2. Gossip Quiz
Teams of 3 adults – please let us know if you need
partners.
40 questions
Please answer legibly – if we can‟t read it, it‟s wrong.
This isn‟t a spelling bee, but do try & get as close as possible.
Questions 11-20 are * marked and are tiebreakers.
Questions on affairs, link-ups, family-ties of famous and
not-so-famous men and women.
„Pati, Patni aur Woh‟ is a recurring meme through the
quiz. Two of the three vertices of a love-triangle will be
present in the question. The missing one is to be put as
the answer.
Please put away your electronic devices.
3. Gossip 1
The name of this orgiastic feast held in the Papal palace
by Cardinal Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI on
October 30, 1501, comes from the post-prandial liberal
strewing around of a commodity not entirely unknown to
quizzers. This happened once the clothes of the
prostitutes were auctioned and the guests crawled naked
to pick up the said commodity. There were prizes for
men who were most successful with the whores (servants
were keeping score) as Pope greatly valued virility and
measured a man's machismo by his ejaculative capacity.
What has this feast come to be known as?
5. Gossip 2
Two contemporary accounts contradicting each
other. What rumour?
“Rumour has it ... According to them it would have been
unjust to deny the king the privilege of gathering fruit from
the tree he himself had planted. ”- Francois Bernier
“It was ...her love... (that) has given occasion to Monsieur
Bernier to write many things, founded entirely on the talk
of low people. Therefore it is incumbent on me, begging his
pardon, to say that what he writes is untrue.”- Manucci
6. Gossip 2 - Answer
That Shahjehan had an incestuous relationship
with Jehanara
7. Gossip 3
What on earth have you done, said _________
To have wrecked the entire party machine
To lie in the nude
Is not at all rude
But to lie in the House
Is obscene.
Fill in the blank, or tell me what inspired this
limerick?
8. Gossip 3 - Answer
Christine Keeler, mistress of British minister of war
John Profumo, in the '60s.
10. Gossip 4 - Answer
They are all related to Rabindranath Tagore.
Devika Rani & Sharmila were great-grand nieces of Tagore.
Meena Kumari's grandmother, Hem Sundari Thakur was forced to give up the
family name on her husband‟s death
11. 1 Alys & Christobel George, sisters.
Married two eminent men of letters.
3
Married Married
Son
3
2
Lived-in Married
Son
Dated Lady Gabriella Identify 1, 2 & 3
Windsor, daughter, Prin
ce of Kent
12. Gossip 5 - Answer
Alys George married Faiz Ahmed Faiz, her sister
Bilqees/Christobel married MD Taseer.
Tavleen Singh’s short lived marriage with now slain
Governor of Punjab Salman Taseer resulted in novelist
Aatish Taseer.
Tavleen went on to have a 25 year relationship with
much-married Ajit Gulabchand of HCC.
13. Gossip 6
Pati, Patni aur Woh-I
Pati and woh can be seen here. The original patni?
14. Gossip 6 - Answer
Sonali Dasgupta, filmmaker Harisadhan Dasgupta‟s
wife eloped with Roberto Rosellini who was on a
filmmaking trip to India in 1957. Rosellini was married
to Ingrid Bergman at that time.
15. Gossip 7
A 1998 DNA study finally laid to rest the
question, which was of considerable interest not just
because of one of its subject's stature, but also because
of his extensive writings about slavery and against
miscegenation.
The 1997 book Sally Hemmings: An American
Controversy and a 2000 documentary by the same
name also deal with the controversy, what was it all
about?
16. Gossip 7 - Answer
The Jefferson-Hemings controversy concerns the
question whether Thomas Jefferson fathered the
children of his mixed-race slave, Sally Hemings.
17. Gossip 8
Did they, or didn‟t they, we will never know but MJ
Akbar in his 1987 biography has this anecdote from
the UP Governor‟s holiday home in Nainital. Akbar
quotes the son of then governor, who later went to
acquire a voracious appetite for an 18 eggs breakfast.
It seems the son when instructed by his father to tell
his guests that dinner was ready, marched up and
opened the door to find our couple in a clinch. He
quickly shut the door and walked out.
Which couple, and who was the governor‟s son?
19. Gossip 9
Pati, Patni aur Woh -II
Patni
Woh
Daughter of eminent Champion of
educationist and handicrafts, Established
Nehru‟s minister Gurjari, Gujarat state
Humayun Kabir, Red emporium. Founder and
Cross activist. president of Dastkari Haat
Samiti, the force behind Dilli
Pati? Haat, penned several books.
Headed a political party.
21. Gossip 10
The cheesiest ever pick-up line has to be the one used
by the head of the Indian delegation at Toronto Film
Festival 1977 who turned up at the door of a fellow
delegate‟s hotel room, fully sozzled and muttered,
„Main bhi _____. Tum bhi _____, kyon na hum saath mein
rahein‟.
Identify the dramatis personae, both blanks being the
same.
22. Gossip 10 - Answer
Then I&B minister Vidya Charan Shukla & Vidya
Sinha
23. *Gossip 11: Kissing Cousins
Each of these actresses courted controversy with their
off-screen kisses. Who were the recipients of their
affections?
29. * Gossip 12
The autopsy performed on this man by the Red Army
pathologists proved the hypothesis, but then it can be
accused of being politically motivated. But, there are
records suggesting he had a groin injury during the
Battle of the Somme in 1916 and also a testimony from
his WWI company commander from a VD exam.
This has led many including Robert G.L.Waite to
conclude that there may be some credence to what
Tommies always believed and celebrated in song and
music. What belief?
30. * Gossip 12 - Answer
That Hitler was possibly monorchic, or as one of the
versions of Col. Bogey‟s March more crudely puts it,
‘Hitler Has Only Got One Ball’.
31. * Gossip 13
Siblings Sureshbabu Mane, Hirabai Badodekar and
Saraswati Rane were doyens of Kirana Gharana. Who
was their illustrious father?
32. * Gossip 13 - Answer
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, founder of Kirana
Gharana, whose wife Tarabai Mane rechristened all
her children on separation from Ustad.
33. *Gossip 14
Kalakankar may be a small princely state in UP but two
scions of its royal family were romantically linked up
with daughters of two world leaders. One of the women
was part of a diplomatic wrangle after she arrived in
India to immerse her lover Brijesh Singh„s ashes who
died in her home-country.
Brijesh Singh‟s nephew was by the time a minister in
Union Cabinet and was rumored to be lover of the
daughter of the other world leader, as per a tell-all
memoir (veracity disputed) by the leader‟s aide. Who is
the first world-leader in question and the
nephew/minister?
34. *Gossip 14 - Answer
Joseph Stalin, whose daughter Svetlana defected to
US while in India. Brijesh‟s nephew Dinesh Singh
was a minister in Indira Gandhi‟s cabinet at that time
and was linked-up to her in various accounts.
35. *Gossip 15
The epigraph to this novelist‟s third novel is dedicated
to the inspiration behind the novel. Which
novelist, and who‟s it dedicated to, and how are the
two related?
37. *Gossip 15 - Answer
Vikram Seth credited his then lover, the violinist
Philippe Honore for the idea behind An Equal
Music
38. *Gossip 16
Tahira Syed, Pakistani ghazal
singer and daughter of veteran
singer Malika Pukhraj was
married to TV personality and
lawyer Naeem Bokhari (better
known for triggering events that
led to Parvez Musharraf‟s ouster).
Whom did Bokhari blame for
their marriage breaking down?
40. * Gossip 17
This father-son duo both married
women belonging to the rare 9-
marriages club. In fact, the son even
had an affair with his step-mother
while she was still married to his
father but we know him for
inaugurating an illustrious list. Give
me the common last name, and the
name of the two-timing lady.
42. * Gossip 18
This flamboyant classical instrumentalist planned to
marry this legendary star early on in their careers.
However, a visit to the star‟s mother, a formidable
woman and a studio boss revealed that two cannot
marry as the star was sired by the musician‟s father-
(another formidable name). So, if the revelation made
to a Bangla daily years later by the musician‟s uncle is
to be believed, who were the two lovers?
43. * Gossip 18 - Answer
Nargis, Ustad Vilayat Khan
Jaddan Bai revealed to the couple that Fatima was born of her
affair with Ustad Inayat Khan
44. * Gossip 19
Jordan Baker is a character in „The Great Gatsby‟. She is
Daisy Buchanan's long-time friend, a professional golfer
with a slightly shady reputation. Her name is a play on
the two then-popular automobile brands, the Jordan
Motor Car Company and the Baker Motor
Vehicle, alluding to Jordan's "fast" reputation and the
freedom now presented to Americans, especially
women, in the 1920s. F.Scott Fitzerald claimed that he
based her on a real-life sportsperson he met while dating
Ginerva King.
Who served as the inspiration for Jordan Baker?
45. * Gossip 19 - Answer
Edith Cummings was one of the premier amateur
golfers of her generation. She was the first golfer and
first female athlete to appear on the cover of Time
magazine.
46. * Gossip 20
This and the following slide show serial conquests of two
men, with identical first & middle names. Name both.
47. * Gossip 20
This and the previous slide show serial conquests of two
men, with identical first & middle names. Name both.
48. * Gossip 20 - Answer
Ravi Shankars- Choudhuri & Shastri
Annapurna Devi, Kamala Chakravarthy, Sue Jones & Sukanya Rajan
Amrita Singh, Gabriela Sabatini & Ritu Singh
49. Gossip 21
These two American writers A and B, both homosexuals, had
a longstanding rivalry. The spat sprang from a 1975 Playgirl
interview in which A charged that B had been bounced from a
1961 White House party because of obnoxious behaviour.
They ended up trading vitriolic squibs. B said A had "made
lying ... a minor art form". A retorted, "I'm always sad about
B, very sad that he has to breathe every day”.
Once when B was punched by Norman Mailer, A wrote that
“it was a shame Mailer had not killed him”. B called A “a
fully-fledged housewife from Kansas with all the
prejudices”, and made jokes about A‟s small size, claiming
that he had accidentally sat on him at a party, and even went
on to call A's death "a good career move”.Identify A and B.
51. Gossip 22
In a 2005 blog post, this author associated with a
bestselling franchise revealed that he had a half-
brother from his late former-model mother„s affair
with a then-struggling filmmaker and that the child
was given away to a Koli couple. The
filmmaker, otherwise known for milking his personal
life for his films, was quick to deny the whole affair.
Identify the writer and the filmmaker.
53. Gossip 23
Radhika Piramal is MD of luggage major VIP
industries. In what way is she unique, at
least, amongst Indian corporate head honchos?
54. Gossip 23 - Answer
Radhika entered into a civil union with her long-time
girlfriend in London last year, making her the first ever
out LGBT corporate head in India.
55. Gossip 24
Pati, Patni aur Woh- III Patni- contested and lost
Pati, who? Rajya Sabha elections on
a BJP ticket in 2004
from Karnataka
57. Gossip 25
Mihir Bose in his book History of Indian Cricket
writes:
“India‟s first great spinner ended his career because
he happened to share a room with a man who wanted
a drink with a girl.”
Who is Bose talking about and who was his roommate?
58. Gossip 25 - Answer
Subhash Gupte and AG Kripal Singh
59. Gossip 26
On 23 March 1969, Assia Wevill gassed herself and
four-year-old daughter Shura in their London home.
Who was Wevill‟s lover at that time?
60. Gossip 26 - Answer
Poet Ted Hughes. Earlier, Hughes‟s wife Sylvia Plath
had also killed herself in a similar manner
61. Gossip 27
This theatre stalwart, filmmaker, and musician
courted controversy when his acting disciple Vibha
suffered severe burn injuries and he was blamed. They
were then part of Bharat Bhavan‟s theatre repertory
Rangakar at Bhopal. He was later acquitted when
Vibha denied his hand in the incident. His wife Prema
is also a theatre-person of repute and directed the
much acclaimed Kannada film „Phaniamma‟. Who?
63. Gossip 28
National Lampoon printed a fake quote from this man
as a "response" to a question on whether he planned to
campaign for President in the next election: “I‟ll drive
off that bridge when I come to it.”
Who is being mocked or which incident is being
alluded to?
64. Gossip 28 - Answer
Senator Ted Kennedy. The Chappaquiddick incident
65. Gossip 29
Badruddin Tyyabji in his memoirs vividly describes an
encounter with her in Simla in 1930s when in midst of
conversation on art and literature she simply took her
clothes off and lay stark naked on the carpet.
Malcolm Muggeridge wrote of how a week spent with
her in Simla reduced him to a "limp rag... I could not
cope.”
Her nephew Vivan Sundaram in his book on her talks
of her various affairs with men and women. Who?
67. Gossip 30
Excerpts from an interview. Who is being interviewed?
Which great love of his life is the interviewer
repeatedly hinting at?
http://soundcloud.com/vibhendu-tewari/interview
68. Gossip 30 - Answer
C Ramchandra, Lata Mangeshkar
69. Gossip 31
Vir Sanghvi in his Dec‟ 2009 Counterpoint column
writes: “When Veer Bahadur Singh became chief
minister of UP in the 1980s, he announced that he had
purified every couch in the chief minister‟s office with
Gangajal.”
Also, according to Sanghvi for a brief period when this
leader broke with Congress to form his own Congress
(T), the joke was that T stood for Thoku.
Who is the politician?
72. Gossip 32 - Answer
Satyajit Ray
Bijoya Ray in her memoirs wrote of the director‟s affair with
his Charulata Madhabi Mukherjee
73. Gossip 33
The two men this lady was married to at different
stages of her life are also part of another oft-repeated
quizzing trivia about a classic comedy film.
A) Identify her. B) Who were her two husbands?
74. Gossip 33 - Answer
Four times National Award winning editor Renu Saluja was
married to Vinod Chopra & Sudhir Mishra- two men
who lent their names to protagonists of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro
75. Gossip 34
Major Mohinder Singh Chaudhary of Punjab regiment
went down fighting after a 11 day long pitched battle in
NEFA during the 1962 Sino-India war. He was
decorated with the Mahavir Chakra.
His only child briefly came in limelight sometime in
early 80‟s and then more prominently again in late
80‟s. Who?
77. Gossip 35
Though the claims of a love-child as per her biographer
remain unproved, the affair lasted 9 years. His
explanation for the first encounter:
"There [was] just a natural curiosity; after all, we were
the most famous Greeks alive in the world".
Which couple?
78. Gossip 35 - Answer
Aristotle Onassis & Maria Callas
79. Gossip 36
The 1980 IBF World Championships were held in
Jakarta, Indonesia. Following was the composition
of the Indian squad. FITB
Men: Women:
Prakash Padukone Ami Ghia
Vikram Singh _____ _______
____ ____
Partho Ganguli
81. Gossip 37
These two ladies are namesakes. What else do they have in
common?
A-Bharatanatyam dancer, child prodigy, danced in Chori Chori, Kathputli
B-Author of children's books, including the popular Thama series of books
83. Gossip 38
The phrase refers to the name given by local natives to a
location near Moreton Bay on the eastern coast of
Australia, according to an 1852 issue of Hogg's
Instructor and was also part of a 1910 literary hoax.
The man most associated with the phrase now in its
totally new connotations was allegedly taught the term
by Muammar al-Gaddafi. An alternative explanation for
its origins was proposed by actress Sabina Began who
claimed that it was a nickname based on her surname
and that she had organized such parties. What phrase?
85. Gossip 39
How are the two younger gentlemen in the pics below
related?
86. Gossip 39 - Answer
Co-brothers.
Patrick French and Akhil Sibal are married to JLF impresario
Namita Gokhale‟s daughters.
87. Gossip 40
Though there are no pictures of them together, no
personal testaments, according to her friends, Pakistan-
born heart surgeon Hasnat Khan was the man she
wanted to marry, the one she described to friends as 'the
love of my life'. She started studying Koran and even
mugged up about the human heart using Gray's
Anatomy, so she could talk to Hasnat about his work.
Even her last fatal love-affair was a rebound to win him
back. Who?
