Cannabis Indica 2014 - The Prelims

CANNABIS INDICA 2014
The prelims

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

Rules

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36 Questions
11-20 are * questions
+1, no negatives
Top 8 in finals
Sudden death from Qn 1 if tied on *s

T
ake guesses
Cannabis Indica 2014

1
• In 1990, the govt. announced grand plans to acquire his
former residence- Hathipaon (Elephant’s Foot) House that
sits just outside Mussorrie, and turn it into a museum.
• The house, officially under the Archaeological Survey of
India, remains broken down, is completely overrun by
vegetation, and is close to a ridge from where one can
observe The Chaur.
• Another of his abodes, the headquarters of an organization
he headed, sits not far from here and the staff still correct
you when you mispronounce his name.

Name him.


George Everest
whose name is pronounced Eve-rest


2
In June 1977, when this dignitary arrived at London, a diplomat at the
Indian High Commission was given this list titled “Dietary Preferences of
_____”:
• Carrot juice: only from the deep pink carrot grown in Northern India
• Lunch: 5 pieces of garlic, must be freshly peeled before serving. Cow’s
milk (lukewarm). Honey. Fresh paneer slices.
• Fruit: banana, papaya, apple, pear, leechi, cherries, apricots and
alphonso mangoes.
• Dry fruit: cashew nuts, badaam, pista
• Sweets: sandesh, pera, rasmalai, rasgoolla
One thing that was conspicuously missing was his favourite drink. The
diplomat noted that there was no need to write it, as “everyone knew what
it was.”
Who? What drink?


Morarji Desai
Urine


3

• 34 years ago, on Children’s Day, a storytelling contest
was organized in schools all over India.
• More than 1 lakh students participated and after a
tough competition, a 12 year old girl Elaine D’Lima,
won the contest.
• She was then accorded an opportunity to do
something that is shown in this comic panel.
What did she get to do?


Launch Tinkle


4
What recent upgrade is because of this lady failing a test nearly
a decade after her moment of glory?


Anju Bobby George getting upgraded to a
gold at the 2005 World Athletics Meet


5
• In the early 1990s, she found a plot of land outside a city to
begin her new enterprise and the locals there began
respectfully calling her “_____ - amma”.
• She soon realized that they giggled while they did so
because her surname in the local language meant loose
bowel motions.
• Deciding that she couldn't live the rest of her life being
called the mother of diarrhoea, she changed her surname
after remembering a conversation with her guru: “You have
shown a lot of Kali in you. Calm down a little bit. Take on the
image of Parvati.”
Who? What was the new enterprise she began?


Protima Bedi
Nrityagram


6
In a recent Wisden India article about the 91,092 record attendance
at Melbourne on the Boxing Day test, R Kaushik noted:
“After all, our team plays anywhere in India, at any time of the year.
And to think that, at one point, the ____ ______ was India’s answer to
Boxing Day. There were no bare chests, fancy dressing or the unchecked
flow of beer, but there was no lack of atmosphere either.
Long before Sachin Tendulkar had made his debut, long before satellite
television was a distant dream, long before malls and multiplexes and
Internet and the cell phone, the _____ _______ drew fans by their
thousands in just about the only time of the year when cricket viewing
in the Tamil Nadu capital was a pleasant experience weather-wise.”
FITBs with 2 words.


Pongal Test


7
Someone explaining the story of how, while during a performance in
Kashmir, his trademark accessory was acquired.
• “As I shivered onstage, I wondered how I would manage to get
through the recital. I realised in dismay, when I launched into a
number, that I was too numb with cold to sing the notes accurately.“
• It was here that a member of the audience stepped in and
reverentially handed over something to him. The effect was
immediate.
• "And what relief that simple gesture afforded! I was myself again.
Now that I was comfortably warm, my confidence soared and the
audience responded to my performance with enthusiasm.”
Who about what?


Manna Dey about his cap


8
Some explanations about their significance:
• The first 5 symbolize the human senses/mortal nature of the
body, the next 8 symbolize negative human emotions, the
next 3 stand for the Trigunas and the last 2 symbolize Vidya
(knowledge) and Avidya (ignorance) - overcoming all of
these symbolizes victory and complete detachment.
• They symbolize the number of weapons laid down, one by
one, before a holy merger.
• Other theories connect them to the total number of minor
and major Vedas and Puranas.

In all cases, the total remains the same. What are we talking
about?


Pattinettampadi (18 steps) at Sabarimala


9
• Acacia concinna, a climbing shrub, native to Asia, is
noticeable for its prominent leaf stalks with glands and thick,
flattened pods.
• Its bark is high on saponins – a chemical compound that
contributes to foaming, cleaning and use as a detergent and
also as a marine toxin used for poisoning fish.
• The leaves are high on oxalic, tartaric, citric, succinic and
ascorbic acids and used in ground chutneys.
• The more popular use arises due to its low pH, making it
interact well with natural oils and giving its local name that
literally means “hair fruit”.
What local name?


Shikakai


10

When Kokuyo acquired this iconic Indian brand, best
associated with our school days, they made two
changes to the logo of the brand:
• The first change was the introduction of the Kokuyo
name in the brand lettering.
• The other, more subtle, visual change symbolized
futuristic vision and looking ahead.
What change?


The camel switched direction –
moves forward instead of backward


11*
• The church itself was based on a structure built to
commemorate a temporary prayer house that was supposedly
built by St Francis Xavier.
• When it was decided to house the offices at the church,
officials approached the church authorities with trepidationnatural because of its popularity in the locality, and the
attachment the local fishermen had to the church.
• Enter Rev. Dr. Peter Bernard Pereira, the local bishop. After
being briefed about the situation, he spoke eloquently to the
locals about the importance of the situation, and got their
approval with a resounding “Amen” to the proposal.
What was set up thus?


TERLS- Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station


12*
• Considered one of India’s first buildings in the Indo-Saracenic
architecture, it was built in 1902 after an earlier premise was
destroyed in a fire and the department was temporarily
hosted near Flora fountain.
• Designed by John Begg, the building has a massive central
hall with a 120 ft. high ceiling, an external façade of local
basalt dressed with yellow stones from Kurla and white
stones from Dharangadhara and a conspicuous feature, 60 ft
in diameter, inspired from the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur.
What building that usually gets overshadowed by a Gothic
marvel next door?


GPO (Mumbai)
Next door to VT


13*
In 1920, when he visited London, Wilfred Owen’s mother sent
him this letter:
“My dearest eldest son went out to the War for the last time and
the day he said Goodbye to me –my beloved poet son, said those
wonderful words of yours – beginning at ‘When I go from hence,
let this be my parting word’ – and when his pocket book came
back to me – I found these words written– and your name
beneath. Would it be asking too much of you, to tell me what
book should I find the whole poem in?”
Name the author and work (in which the above lines appear),
both of whom had achieved world wide fame a few years earlier.


Gitanjali
Rabindranath Tagore


14*

Whose life story is this documentary based on?
Who is the narrator?
<video deleted – Mystic India>


Swaminarayan/Sahjanand Swami
Peter O’ Toole


15*
• This project at IIT-Bombay, a collaborative effort of 46 artists,
is seeking to map these unsung names from around 80 years
ago.
• One of the problems has been getting the faces right, for
which the team reviewed many books and periodicals, sought
help from research institutes, pored through video footage
and interviewed surviving family members and friends.
• There was also confusion on the exact number which was
initially thought to be 78 but later revised to 80 when 2 more
names – Kharan Singh from Nepal and Satish Kalekar from
Maharashtra were identified.
What is the claim to fame of these 80 names?


The Dandi Marchers


16*

What tradition, that involves perpetual
maintenance, and is seen more often during
exhibitions of Southern classical
performance art in large auditoriums, owes
itself to the fact that early versions of such
performances were in temples in honour of a
deity?


Keeping a lamp lit on stage for the
duration of the performance


17*
• Mahatma Gandhi and the ______ Sabha is a play about a
fictional encounter between Gandhi and these people in
Benares.
• It briefly touches upon the largely unknown history of these
individuals while also detailing the encounter in the early
1920s when they responded to Gandhi’s call for HinduMuslim unity and resolved to sing patriotic songs.
• An outraged Gandhi is said to have lashed out at their
“obscene manifesto” and said he would not accept their
donations or them as Congress workers unless they gave up a
vocation that made them worse than thieves.
What occupation that takes its name from the Arabic ‘tafi’
meaning group?


18*
• Established in 1958 in Ghaziabad, the governing body of this
sport in India was exclusively a defence forces’ association
when it began, but as of today it manages 25 state
associations, with presence in 3 Union Territories and nine
official annual tournaments.
• The weight categories start at 480 kg and go all the way up to
680 kg – the weights referring to a drum filled with mud and
stones placed on a contraption that is designed to rise.
• Typical contest durations are 4-5 minutes, but a rematch is
usually decreed if they go beyond 6 minutes.
What sport, that is yet to become a professional one in
atleast 58 countries, including India, that play it?


Tug of War


19*
• This 26 Jan, 1950 photo shows Ms. Basanti Devi, wife of a
famous revolutionary, inaugurating production at a facility
that was established in 1947 close to Mihijam railway station
in Burdwan, West Bengal.
• The facility, one of the largest of its kind in the world,
produced its first output on November 1, 1950 with Rajendra
Prasad dedicating it to the nation.
• Over time, the town Mihijam has changed its name to that of
the freedom fighter as well and since 1974, the facility only
produces more environment friendly outputs, having
discontinued older models .
What facility is this?


Chittaranjan Locomotive Works
Named after Chittaranjan Das


20*
• Many years ago, Durga Puja was celebrated only by the rich
and powerful families of Bengal.
• It is said that in 1761 or 1790 (years disputed), 12 Brahmin
friends in Guptipura, Hooghly, decided to institute a
community puja by raising subscriptions from friends and
neighbours.
• Over time, such community festivals came to be known by a
term that originated from the “12 Friends” who started the
tradition.
What term, that is now used interchangeably with
sarbajanin (meaning all inclusive)?


Barowari from Baro-Yari


21

• The man in question is one Mr. Kapasi who acts as a
tour guide on Fridays and Saturdays.
• It is on one such tour that he meets the Das family and
is attracted to the wife, who encourages him to talk
about his life and in turn tells him her terrible secret,
imploring him to give her a remedy.
• When he asks why (he is no doctor), she reminds of his
full-time job where he uses his linguistic skills to help
people.
So, what is Mr Kapasi’s full-time occupation?


He works as a translator for a doctor. In effect,
as an Interpreter of Maladies


22
• Dubbed the “Lady of the Lake” and “Queen Mother” by the
media, her re-appearance in February eased much heartburn
among her fans, who had assumed the worst, having not seen
her for a month.
• Named after a fish shaped mark that appears on the left side of
her face, she was jointly awarded the 2009 TOFT Award for
Lifetime Achievement, being directly responsible for over $100
million in tourism revenue since 1998.
Identify this legendary resident of a famous locale in
Rajasthan.


Machali, the Ranthambhore tigress


23
• One of the many incomplete works of Franz Schubert was the
work ________ .
• As late as 2000, it was the one and only Schubert stage work
of which not one note had been performed for the public. In
2002, Karl Aage Rasmussen managed a reconstruction of it,
and the opera itself debuted in early 2010 to mixed reviews.
• The subject of the opera, which counted Goethe amongst its
admirers, first came to the attention of Europe via a famous
1787 translation.
Name the opera/what was it based on?


Sakontala/ Abhijnanasakuntalam


24
From an interview conducted as part of a survey by the Indian
Cinematographic Committee in the 1920s into the state of the
silent movie industry:
When the scene changed, a rumble would erupt in the audience
and people would be talking to each other. But some theatres had
this man, always standing there, explaining the film. He is a very
clever fellow, who knows the entire story and when a scene came
on, he would explain it, for example, in Telugu or another
language. He stands there throughout, he is a lecturer.
Why were such official readers employed, even for silent
films?


Silent films had subtitles in limited
languages and not everyone could read


25

• S. Hussain Zaidi’s first book “From Dongri to Dubai”
chronicled the rise of the Mumbai mafia from its humble
beginnings in a chawl in Dongri to the fiefdom run by
Dawood out of Dubai.
• His similarly titled sequel “From ________ to ________”
chronicles the lives of the new contenders - Chotta Rajan,
Arun Gawli and Ashwin Naik with similar beginnings
from a South Bombay area popular for its animals to an
Asian capital, where the Rajan-Dawood rivalry reached a
peak.
Fill both blanks.


Byculla, Bangkok


26

• She is the original sleeping beauty of Hindu mythology,
who, on not being able to accompany her husband on a
dangerous mission, asks him how else she can be of use.
• When her husband is approached by Nidra, the Goddess
of Sleep, he strikes a deal with the deity where she (the
wife) will absorb the burden of his necessity to remain
an insomniac.
Who is this?
(Full names might take you down the road of a KQA
quizzer)


Urmila (Lakshmana’s wife)


27

• This landmark, the largest of its kind in the country, is
also known as the Galden Namgyal Lhatse meaning
“celestial paradise in a clear night”.
• The popular belief of how it got its name is from an
incident where a celestial horse chose this site for
Merak Lama, who was following the wishes of the 5th
Dalai Lama.
• Thus its name is believed to originate from two Tibetan
words meaning “Chosen Horse”.
What landmark?


Tawang Monastery


28
• While the objects you see spread from China to the rest of
the world during the Song dynasty, historians believe that
the items arrived into China from India first.
• These timekeeping devices had bodies with specialized
censers (fire pots) that contained specially manufactured
and calibrated material with a known rate of combustion to
indicate minutes, hours or days.
• Early variants, found in Chinese shrines/temples have been
known to have Devanagari carvings on them as opposed to
local calligraphy.
What clocks, that took their name either from what was
used inside or the pleasant after-experience?


Incense/Fragrance Clock


29

• Reis Magos is a village located on the northern bank
of the Mandovi river in Bardez, Goa opposite to
Panjim.
• The Reis Magos church, named after the village,
holds an annual festival on January 6, in which
locals go around the village from the church, reenacting a journey.
Whose journey?


Three Magi/Three Wise Men
Reis Magos is Portuguese for Three Kings


30

• One of Bihar’s delicacies, it is often confused with
the closely related Baati from Rajasthan but is
completely different in preparation.
• Balls of wheat and sattu – ground lentil/gram are
formed into balls with spices, baked/fried in ghee
and then eaten with a brinjal bharta or mashed
potatoes called chokha.
Name this preparation.


31
• The Rohet Garh, a classified Heritage Hotel near Jodhpur,
besides promoting its cuisine and setting, also has
something to say about its contribution to the literary world.
“The peace and tranquillity of the environs have drawn
writers from around the world”, it says, and highlights two
famous brushes with literati.
• One of them was in the 1980s, when Bruce Chatwin stayed
here for a few months and wrote The Songlines.”
• The other instance was in the early 1990s, when a young
Scottish writer started writing about a year of living in an
Indian city.
Name the author and book that resulted.


William Dalrymple, City of Djinns


32
• In the Devi Bhagavatam, there is a story about how Agni, the
fire god, warns Rama in a dream that Sita will be kidnapped
by Ravana and a fake Sita – Mayasita – can replace the real
Sita, who stays with Agni for protection.
• Mayasita is kidnapped by Ravana, who is then killed by
Rama and Agni returns the real Sita to Rama after the war.
• The confused Mayasita, now abandoned by Rama, prays to
Lord Shiva for a husband, but when Shiva appears, she is so
excited that she expresses her heart’s desire one too many
times.
Who was she supposedly reborn as?


Draupadi
Mayasita supposedly asked for a husband 5 times


33
• One of the stories behind how it got its name is that when
an Indian diplomat visited a certain European capital in
1973, he noticed that the city had roads named after
Gandhi and Nehru, and went into a nationalist fit of rage
about roads back home being named after despots like
Aurangzeb.
• This man suggested that Lytton Road be re-named _______
____, after the great scientist whose quincentenary was
being celebrated in the country at that time.
• After a few strings were pulled, this proposal went through
but rather disappointingly, Piotr Kłodkowski’s office is not
located there.
What road apparently got its name thus?


Copernicus Marg


34
• The term originally referred to multiple sects of wandering
dervishes, the most famous one founded by Yusuf-al
Andalusi of Spain, that migrated to Central Asia and later
India to escape persecution by the Almohad Caliphate.
• The musically inclined in us might be familiar with the term
since it is part of the title of an Amir Khusro composition,
later modified by Bulle Shah, where the ecstasy of a certain
Hazrat Lal Shah _________ is glorified – one that has been
rendered by many people over the years.
What term/sect, now prevalent in the form of a honorific
given to men of extreme spirituality?


Kalandar/Qalandar
As used in Dama Dam Mast Kalandar


35

• ____ __ _____: The Three Deadliest Words in the World is a
2012 documentary set primarily in India and China and
focuses on a problem that is especially prevalent in these
two countries.
• Sometimes referred to as a secret genocide, cultural
practices such as dowry in India and China’s one child policy
have been cited as major reasons for its prevalence.
Complete the title of this documentary, that is possibly used in
happier circumstances to announce an arrival.


It’s a Girl
- The film is on female infanticide


36

• The Valiyasala Street settlement in Thiruvananthapuram
is currently under threat because an under construction
mono-rail/metro threatens to cut across this street.
• Residents are protesting that this centuries old
settlement must be preserved as a heritage zone, by
virtue of holding an unverified record of being the
longest in the list of such settlements, that are often
compared to garlands around a temple site.
What word, that comes from Sanskrit for
‘conglomeration of varnas/castes’ or ‘first/foremost
collection of houses’ is applied to such settlements?


Agraharam


FINALS IN A SHORT WHILE!


Cannabis Indica 2014 - The Prelims

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