Cannabis Indica 2015 - Prelims Answers

CANNABIS INDICA
ASKQANCE 2015
The prelims
Navin Rajaram

A Round of Thanks to :
• The Karnataka Quiz Association (KQA)
• Bhargava, Nitish Khadiya & Aditya Gadre for
guinea-pig duties and feedback.

Prelims Rules
• Teams of 4
• 36 Question Prelims worth 46 points
• Qns 1-10 and Qns 21-36 are 1 pointers
• Qns 11-20 are * questions, each worth 2 points
• Top 8 teams make it to the finals
• * QnsSudden death from Qn 1Wrestling duels to
resolve ties, if any
All the best, do take guesses

• A futuristic art installation, this 20 ft by 10 ft installation
was the first commissioned piece at this location.
• The artist drew inspiration from his 20 year old
association with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited as a
machinist, bringing the piece together with 55
separate pieces that are used in the industry.
Where are you likely to encounter this installation?
1

Kempe Gowda International Airport /
Bangalore Airport

• Built by Alice (Ann) Hessing as a resting place for her
husband, John Hessing, a Dutch commander of the
Maratha Armies, this edifice is a lesser known
memorial of love, with genders reversed.
• Of Mughal design, standing on a square platform and
containing a crypt, it is topped by a beautiful dome
and embellished by intricate artwork.
While tourist signs in Agra call it the Catholic
Cemetery, what 2 word moniker is it known by?
2

• Published earlier this year,
Patrick Jered’s book is
about a European who
arrives in India and
chances upon an
instrument and then travels
across the country and
eventually to Sri Lanka to
trace its origins.
What is the object of his
search in the book?
3

• This is the Sagar Samrat oil exploration rig
off the coast of Mumbai, that disappeared
from our memories after 1994.
How is this rig going to make a comeback,
courtesy a recent announcement by a
financial body?
4

Reprinting of Re. 1 currency notes

• Initially two envoys – Ali Mardan Khan and Muhammad Ali
Khan were sent to the court of Muhammad Ali with a request
that certain Afghan rebels who were troubling the eastern
provinces not be sheltered.
• When no concrete response was received, another envoy,
Muhammad Khan Turkman was sent to deliver a more strongly
worded protest, but Muhammad Ali’s court wasted time in
discussing how best to address this new envoy respectfully.
• The last straw was the murder of two courtiers, who were sent
to gain news of Turkman’s whereabouts.
What retributive action happened next?
5

• While there are many confusing names for basil seeds (eg:
sabja, selasih,takmaria), one way of making sure you will get
basil seeds at a shop is by asking for _______ seeds, referring
to their use in a preparation.
• Their use in this preparation involves dehusking the seeds,
soaking them in water and allowing them to expand.
• An optional ingredient, they contribute absolutely no flavour
to the end product but have digestive benefits and add to the
visual authenticity of the preparation.
What preparation fills the blank?
6

• This 1952 Bollywood film, a first for Indian cinema, was set in a
fictional kingdom that looked like a cross between Rajasthan
and the mad king Ludwig’s Bavaria.
• It featured some of the architectural fantasies of India’s pre-
independence maharajahs and was an over the top operatic
fairy tale described as “Disney animation come to life, but
with eroticism and footwear fetishism”.
• One particular foreign critic who could not sit through the film
described it as “it goes ______ and ______ and _______...”
What film?
7

• Instituted in 1984, this medal was famously awarded to the
Indian Air Force for activities during a specific operation in
1984, a race in which India pre-empted Pakistan plans by 4
days.
• Made of copper and nickel, the obverse bears the Emblem of
India and the reverse bears a scene of the operation and a
helicopter.
• Personnel eligible for the medal include all Army, Navy, Air
Force and other armed forces, people physically present, and
even civilian porters who participated in the operation.
Either name the operation OR the name of this medal.
8

Operation Meghdoot /
Siachen Glacier medal

• A pet project of Indian Railways, it was in the wings for 2 years and
faced teething problems associated with the Thane-CST zone.
• Doing this would have meant trains would have to run at a
maximum speed of 15 kmph between Kurla and Thane – a high
traffic commuter zone while another problem involved the Siemens
coaches of regular passenger trains, which were taller than 4.27m,
the maximum height of trains allowed on this stretch.
• Inspite of these hurdles, the project was finally completed on June
9, 2015 leaving CST-Panvel & Thane-Vashi as the only remaining
islands in India and saving the organization a whopping upwards
of Rs. 50 crore annually.
What are we talking about?
9

Conversion from DC to AC
electrification
Most Indian Railways electric lines are powered by 25
KV AC with just 2 islands in the country, that now run on
1500 V DC

• The official process is called the BanajagaYatra, as part of which
around 120 people, called Daitapatis, would fan out to various parts
of the state and use their dreams to find the right fit neem trees of
Daru type.
• On April 12, 2015, a tree of this type was located at the
Gadakuntunia village in Balakati village and a similar process of
locating 3 other trees was underway.
• Once the trees are identified, barricades are erected until a ritual
cutting, before an elaborate ghata paribartan (transfer of souls)
ritual concludes the process.
What is the purpose of this process, something that occurs once
every 12-19 years (the last instance before 2015 was 1996)?
10

New idols for the Jagannath Puri temple
Nabakalebara – The process of crafting new idols
of Jagannatha, Sudarshan, Balabhadra & Devi
Subhadra at Puri

• In 1960 when the Assam Government passed an act, the people of
the Cachar district in Barak Valley went all out in protest since the
original district had been a part of a larger division, including
Sylhet, that went to East Pakistan.
• The situation reached a peak on May 19, 1961 when unarmed
protestors at a railway station were fired at, leaving 19 dead,
leading to mass outrage and an eventual amendment in the act by
the state government.
• Today, the Barak Valley celebrates “Unishey May” annually and the
railway station is proposed to be renamed as per this unofficial
signboard.
Where did this incident occur?
What were the protestors fighting for?
11*

Silchar
Adding Bengali as an official
language of the state

Why were all these ads created?
Which Bollywood actress was chosen to promote this
campaign?
12*

To improve the population of Parsis
Perizaad Zorabian

• This 1943 film called “Vani” was the only on-screen
appearance of a vocalist, who had a poor opinion of
cinema and hardly saw films.
Identify the vocalist.
Also, identify the violinist, who produced this film and
played a big role in convincing the vocalist to appear on
screen.
13*

Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar
T Chowdiah

In an obituary for Y, X wrote:
“My most vivid memories of Y have little to do with his prodigious skills,
those that won him multiple Olympic medals.His final Olympic Games –
Rome,1960 – occurred before I was born.He was a family friend,and I
count his son Brandon as a buddy.More than that, Y was a legend and a
lion of the Anglo-Indian community. He was everything we aspired to
be – successful,genial and unfailingly polite.
Y grew up in a railway colony in Bilaspur,learnt the game in Kharagpur
– before settling in Kolkata.In January 2013,a world Anglo-Indian
reunion was taking place in Kolkata and I suggested they honour an
“Anglo-Indian of the Century”. The choice was unanimous : Y. We
weren’t honouring him; he was honouring us by accepting.”
Identify X, a debatable legend in these circles andY, a true
legend in his own right.
14*

What specific honour connects these
movies? (the list is non exhaustive)
With reference to the year 2015, which
other movie, apart from Chauthi Koot,
was the recipient of this honour?
15*

Official selection at Cannes Un Certain
Regard section
Masaan

• The name arose at Cambridge during discussions on the
Yukawa particles between Kemmer, Maurice Price and the
individual in question.
• In 1939, the individual sent a short paper to Nature in which he
suggested a shorter name on the following grounds:
The name X’ has been suggested by Anderson and
Neddermeyer for the new particle found in cosmic radiation. It is
felt that the tr is redundant in this word since it does not belong
to the Greek root for middle. It would therefore be more logical
and also shorter to call the new particle X than a X’.
Who wrote the letter?
Identify the terms - X and X’ (no part points here)
16*

Homi Bhabha
Meson (X), Mesotron (X’)

• The largest of the state’s tribes, the Konyaks are concentrated
around 75 villages, some of which are in current day Myanmar.
• A typical Konyak from the yesteryears is likely to sport a lot of
tattoos on his face, chin and bosom, the tattoos being linked to
a tradition believed to transfer magical forces from one person
to another.
• However, since the 1950s, Christian conversions and
government sanctions have forced the tradition and associated
tattooing to go out of vogue.
Which state are the Konyaks native to?
What tradition was associated with the tattooing?
17*

Nagaland
Headhunting
The Konyaks added tattoos on their face every time
they scalped a head

• In May this year, the state arm of a worldwide organization applied
for increasing its production output, citing an increase in
membership.
• Critics were quick to jump on the suspect timing and irony, because
the state arm had successfully lobbied with the local government to
restrict the output’s sale, while paying only Rs. 250 as a license fee.
• A spokesman clarified that the output was being produced at 23
plants run by the organization across the state and was needed to
continue long standing traditions.
What organization was at the centre of this controversy?
What specific output, part of tradition, does the organization
produce?
18*

Catholic Church (in Kerala)
Sacramental Wine (accept wine)

• Terminalia elliptica, or the Asna/Saaj tree is native to southern
India’s dry and deciduous forests.
• Due to the similarity of appearance of the tree’s bark to
something else from fauna, it is also called the “_________
bark tree”.
• A trait that this tree shares with the baobab is put to good use
by the tribal folk of the Bandipur forest.
Fill in the blanks above with the alternate name of the tree.
How does the tree benefit the tribals?
19*

Crocodile bark tree
Tap water for drinking from the stem

• On the 27th September 1914, they were diverted to a small
municipal harbour at the mouth of the Hooghly but were not given
any opportunity to express their grievances on the ill treatment.
• As they waited, they sat down to pray and recite the Ardas
(supplication to God), but the District Magistrate disturbed their
prayers, desecrated their scriptures.
• When an individual tried to restrain him, the Magistrate shot him
down, prompting others tried to tie him down, at which point British
troops opened fire killing 19 and injuring 23.
What repetitive name was this riot known as, in reference to
where it occurred?
Who were the rioters?
20*

Budge Budge riot
Passengers of the Komagata Maru

• Saccharum spontaneum, or kash, is a perennial grass, native to
the Indian subcontinent, that grows up to 3 metres in height.
• A certain ‘project’ commenced on October 27, 1952 in a field
full of such white kash flowers, near Boral in eastern India.
• When the parties involved in the activity returned after a
week, the flowers had been lost to grazing cattle and what
greeted them was uninviting brownish grass.
• Not one to abandon things midway, the man in charge
decided to come back after a year when the fields would
bloom again to maintain consistency.
What project was thus delayed by a year, due to grazing
cattle?
21

Pather Panchali
The fields scene was shot over a period of a year

• As part of its 2015-16 revenue generation plan, this organization has
come up with a unique sales initiative to coincide with the festival
of Pushkaram from July 14 – July 25.
• The Pushkaram festival occurs annually, each year by rotation at
shrines located on the banks of 12 holy rivers, and this year is the
turn of Godavari.
• The organization has tied up with Sapphire, an ISI-certified firm for
purification and bottling of Godavari water and plans to market it
as GOD-JAL to people who may not be able to make the trip and
partake of a holy dip.
Which organization, that also plans to get into marketing audios
of AIR speeches and Bible society literature?
22

• She figures occasionally in Hindu scriptures and is said to
represent all the bad astrological influences caused by the
Navagrahas (9 planets).
• Certain fancy back stories about her origins talk about how she
was actually Shani (Saturn) in the guise of a woman, who tried to
charm the celibate Hanuman, but the monkey god trapped her
under his leg.
• This possibly explains the recurring motif of showing her under
Hanuman’s feet and people praying to Hanuman to remove her evil
influences.
What name, that has come to be a part of our colloquial Hindi?
23

• Earlier this year, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval raised a few
eyebrows, when he told a gathering of BSF officers that “we also
have a 106 km long non-contiguous border with Afghanistan that we
must factor in”.
• The reference was to a disputed territory, that was surrendered to
Pakistan in 1947 by then governor Brigadier Ghansar Singh, ceded
by India as part of a 1950 arrangement.
• In 1970, Pakistan detached this territory from Azad Kashmir and
while the former got a semblance of constitutional government, an
election proposal in the latter is just about beginning to ruffle a
few feathers.
What hyphenated territory, that is referred to by Pakistan as
Northern Areas?
24

• While this cricketing innovation has been attributed to
someone from another Asian country, Ranji stories
attribute it to Iqbal Khan, who used it to good effect in a
match against Saurashtra in 1991.
• In an interview Iqbal said that he perfected this when he
was toiling away in the lower levels of English league
cricket, where playing on the front foot was not an options
because the pitches were slow, low and the ball didn’t
come on to the bat too nicely.
What innovation?
25

• Snippets from a 2006 documentary titled Cherub
of the Mist based on the life of Mini and Sweety,
who were released into the Singalila National
Park in Darjeeling after being in captivity.
Identify these endangered creatures.
26

• In the story The Bride’s Progress, Rudyard Kipling describes an
irritating young Englishwoman who says at the end of her visit
to a city “Oh!You horrid people! Shouldn’t I like to wash you.”
• Kipling then goes on to invent a false etymology for this city
and says that it takes its name from a combination of words for
“without” in Urdu and the word for “nostrils” in Latin because
of the extreme filth and insufferable odours here.
• Kipling and his character’s sentiments were upheld by Gandhi
in a speech here in 1916, where he advised the residents to
clean up.
What city?
27

Benares
from ‘be’ (without in Urdu) + nares (nostrils in Latin)

• This red sandstone structure in the heart of Agra and another
similar one in Delhi have been in neglect for the last few years, with
parts of the structures having been encroached by traders.
• In their heyday, the structures were centres of excellence with airy
shelves for books, natural light/air filters and tastefully painted
halls where saints and scholars met and debated in the spirit of
secular exchange.
• Historians opine that these places may well have served as the
locations where important classical treatises such as the
Upanishads were translated to Persian.
Who ran both these libraries and learning centers?
28

• Recorded as a preparation of the Savaras, an ancient Eastern
tribe who offered it to their deity in a cave, it passed on to the
Kalinga kings who offered it as part of the six different meal
offerings during the day.
• As a tradition, potatoes weren’t allowed by priests and hence
elephant yam, eggplant, shallots and pumpkins were used as
replacements and the recipe evolved with the use of panch
phoran spices and a dollop of ghee as a topping.
• Some Brahmins often relate the story of Bheema as well being
the true creator, but Avial fans may dispute this.
What preparation?
29

From Lonely Planet Goa:
“________ is a term that often crops up in Goa.To a Goan,______ is an
attitude along the lines of relax and enjoy life while you can.It is a
philosophy of not getting overwrought if the work takes a day longer
than planned,of making an appointment for 10 am knowing fully well
the other party wont turn up until 10:30 am,and of taking time to sit and
gossip.The original Portuguese root word meaning “quiet” may have
been used more by the Catholic community than the Hindus,but the
Goans are alike in their understanding of the word.”
What word, that Rajiv Gandhi described as “a Goan’s inherent
non-acquisitiveness and contentment with what one has” ?
30

• He was either gifted by the King of Cochin or purchased by Alfonso
Albuquerque for King Manuel I for Portugal, who then in a tradition
of circulatory gift-giving, gave him to Pope Leo X.
• He purportedly refused to get on the boat to Rome because his
Indian keeper had fallen in love with a Portuguese girl, but finally
boarded the ark when King Manuel I threatened to kill the keeper.
• His arrival at Rome in 1514 drew huge crowds and when he was
presented to the Pope on Lent, Portuguese envoys are said to have
remarked how “India was placed at the feet of the Pontiff”.
Who was this gift, who took his Anglicized name from the
Malayalam word for his kind?
31

Hanno the white elephant
from aana

• Arriving at Mumbai by steamer in 1873, he criss-crossed India
travelling to Varanasi, Calcutta, Darjeeling, Agra-Delhi, up to the
Tibetan border and so on.
• He loved the country side, was reminded of Cumberland in the
Himalayan foothills, of Cambridgeshire in Pune, Bournemouth in
Coonoor and of Calcutta his notes said “Thick haze – Manchester”.
• The trip produced many watercolours and a poem with newly
learnt Indian words titled “The Cummerbund” with lines such as:
She sate upon her Dobie,
She heard the Nimmak hum,
When all at once a cry arose:
'The Cummerbund is come!‘
Who?
32

• An alternate history website “______less World” explores what
would have happened if a certain pistol had not jammed :
“Without _______,the British cannot stop the French becoming the
dominant power in India.At the same time the French cannot stop the
Anglo-Prussian alliance removing them from North America,leading
to an earlier but less successful American Revolution.Over the
decades,the French Empire has become the dominant world power
(analogous to the British Empire of the real world),with the Union
(the descendant of the Anglo-Prussian alliance),a resurgent Ottoman
state,the Dutch Empire and the Russian Empire as the lesser powers
of the world.Colonialism has taken a very different route to the real
world.“
Whose early death does this website visualize?
33

• Identify the lady in the video that follows – a related clue
is the man posing with Aamir Khan in the picture.
34

• This R K Laxman cartoon makes a reference to something
that happened in 1989 for the first time in Indian electoral
history. What?
35

Hung Parliament/
No single party or alliance had an absolute
Majority

• In 1894, in response to a sustained temperance campaign by
Mark Stewart in the British Houses and questions on a revenue
of Rs. 1 crore the Bengal government alone earned, the Indian
____ Commission was setup to make an objective research on
the matter.
• Interviewees included civil and medical officers, asylum
inmates, missionaries, traders and an ambiguous category of
“professional men”.
• The commission concluded that many asylum members were
improperly classified as lunatics, and instead of a ban, a
higher tax rate might work.
What was this commission researching on?
36

Hemp
(Accept Cannabis/Bhang/
Ganja/Charas/Marijuana )
No points for Opium

Cannabis Indica 2015 - Prelims Answers

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