani payment of
US $100,000 due to a misspelling on the cheque, but still the
shipment was loaded on a freighter and shipped to Bombay and
Karachi.
• 12 hours into the ship’s journey, war broke out and X received a
telegram from Pakistan minister Malik Bucha “I’m sorry to hear
you are having trouble with my check, but I've got troubles, too.
Bombs are falling on my front lawn. Be patient, the money is in the
bank ...”
Who was X and what was this consignment all about?


Norman Borlaug
The first dwarf spring wheat strains that started
the Green Revolution in India & Pakistan


3
• When this lady married her husband, she dropped her
maiden name, for her husband’s last name.
• But, coming from the northern part of the state, she is said
to have felt odd to spell it exactly the way he did, a trait that
is endemic to most spellings in his part of the world.
• As evidence of who really calls the shots in the family, she
decided to give her newly acquired surname a slight twist
and the children today have the mother’s choice of surname
– a change that the business media focused on incessantly
over the last 6 months.
What is the family in question and what is the twist in
surname?


Narayana Murthy
Sudha Murty/Rohan Murty
(Sudha removed the ‘h’ from the Murthy and Rohan
now spells it without an ‘h’)


4
• Over the last few years, research into rail accidents has
analyzed various factors that might lead to these incidents,
right from negligence to human error.
• Findings by the latest panel reveal a specific cause for these
accidents, that is particularly true for long distance super
fast trains which often run uninterrupted for 4-5 hours.
• The panel’s recommendations will now be implemented in
newer designs that will ameliorate stress factors leading to
these accidents, making a long overdue ergonomic measure
by the Indian railways a reality.
What change is being introduced?


Toilets on Locomotives
Drivers will not lose attention or become stressed
out on long hauls


5
• In the 1930s, when the exodus of Jewish scientists began in
Germany, Sir CV Raman saw it as a chance to get them to the IISc.
• The first person to take up this offer visited Bangalore with his
wife Hedi, loved the place (despite Raman’s conceit) and gave
lectures and talks that were also warmly received.
• He looked all set to be recommended for a permanent post when,
in a meeting, a little known Englishman humiliated him by calling
him a “a renegade, a reject from his country, and a second rate
scientist”.
• The offended scientist decided to take up a lesser paying post at
Cambridge, and his experience ensured that most of the great
brains of the time went to the US and UK instead of India.
Who is the subject in question, also the winner of the Nobel
Prize in 1954?


Max Born
“for his fundamental research in quantum mechanics,
especially for his statistical interpretation of the
wavefunction”


6
• Post 1911 with the declaration of Delhi as the capital, land around
the India Gate was awarded to kings and princely states, with one
such plot being allocated to a king from Himachal Pradesh, whose
royal palace stood there for a long time.
• In the late 80s/90s when the government was scouting around
for land, the then defunct structure was demolished to make way
for a bunch of large, modern offices.
• While the only trace of the old princely palace today is by way of
two huge columns facing the present complex, the name of the
complex/area still commemorates this legacy and will be familiar
to us in the official correspondence address of an
institution/organization.

What is the complex/area name and which organization?


Mandi House, named since it was the official
residence of the Raja of Mandi
Doordarshan


7
• In October 2013, when Indigo Airlines announced a five fold
increase in net profit inspite of adverse conditions, analysts
went gaga on the airline’s efficiency, improved yields,
contained costs and capacity expansion.
• One big cost saver was lower consumption of jet fuel that
resulted from pilots being trained to climb to higher altitudes
gradually, idling the aircraft on auxiliary power and one other
seemingly insignificant inflight change.
• This change involved using a scaled down version as opposed
to a full fledged one on other airlines, reducing weight carried
and burning less fuel cumulatively.
What was scaled down to result in such cost savings?


Inflight Magazines/Brochures
They went for a catalogue version as opposed to a full fledged
magazine


8
• The “Chaapu Naadham” is highly dependent on “Soru” or
“Saadham”, which is the moniker used for an ultra fine
powder that has iron ore and some manganese oxide in it
and is mixed with cooked rice to a 3:1 proportion powder to
cooked rice. The black paste must neither be too gummy
nor dry and post application, be dried in a room with no
sunlight.
• On the other hand, for the Thom on the Thoppi, a similar
treatment is necessary but with a paste made of wheat flour
or Rava/Semolina mixed with water, not too hard or soft and
then left in open air to cool.
Where exactly are both these treatments applied?
What is their purpose?


On both sides of the mridangam
The pastes improve the tone and bass/gamaka
effects on either side


9
• Originally John Marshall is said to have brought both of
these to Delhi in the 1930s and kept them safe.
• About 40 years ago, at a much publicized meeting, X cited
the UNESCO convention and asked for both, but his
counterpart is said to have asked him to choose one of them.
• With a heavy heart, X chose the combed, bearded man over
the sensual counterpart. Today, calls have renewed for the
counterpart to be returned, but given political relations this
is highly unlikely.
How do we better know the bearded man?
Who was X and when/where did he make his request?
What is the UNESCO convention in this regard?


King Priest of Mohenjo-Daro, the counterpart to the
Dancing Girl
Zulfikar-Ali Bhutto at the Simla Accord
Original owner of an artifact is the country where it was
found


10
• In 1817, the British abolished the Peshwai, imposed a Treaty on
Baji Rao II ceding all territories outside Maharashtra and engaged
him in a series of battles at Khadki, Yeravada and ____
• The last battle on Jan 1, 1818 has assumed epic status because
the 2/1 Bombay Native Light battalion of 900 troops led by Capt.
Staunton defeated a 20,000 strong Peshwa force on the banks of
the river Bheema.
• The battle is important because the Peshwa symbolized Brahmin
domination and the troops of the 2/1 Bombay Native Light
Infantry eventually got their own regiment in the Indian Army.
Who were the troops who fought this battle?
What was the name of this battle, best associated with an area
in Pune and commemorated by an obelisk of the same name?


Mahar Regiment
Battle of Koregaon/Koregaon Obelisk


11
• After the continental success of The Light of Asia and Shiraz,
funded by the Emelka Film Company of Munich, she filmed for A
Throw of Dice under the Universum Film Aktiengesellschaft
(UFA) in 1926.
• During the editing of the film, she became a trainee in the Erich
Pommer unit, got advice from Fritz Lang, watched the shooting of
The Blue Angel and held the makeup tray for Marlene Dietrich.
• Her standout memory of this stint was being engaged in intensive
trainee seminars with X, who would place a trainee before a
camera, ask questions and get them to respond with “yes” or “no”,
then play back the reel and tell the trainee – See what an ugly
thing it does to your mouth there? Remember, eliminate it”.
Who is the actress in question and who is X?


Devika Rani
G. W. Pabst


12
• Published first in 1818, the three-volume A History of British
India was for its time the only book chronicling British India.
• Written by an author who had never been to India and was not
ashamed to say so, the book devoted five thousand words to
persuade readers that lack of first-hand experience and ignorance
of any Indian language were in fact advantages.
• Verbose and often plain wrong, a duller work may never have
been written, yet it sold well and was expanded into six volumes.
• The author was no apologist for state monopoly (East India
Company) or Indian rulership but claimed that the best argument
for British presence was the tyranny and barbarism in India,
which must get acquainted with the civil liberties and rights of
the individual – ideas that later made his son famous.
Who was the father (the author) and the son?


James Mill
John Stuart Mill


13
• In the 2 Tests he played in the 1980s, he scalped Javed Miandad
and Mudassar Nazar at Nagpur and Clive Lloyd and Gus Logie at
Kanpur.
• In 2011, he was selected as the Goan Ranji team coach but
resigned within 2 months citing selector interference.
• His claim to fame has to do with the 1981-82 Ranji semi-final
against a star studded opponent team where he ran riot on a
turning wicket - claimed a hat-trick, returned best figures of 8123 in the first innings, and took another 5 in the 2nd innings,
resulting in a quirky response that is praised and criticized in
equal measure by pundits today.
Who is this cricketer, who runs a coaching academy in
Bangalore?
Who/what quirky response in the 2nd innings resulted?


Raghuram Bhat
Sunil Gavaskar batted left handed against Bhat to
negate his spin. Mumbai drew the match, but
Karnataka went through on points anyway


14
• Considered India’s longest running gathering of its kind, it is in its
9th edition this year with the site telling us how it evolved “At the
first edition, half the guests were trying to organize the wood for
the bonfire. At the second edition, we asked someone to volunteer as
a MC, and the tradition stuck. In the 4th edition, about 20 guests
were trying to cover the stage because it rained and nobody was
prepared. These are the people who make up audiences, they can
forgive everything except a bad performance.”
• In keeping with the name of the festival, venues are places like the
sand dunes of Rajasthan, Koti near Shimla, Naukuchiatal in
Uttarakhand and so on – this year it is Jodhpur.
What gathering?
Who are its co-organizers – a well known act and a kitschy
merch brand?


Music in the Hills
Happily Unmarried & Parikrama


15
• The original manuscript from 1705 is now lost but a copy of it
was found with the Mahant of Patna in 1890, which was
memorized by Babu Jagan Nath, reproduced from memory and
printed by the Nagri Parcharni Patrika in Benares.
• Written in a language not native to the author, the content
exhibits incredible command over an alien tongue and is split as
follows : 34 verses in praise of a superior power, 32 deal with an
invitation and justifications to refuse it, 24 deal with events at
Chamkaur, 15 verses remind the recipient of his failings and the
balance 6 surprisingly praise the recipient.
• The most quoted verse shows a steely resolve to finish the job,
one way or the other.
What is the name of this manuscript?
Who were the correspondents in this communication?


Zafarnama/Epistle of Victory
Guru Gobind Singh to Aurangzeb


16
• Items such as the ones shown are essential elements at a temple
town that is 1 hour drive away from Tirupati and is a direct
followup visit after completing formalities with Lord
Venkateswara.
• Rituals and puja continue till 7 pm everyday after which devotees
emerge bearing these figurines and deposit them in the temple
hundis, post which these figurines are taken to the Cherlapally
mint to Hyderabad and melted.
• The melting symbolizes a logical conclusion in the prayers of the
individuals and an appeasement of the Gods in question.
Which temple town is this?
Who are the Gods being appeased here and what is the
significance of the figurines being used?


Srikalahasti
Rahu-Ketu, When all the planets in the horoscope fall
between Rahu and Ketu, the shape on the chart is a snake –
sarpa dosha. As a result, people believe melting the snake
figurine destroys the sarpa dosha


17
• One of the most documented sieges, this lasted for a full seven
years as an ageing and frustrated Muhammad Ali Wallajah was
resisted by the Rajput Raja Tej Singh (South Indianized to Raja
Desingu) who held back a force of 20000 with just 700 of his own.
• During the siege, historians document Muhammad Ali’s men
trying a particular tactic, that was pioneered by the man you see
(the memorial is in a different part of India) – he succeeded in his
endeavours but lost his life eventually.
• However, the Rajputs were one step ahead and succesfully
countered this tactic with trained responses of their own.
What near impenetrable location was the subject of this siege?
What was the tactic employed by Muhammad Ali’s men and
what was the Rajput’s counter?


Gingee Fort
Ghorpads/Monitor Lizards to scale forts
Rajputs used hawks/falcons to throw off the lizards


18
• This small, nocturnal primate found in the tropical ghats and
rainforests of Southern India and Srilanka, is an omnivore, that
usually preys on small insects, toxic beetles and roaches.
• The animal has, for long, been in a list of critically endangered
animals in India, by virtue of loss of habitat, bone from its skull
being prized as an aphrodisiac, fur for coats and bags and eyes
having medicinal properties.
• Lately however, these animals have been recovered by Wildlife
Centres in and around Karnataka with brutal injuries such as a
poked eye, a lost limb or bleeding from sensitive organs – a threat
that is manifesting with more frequency.
What animals are these, often confused with the kind of animal
King Julien was in Madagascar?
What is the threat that’s endangering their survival?


Slender Loris
Used as live voodoo dolls – the chopped limbs/hurt
anatomy are because the Loris is used as a placeholder
for the person one wishes to harm


19
• In the mid to late 17th centuries, the Portuguese traders and
their descendants came and settled around the river and
brought with them the art of baking and confectionery
making.
• The Portuguese produced curds by breaking milk, which
was over time, imitated by local confectioners, who gave it
their own twist, as opposed to using the cottage cheese
variant of the foreigners.
• As time passed, over 100 different varieties have evolved
with the same method of preparation, with a common
placeholder name that perhaps originated with the fact that
these confections usually accompanied the bearer of good
news like a childbirth or marriage.
What name?


Sandesh/Shondesh
(which means message/news)


20
• The tradition of Trajuva is passed on from generation to generation
and uses an indigenous reed stick with 2-3 sharp protrusions.
• One of two options are used - A mixture that contains soot, cow’s
urine and a juice from the leaves of the tulsi plant or a mixture of
water and turmeric in the bark of the biyan or sisam plant.
• There are multiple Trajuvas possible – a hansāli, whose name is
derived from a silver necklace which is thick in the middle and
coiled at both ends or a lādu ("sweet meat") or bājoth (pedestal),
rows of about four or five holy men for protection - to name a few.
Atleast one group that follows the Trajuva believe in a myth where
a camel was fashioned out of Lord Shiva’s sweat and Parvati
created their group to take care of the camels. Which group?
What is Trajuva?


Rabaris of Kutch
Body tattoos


KQA Rules Apply - Celebrating Last
Names/Surnames
• 8 Questions - Written
• Differential: +15 (1-2), +10 (3-6), +5 (7-8)


1
• A Hindu caste found in Gujarat, they migrated into Kutch from
Rajasthan, settling down at Dhaneti before spreading to other
parts of Gujarat.
• Also called Kadias, they were artisans employed in
architecture and building of forts, before diversifying into
carpentry, engineering and railway line/bridge building.
• Another community that migrated into India, got into similar
vocations and adopted this as a surname, with the minor
distinction being that the trailing “i" was modified slightly.
What community name (either spelling) that is used as a
placeholder for addressing carpenters in Gujarat?


2

• This little known Palghat born writer and Madras
High Court judge’s only foray into fiction was a
1961 novel The Silver Pilgrimage about a Sri
Lankan prince’s adventures.
• While the work was briefly panned for its
disregard of European novel traditions, the
musicality of the author’s last name caught the ear
of John Updike who penned the poem “I Missed
His Book, But I Read His Name”.
Name the author


2
Though authors are a dreadful clan
To be avoided if you can,
I'd like to meet the Indian,
M. _______________.
I picture him as short and tan.
We'd meet, perhaps, in Hindustan.
I'd say, with admirable elan ,
"Ah, ________________ –
I've heard of you. The Times once ran
A notice on your novel, an Unusual tale of God and Man."
And ____________________
Would seat me on a lush divan
And read his name -- that sumptuous span
Of 'a's and 'n's more lovely than
"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan" –
Aloud to me all day. I plan
Henceforth to be an ardent fan
of ____________________ –
M. ____________________


3

If the place name is Elamkulam, the house
name was Manakkal and the given name is
Sankaran, what slightly modified caste
name would complete this sequence?


4

What surname, best
associated with an angry
car mechanic, comes
from the Spanish for
“painted or spotted” and
is also applied as a prefix
to horses of the kind
shown?


5
• This suffix is common in the surnames among the Khammas
and Yellama castes, with the words preceding it indicating
the name of the ancestor or forefather of the sub-clan.
• There are multiple origin theories to this suffix – one saying
that these people were given the title of “Nayakudu/Nayuni”
when serving roles in clan armies, while another theory says
it has to do with a title they received by virtue of being in the
sena of the Kakatiya rulers.
What suffix, that came into popular consciousness earlier
this year?


6

?
100 Men

1000 Men


3000 Men

7

• This surname is common to people in India as well as
those of English ancestry although the two do not share
common roots.
• In England it meant people who worked in orchards with
trees, where fruits or other edibles were picked.
• In India, it is common among the Sikh/Jat communities,
these people were initially teachers, thus taking their
names from the Sanskrit ‘guru’ before it got modified with
a suffix of respect and then anglicized.
What surname, that is likely to conjure up helpless
women being chased by someone always ‘in the mood’ ?


8
• The origins of this Oriya Brahmin surname go back to the
time when a group from Kashi fought alongside Sufi leaders
against Aurangzeb.
• They were invited by the king of Orissa to come and settle in
and around Puri, Cuttack and Ganjam while serving as
advisers to the royal court.
• Their name derives from the fact that they showed collective
expertise in the following set - Kaanva Samhita, Kanva
Shatapatha Brahmanam, Bruhadaaranyakam, Ishavasya
Upanishad, and the 6 Vedangas.
What punctuational name, commonly misspelt due to
confusion with a similar surname?


Mistri/Mistry


M. Ananthanarayanan


3

If the place name is Elamkulam, the house name
was Manakkal and the given name is Sankaran,
what slightly modified caste name would
complete this sequence?


E.M.S. Namboodiripad


4

What surname, best
associated with an angry
car mechanic, comes from
the Spanish for “painted
or spotted” and is also
applied as a prefix to
horses of the kind shown?


Neni,
that might derive from Senani
(eg: Akkineni Nageswara Rao)


Barua
Titles awarded to commanding officers in the Ahom Kingdom
based on number of soldiers they commanded


7
• This surname is common to people in India as well as those
of English ancestry although the two do not share common
roots.
• In England it meant people who worked in orchards with
trees, where fruits or other edibles were picked.
• In India, it is common among the Sikh/Jat communities,
these people were initially teachers, thus taking their names
from the Sanskrit ‘guru’ before it got modified with a suffix
of respect and then anglicized.
What surname, that is likely to conjure up helpless women
being chased by someone always ‘in the mood’ ?


Dash, not Das
from DashaH granthadhyayin DaashaH
(one who has studied the 10 granthas)


ANTI-CLOCKWISE
20 Questions
Infinite Bounce: +10,0
Pounce: +15/-10

1
• When a rendezvous finally happened, this 1945 photo, featuring
French writer and diplomat Paul Claudel, caught his attention.
He asked: "What is the meaning of this picture?" ________ told
him, "That's Paul Claudel, a Catholic poet very much concerned
with the spiritual issues of life and death." After a moment’s
thought, he replied: "Death - death - death.“
Who meeting whom?


Henri Cartier-Bresson meeting Mahatma Gandhi
Incidentally, about an hour before he was killed


2

• This Anglo Indian slang was applied in the days of the
Raj for the fate that befell a fowl that served as a
spatchcock.
• This was the standing dish at a dawk-bungalow and the
bird was actually caught in the yard, as the traveller
entered the premises and was on the table, by the time
he bathed and dressed.
What phrase, that might perhaps be more fitting
today in a sporting context ?


Sudden Death


3
• Mauricio Perea and his late wife Nieves moved back to Spain in 1978
to live a peaceful retired life, quietly pursuing their interests.
• Incidentally, the year they moved also marked the first edition of
something in a little Andalusian mining town (which gets its name
from Spanish for “flax fields”); the couple would make the trip to the
town, helping visitors with Spanish and getting a bit of gossip.
• In 1991, the couple came across an impatient young man for the
first time. Thoroughly impressed, they took him under their wing.
As Mauricio fondly remembers, “He would always stuff his hands in
his trousers and walk quickly chuk chuk chuk back and forth”. Over
the years, the impatience has worn off. As he tells Maurice now:
“age, you see.”
Who was this impatient young man?
Also, name the town where they first met.


Viswanathan Anand met his “European parents”, at
Linares with whom he later lived with in Spain


4
• After the Mahabharata war, the Pandavas wished to atone for their sins
and searched for Shiva to seek his blessings, but Shiva, angered by the
bloodshed, went into hiding in the form of a bull.
• Bhima saw a bull grazing in Garwhal and seized it by its tail and hind
legs but the bull disappeared underground and its parts appeared at
different places above the ground – the arms in Tunganath, the
navel/stomach in Madyamaheshwar, the face at Rudranath, the head at
Kalpeshwar and the hump at _______.
• Five temples were built by the Pandavas at these places and these spots
are collectively honoured in the form of a pilgrimage, culminating at
_____.
• However, the fore portions of the bull appeared in a 6th spot which is
where purists ideally culminate their journey.
What is the collective name for these pilgrimage spots?
What is the 6th spot, that, politically speaking, does not qualify to be in
this quiz?


Panch Kedars – the 5th spot is Kedarnath
Pashupatinath, Khatmandu
that also has the same form of the bull as Kedarnath


5
• In 1930, H C Sircar, Bhupendra Singh, A B Awan, Amarjeet
Singh and ________ became the first five Indians who were
accepted into a famous institution at Cranwell,
in Lincolnshire. A sixth person, J N Tandon, was rejected.
• Four of them never really went high in their career: two
died in unfortunate circumstances in 1933, one left after a
couple of years, another died in action in WWII.
• The fifth, however, went on to achieve great things, and in
1954, made history. In 1960, in an irony of sorts, he died
after choking on his food at a restaurant in Tokyo, after
being part of Air India’s first flight to Tokyo.
Who?
How did he make history in 1954?


Subroto Mukherjee,
First Indian Chief of Air Staff, IAF


6

While it has been established that one pair is named after the lady on
the left, the nomenclature of the other pair is not very clear - the man
and the lady on the right are two possible inspirations. The
inspiration for the former naming occurred after a meeting with Biju
Patnaik in 1977. What nomenclature is possibly thus explained?


PA Sangma’s children names
Agatha, Christie, Conrad and James


7
• One of the most poignant works about the horror of Partition,
this poem is an ode to the person in the picture, the author of
the seminal work Heer Ranjha.
Today, I call __________, “Speak from your grave,”
And turn to the next page in your book of love,
Once, a daughter of Punjab cried and you wrote an entire saga,
Today, a million daughters cry out to you, ________,
• As a token of respect and love, the Punjabi poets of Pakistan
then sent the poet chaddars, green silk covers edged with gold,
from the tombs of ______ and fellow Sufi mystics, acclaiming the
writer to be the “[successor]_of our _______”
Identify both people.


Waris Shah (Waris means successor in Urdu)
Amrita Pritam
“Ajj Akhan Waris Shah Nu”


8
• After the mutiny of 1857, this project was undertaken in the same
vein as many other projects such as the Geological Survey &
Archaeological Survey.
• The brainchild of George Grierson, a scholar belonging to the
Bengal/Bihar cadre of the Indian Civil Service, it got off the ground
in 1894 with district officers compiling lists, 4 years later Grierson
setup office in Simla where press copies prepared by native scribes
were sent in.
• The project’s foundation was based on a list compiled by the
Bengal Asiatic Society and a templatized version of the Parable of
the Prodigal Son, a personal favourite of Grierson’s.
What project was this, the result of which comprised a mammoth
19 folio volumes, was carried over to England in 1899 and took
another 30 years of editing?


The Linguistic Survey of India


9
• The book shown chronicles the period between 1819 and 1926
when this quartet presided over a position, in sequential order,
amidst staunch opposition from powerful neighbours, internal
claimants and the East India Company.
• Qudisa, the first was supported by the French-Bourbon PM;
Sikandar, her daughter came next followed by Shahjehan and
finally Sultan Jehan who abdicated and broke the line.
• The author of the book is the only son and male heir of both Nawab
Muhammad Sarwar Ali Khan, the ruler of Kurwai and Abida Sultan,
the eldest daughter of the last scion in a line but we know him best
for presiding over a position between 2003 up until 2006, when an
acrimonious fracas in England cost him his job.
Who/what are the subjects of the book?
Who is the writer of the book?


Begums of Bhopal
Shaharyar Khan – PCB Chief


10
• KV Subbana’s award winning collection
of essays which explores the historical
and political dimensions of Kannada,
was inspired by Gramatica Constellana
and ABC: Alphabetisation of the popular
mind, and was a re-interpretation of a 9th
century work.
• The title of this collection of short
stories is inspired by one of the most
famous couplets from the original work
– the couplet describes not only a
geographical area, but also the spread of
Kannada as it existed then.
Name the original work, and the title of
this work/the famous couplet.


From Cauvery to Godaveri
(Kaverrindam -a -Godavarivaram -irda -Nadu -adu a Kannadadol bhavisida janpadam")

Kavirajamarga


11

• In 2012, when this duo met for the first time,
ten years after they had made each other
famous, the man on the right was apologetic
for the pain he had unknowingly caused.
• His actions caused the other man to be
hounded by the press, move from his
homeland, and left him stranded for many
months without a job.
What was the story behind these two?


Photographer Arko Datta with
Qutubuddin Ansari, the man in this image:


12
• In a book published in 1887, the Russian Nicolas Notovitch
caused a mini sensation with his claims, which helped
popularize a theory that seemed to fill a gap.
• He claimed that the information contained in his book was
based on documents he had accessed while recuperating at
the place shown in the picture.
• Incidentally, the place, famed for its festival celebrating the
Padmasambhava, also gives its name to the largest national
park in India. Upon further questioning, Nicolas confessed to
have made up the whole thing.
What was the claim popularized by this work?
Name the location/national park.


That Jesus Christ visited India during his “lost years”
Hemis Monastery/National Park


13

Connect the following
<video deleted – Piyaa Bole song from Parineeta>


James Prinsep
- Decoded the edicts of Piyadasi and concluded he was the
same as Ashoka
- Prinsepia – the genus is named after him
- Prinsep Ghat, where the video was shot


14
• In 1940, these were issued as part of the Currency
Ordinance Act as a war-time measure and continued to be
issued up until 1994, when the practice discontinued.
• The rules of the Currency Ordinance Act, however,
stipulated that the this newly issued currency be
considered equivalent to metal currency of the same value.
• As a result, one can observe that any circulating notes of
this kind are somewhat different than the other notes.
What currency denomination and what difference?
How is this anomaly explained?


One Rupee Notes – they are signed by the Finance Secretary of
the Government of India and not the RBI
Since the rupee coins are minted by the Government of India, 1
rupee is also liability of the Government of India.


15
• Sir Malcolm ______ was a distinguished British diplomat
who served as the Governor of Punjab and United
Provinces, and also published an influential work, An
African Survey.
• In his capacity as Governor of United Provinces, he
encouraged a sixty year old man in his efforts by clearing
certain legislative hurdles, and thereby played a major
role in a pioneering venture – which, incidentally, was
given his name.
Name him and the old man he helped.


Sir Malcolm Hailey – after whom the first
National Park in India was named
Jim Corbett


16
• The Man from Chinnamasta is a 2005 novel, that was
written by a Sahitya Akademi and Jnanpith Award winner
and is set in British NE India.
• The plot of the novel follows the relationship of Dorothy
Brown, a British woman with a tantric of the Sakta cult in
parallel with the story of a Ratnadhar, who organizes a
signature campaign against an ancient practice.
• The novel’s political vision of getting to stop this practice
raised the hackles of the Brahmin community with the
writer getting death threats and publishers unwilling to
carry the book.
Who is the multiple award winning writer of this book?
What ancient practice was she protesting against?


Indira Goswami/Mamoni Raisom Goswami
Animal Sacrifices at the Kamakhya Temple,
Guwahati


17
Excerpts from an interesting conversation:
“Suddenly she flung out her arms, snapped the fingers of both hands,
her whole body writhing to the urge of the popular song she began
singing “A-va-rai-ya-ya! A-va-rai-ya-ya”
Oleg’s face instantly clouded “No, don’t! Not that song, Zoya, please!”
It’s from _____ ______, she said. ‘Haven’t you seen it?’
‘Yes, I have
Isn’t it a wonderful film? I saw it twice. Didn’t you like it? After all,
_____ _____ life was rather like yours.
It wasn’t at all! Oleg frowned.
I mean, he’d just come out of prison and his whole life was ruined.
That was just a bluff. He was a typical grafter, a hood!
What 1951 success is the subject of this conversation?
Which book is this excerpt taken from?


Raj Kapoor’s Awara
Solzhenitsyin’s “Cancer Ward” – the book refers to
the Awara movie calling it The Tramp


18

• Both the movies shown were by the same director.
However, the director had several issues with a
producer during the filming of the movie on the left.
• The indignation at this treatment was expressed in a
subtle way in the movie on the right that followed.
Who was the director and the producer with whom
the tiff arose?
How was this indignation expressed?


Sai Paranjpye and Basu Bhattacharjya
Paranjpye was so irritated with Basu that she
named Farookh’s (the anti-hero) character in
Katha as Bashubhat


19
• This famous feud started off in January 1934, when he presented
a paper at the Royal Astronomical Society.
• The author of Internal Constitution of the Stars - the work which
had encouraged him to take up the field in the first place- was
scheduled to speak next. After he presented his ground breaking
paper, this author then went up and said: “The paper which has
just been presented is all wrong” and dismissed it as “stellar
buffoonery”
• Such was this person’s influence in the field that people took his
word to be true and ignored the brilliant newcomer’s work and as
the BBC later wrote, “The result of the dispute was that the science
of astronomy was put on hold for thirty years.”

Identify the two people involved.


Arthur Eddington,
S Chandrasekhar


Last question

20
• The location is the site of an annual ritual on a certain day when
foreign and local tourists throng the place to catch glimpse of an
event playing out.
• Leading up are cultural programs and competitions, post which
everyone, including the town’s collector, waits for the clock to
strike 12 pm and things to take their course.
• The monument is constructed in the Orissa style in 1956, and
the stone slab within was uniquely architected to facilitate this
annual gathering and pay homage.
On which date do people gather here ?
What is the significance of this stone slab and how does the
architecture help paying homage?


Kanyakumari – Gandhi Mandapam where
people gather on Oct 2, 2014
Sun rays fall on the slab at 12 pm on this day
where the ashes were kept right before
immersion


Thank You!

Backups/

T
iebreakers

19

• A product more famous in Iran, Bangladesh and
Pakistan, it is a saffron-flavoured bread made of maida,
mildly sweet and baked in a tandoor or oven.
• The difference in preparation is during the dough
leavening where, instead of water, warm milk
sweetened with sugar and containing saffron is used.
Served in accompaniment with Lucknowi kababs,
what is the name of this bread, that takes its name
from the words for “sugar” + “crushed”?


Sheermal


5
• Leptoptilos dubius is commonly
known as the Greater _________ due
to its comical resemblance to a
human figure in a dress pacing
slowly on a parade ground.
• An awkward looking creature, it
is a common scavenger in Bengal,
and is often seen in zoos.
• It also has an equally interesting
Indian name, from the Sanskrit
for “bone swallower”, perhaps
due its scavenging.
Give either name


Adjutant/Hargila (from hadda-gila)


7
• Butt’s Clermont is one of Kashmir’s oldest houseboat firms in
Srinagar, begun in the 1950s after the father of the current owner
got a houseboat from a British couple.
• Today, their fleet consists of 5 houseboats, but most tourists come
asking for a particular houseboat (which unfortunately burnt
down in an accident), that was the scene of a rendezvous
involving a certain Sam Wells 48 years ago.
• The experience was described by Sam Wells as “It was the first
feeling I'd ever had of being liberated. It comes back to The Prisoner
with Patrick McGoohan: 'I am not a number.' In our society we tend,
in a subtle way, to number ourselves and each other, and the
government does so, too. To suddenly find yourself in a place where
it feels like 5000 BC is wonderful.”
Who were the individuals involved in the rendezvous?
What was the purpose of this rendezvous?


George Harrison and Pt. Ravi Shankar
To teach Harrison the sitar
(Sam Wells was George Harrison’s assumed name on this trip)


Cannabis Indica 2014 - The India Quiz Finals

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