Quizzeria

Quiz - Indian freedom struggle

2005-08-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

Quiz: Struggle for Independence

In lieu of the 58th anniversary of Indian independence coming up on Monday, August 15, it is only fitting that this week’s quiz be devoted to the freedom struggle. A lot of the questions are devoted to identifying personalities who played key roles in this struggle. In addition, the present quiz reverts back to the verbose questions that you are used to seeing from me. Actually the question itself is not verbose, but I have tried to thrown in plenty of related information that makes the question look bulky. Some of you might actually find the info interesting – those who don’t, just ignore it and i hope you wont have too much time 'finding the question' amongst all the info!

1. Which leader of the 1857 mutiny died in exile in 1862 in Burma, and was buried near Shwe Degon Pagoda, Rangoon? When the rebellion was crushed, he was captured and his sons Mirza Mughal and Khizar Sultan and his grandson Abu Bakr were executed in his presence and, famously, their severed heads presented to him.

2. The ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ was an important reason for the outbreak of the mutiny in 1857, and was responsible for the changes in fortune of several princely states - Satara (1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Nagpur and Jhansi (1854) and Awadh (Oudh)(1856). What was this ‘doctrine’?

3. (a) Which retired British civil servant is considered the founder of the Indian National
Congress? (b) Who was the first president of the INC?

4. Which British viceroy ordered the partition of Bengal in 1905? [The huge province of Bengal was split into ‘Eastern Bengal & Assam’ (capital – Dhaka, and comprising modern Bangladesh and the northeastern states of India, the latter clubbed together as Assam) and ‘West Bengal’ (capital – Calcutta, and comprising modern West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa). The action was hastily conceived and reeked of ‘divide and rule’ and led to widespread agitation and a Congress boycott of British goods under the banner of ‘swadeshi’.]

5. Which revolutionary was famous for his role in the Kakori Rail Dacoity in 1925, and the assassination of John Saunders (in protest of the lathi charge which claimed thelife of Lala Lajpat Rai)? He was born in Varanasi in 1906, and was surrounded by British police in 1931 at Alfred Park (Allahabad) following betrayal by an informer. Rather than be captured, he shot himself in the temple after fighting till the last bullet.

6. Which auxiliary force was created by Rash Behari Bose and Captain Mohan Singh mainly by the recruitment of Indian prisoners of war who, in the course of service in the armed forces of the British Indian Empire, had been captured by Japanese forces?

7. Who started the ‘Khudai Khidmatgar’ (Servants of God) organization with brownish (or red) uniforms? They were also known as the ‘Red Shirts’.

8. Which famous lawyer (who was regarded as one of the ‘young and upcoming members of the Bombay Bar’) began his political career with Annie Besant’s Home Rule League? He represented the rights of the farmers of Gujarat following Vallabhbhai Patel’s Bardoli satyagraha, and was one of the main members of the 17 member defense team set up by the Congress to defend the officers of the Indian National Army (along with Jawaharlal Nehru and Tej Bahadur Sapru). Giveaway clue – the US consulate in Mumbai is located on the street named after him!!

9. In 1940 who was chosen by Gandhiji to be the first Individual Satyagrahi (an Individual standing up for Truth instead of a collective action) against the British rule?

10. Which freedom fighter founded the Servants of India Society, which trained people to be selfless workers so they could work for the common good of the people? He was one of the founders of Fergusson College, Pune in 1885.

11.
a. One of the highlights of the civil disobedience movement started in 1930 was the observance of the Purna Swaraj (complete independence) day. What was the date? This day is today a special day for all of us.
b. Also a highlight of this movement was an event that took place on April 6, 1930. Name this event.

12. Who was the British monarch at the time of Indian independence (and also the ‘Emperor of India’ (as was the official title)?

13. Who unfurled the National Flag at the August Kranti Maidan after the arrest of Gandhiji and other major leaders? She was the first Mayor of Delhi and posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1997 after her death in 1996 at the age of 86. Her husband was the first Indian Ambassador to the US.

Quiz - Hindu Mythology (Part 2)

2005-08-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

its been an extremely hectic month of july at work, leaving me no time to work on any quizzes ... so this one's been a long time coming. i had promised part deux of the hindu mythology quiz, and finally here it is.

Just like the previous one, this one comes with a disclaimer – since the Sanskrit words are spelled in English, the can seem a little weird (or even incorrect at times!). Also, it’s a little hard to come up with these quizzes – so you might find the questions too hard or too esoteric. So please bear with me and feel free to report the errors.

1. Vichitraviya, the king of Hastinapura died childless. To continue the ‘Kuruvansh’, which great rishi ‘fathered’ Dhritarashtra and Pandu?

2. Who built Yudhishtira’s palace at Indraprashtha? It was supposed to be exquisite and even the gods were supposed to have been envious of it.

3. Of Arjuna’s many wives, who was the mother of Abhimanyu?

4. In the Ramayan, who was the wife of Ravana?

5. ‘Indraprastha, Varnavata, Vrikaprastha, Jayanta and one more of your own choice’! What am I referring to?

6. In the ‘ViraatParva’ of the Mahabharata appear two characters named 'Kanka’ and ‘Sairandhari’. Who are these characters?

7. Who was the son of Brihaspati who took tutelage under Shukraachaarya to learn the art of Sanjivani?

8. After the death of Duryodhana, Yudhishthira became the king of Hastinapura and went to Bhisma (still on the bed of arrows), who instructed him in the various aspects of life and Dharma. After this, Yudhishthira asked if there was one thing through which one can achieve all, Bheeshma tells him the ‘__________’?

9. Whose son is Pradyumna?

10. What is the name of the serpent that bites Parikshit ?

11. What/who was depicted on Arjuna's flag?

12. The grandfather of Bali (of Vamana avatar fame) was a principal protagonist in another of Vishnu’s avatars. Who are we talking about, and which avatar?

Quiz 9 (June 27-July 3, 2005): General

2005-06-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

1. The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea with which water body?

2. At the headquarters of which international body would you find Dag Hammarskjöld Library? [Hint: The Interpreter]

3. Formed by a former professor of engineering named Hafiz Mohammed Saeed at the University of Punjab (Lahore), this organization is the militant wing of the Markaz Dawa-Wal-Irshad (the Centre for Religious Learning and Propagation). It defined its agenda as ‘the restoration of Islamic rule over all parts of India’. What are we talking about?

4. The host city of the 2012 Olympic Games will be announced on July 6, 2005. Which two out of the following cities are not contenders for the Games? Paris, Brussels, London, Madrid, New York, Tokyo and Moscow.

5. Which sprinter broke the world 100m sprint record at Athens two weeks ago to clock in at 9.77 seconds? He had finished fifth in last year’s Athens Olympic Games. Extra credit – which country does he belong to?

6. Which famous Mumbai-born film maker was buried last month at the Bada Kabrestan in Marine Lines, Bombay on 2005-05-28 in keeping with his wishes of resting with his ancestors? He shot to fame as a 25 year old with his short film ‘The Creation of Woman’, which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and also nominated for an Oscar.

7. Fill in the gaps - The world’s first _______ was produced by NCR in Dundee, Scotland, and installed in Enfield Town in north London on June 27, 1967 by Barclays Bank. These days, it is almost a mandatory requirement to have for any bank to install several of these (in fact, the more the better its viewed by customers).

8. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease. It spreads not through microbes, but through infectious self-reproducing protein structures called ‘prions’. What is the disease commonly known as?

9. What is diacetylmorphine (the 3,6-diacetyl derivative of the pain killer morphine) more commonly known as? Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of this substance.

10. Which is the largest financial services company in the world? It had a profit of $17.9B (yes billion!!) in 2003 and its subsidiaries include Smith and Barney, and Diners Club.

11. What is the capital of Uzbekistan?

12. What is Jalal Talabani’s claim to fame?

Hindu Mythology Quiz

2005-06-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

1. In the Ramayana, who disguised as the golden deer to lure away Sita?

2. Who did Veda Vyasa enlist to write down the Mahabharata as he narrated it? Extra credit: what were the conditions laid down at this time before they agreed to go ahead?

3. Srimad Bhagavatam (sometimes also known as the Bhagavata Purana) is a narration by Suka, to a king who has been cursed to die in seven days. Name this king - a descendant of the Pandavas (the son of Abhimanyu, to be exact).

4. Who was the only one of the Kauravas who fought for the Pandavas in the battle at Kurukshetra? He was also the only son of Dhritarashtra not killed in the Great War.

5. Who was the commander-in-chief of the Pandav army in that same war?

6. How many verses and chapters (adhyaaya) does the Bhagwad Gita have?

7. Which famous Rishi has contributed the Gayatri Mantra to our scriptures? Before becoming a rishi, he was a king named Kaushika. Stories about his failures in the quest of becoming a brahmarishi are quite famous!

8. What did Vaishampayana narrate to Janamejaya, the great-grandson of Veda Vyasa's grandson? [HINT - The ultimate flashback of them all]

9. During the last part of the great war, X declared Bheema's conduct to be unworthy of a Kshatriya, and was so livid that he charged at Bheema with his own personal weapon, Y. Which act of Bheema made X so angry, and why? Also name his personal weapon Y. [Question taken from quiznet's Mahabharata quiz]

10. What was the name of the town that Bheema freed from the clutches of Bakasura by slaying him?

11. In the Ramayana, when Vaali was fighting with Sugreev , Rama couldnt distinguish between the 2 from a distance as they looked remarkably alike. What helped him distinguish Sugreeva from Vaali?

12. What is the name of Krishna"s shankha (conch)?

India Defense Quiz

2005-06-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

1. Who were India’s defense ministers in the 1965, 1971 and 1999 (Kargil) conflicts against Pakistan?

2. Which famous Special Forces group was formed in 1986 to fight the increasing menace of terrorism that was evident in the aftermath of Operation Bluestar in Punjab? It is probably the most well known special forces unit in India and has seen action in more than 100 missions since, including the clearing of the Akshardham complex in Gujarat (operation Vajrashakti)? They were conspicuous by their lack of action in the hijacking of IA flight IC-814 and its abduction to Kandahar airport in Afghanistan.

3. Amongst the following missiles from India’s missile armory, which is the anti-tank guided missile? Agni, Prithvi, Trishul, Nag, BrahMos and Akash.

4. Who was the Army chief during Operation Bluestar in 1984, when the Indian Army launched the assault on the Golden Temple in Amritsar? He too suffered a similar fate as Indira Gandhi a couple of years later, when Sikh terrorists assassinated him in Pune in 1986.

5. ‘Operation Shakti’ in 1998 was a defining moment in India’s military history and permanently changed the rules for all future conflicts. What was Operation Shakti?

6. A week ago, India opened its new naval base INS Kadamba, which when fully operational will be India’s largest naval base, and one of the largest in Asia. Where is this base located?

7. Which French-made aircraft of the Indian Air Force (named ‘Vajra’) was a key player in the high altitude bombing operations in the heights of Kargil in 1999? The IAF obtained 49 of these aircraft from manufacturer Dassault in 1985.

8. Named ‘Tejas’, this aircraft being developed jointly by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and the Aeronautical Defense Agency (ADA) has seen long delays and cost over runs. Development started in 1983, and its first maiden flight was in 2001, but is nowhere close to production. What are we talking about?

9. Between 1987 and 1990, the Indian Army was thrust into a civil war on foreign soil, where it suffered severe losses of personnel, material and a big loss of face, thanks primarily to a big political gaffe by the government of India. It has come to be referred to as India’s Vietnam – what are we referring to?

10. Name the highest battlefield in the world, whose ownership was left undecided by the 1972 India-Pak Simla agreement because it was thought to be uninhabitable. Since 1984, this has not been true, and it is estimated that both sides currently deploy about 3000 soldiers each in the frozen heights. It has cost us more than 2000 soldiers, mostly from weather issues and not from the conflict itself.

11. What is the premier inter-services institute for training of officers of the armed forces? Setup initially in Dehradun in 1948 as the Joint Services Wing and moved to its present destination in 1954. Recruitment takes place after the 10+2 examinations, and cadets graduate with scientifically designed academic training for BA/B. Sc. degree of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

12. This special forces unit is the only one in the Indian military where non-Sikh personnel are allowed to grow a beard! Sounds rather hilarious, but these are some of the best special forces units – having started out with 3 officers sent for training with US Navy Seals and British special forces. What are they commonly known as?

India Quiz (general)

2005-06-04T15:39:00.000-07:00

After an extended hiatus, I'm back. Here is a new one, diverse topics - but one underlying theme: India.

1. What is the tree scientifically called Ficus benghalensis more commonly known as? It is widely found in India and can grow into a giant covering several hectares.

2. Which financial institution of the Indian government, established in 1935, had Sir Osborne A. Smith as its first head. Its first chief in independent India was Sir Chintaman D.Deshmukh, and the present head of this organization has his office at the Central Office Building, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Mumbai?

3. How many companies comprise the BSE Sensex? Which of the following is NOT a member of that list: Hindalco Industries Ltd., Cipla Ltd., Tata Chemicals Ltd., Bharti Tele Ventures Ltd., Zee Telefilms Ltd. [Effective March 24, 2005]

4. Which 87-year old freedom fighter was the lone opposition to APJ Abdul Kalam in his presidential election?

5. Which Indian scientist was recently awarded the $1M Dan David prize from Israel (shared with MIT’s Robert Langer and Harvard’s George Whitesides) for his outstanding contributions to materials science? He is currently Linus Pauling Research Professor and Honorary President of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore and has also been Chairman of the Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. [for udct junta – he was the main speaker at MM Sharma’s felicitation function at the time of his retirement from udct]

6. Which actress won the Miss India contest in 1979? She starred with Amol Palekar in ‘Naram Garam’ and is presently married to Paresh Rawal.

7. What is the name of the supersonic cruise missile being developed by a company setup as part of a Joint Venture through an Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and Russia? The name of the missile is derived from the names of two major rivers – one Indian and the other Russian, and is supposed to represent the confluence of two great nations. Needless to say, the Indian effort is conducted through the DRDO. It is touted to be superior to the Tomahawk cruise missiles of the US, and recently ran into issues over intellectual property rights between India and Russia.

8. Who captained India’s women cricket team to the finals of the world cup in South Africa earlier this year?

9. Which paramilitary force was formed in 1990 for the exclusive role of fighting insurgency in Kashmir? Although raised as a paramilitary force, it comprises exclusively of soldiers on deputation from the Indian Army, and now has more than 40,000 soldiers in J&K.

10. Who was appointed Chief Justice of India, exactly one year ago, on June 1, 2004?

11. What was the most significant change brought about in the preamble to the constitution of India by the 42nd Amendment of 1976?

12. In 1992, which corporate watchdog body based in Mumbai did the govt. of India establish following the Harshad Mehta stocks scandal to regulate the functioning of the financial markets?

Quiz 7 (April 18-24, 2005): Astronomy

2005-04-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

Quiz 7 (April 18-24, 2005): Astronomy

1. A white dwarf is an astronomical object which is produced when a low to medium mass star dies. What is the term used to define the maximum mass of a white dwarf? It is approximately 3 × 10³⁰ kg, close to 1.44 times the mass of the Sun and named after a Nobel Prize winning astrophysicist from India.

2. Which American astrophysicist discovered the velocity-distance relation, which led to the concept of the expanding universe? The law states that the greater the distance between any two galaxies, the greater their relative speed of separation. He is also generally credited for discovering the redshift of galaxies and has a very well known telescope named after him.

3. Name this largest moon of Saturn - discovered by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, it is the second largest moon in our solar system and is the only one to have a dense atmosphere consisting of more than trace gases. Its atmosphere is denser than Earth's, with a surface pressure more than one and a half times that of our planet and supports an opaque cloud layer that obscures its surface features. The 'Huygens probe' from the Cassini-Huygens mission reached its surface on January 14, 2005 by an atmospheric descent and relayed scientific information.

4. Which American astronomer, famous for his efforts to popularize science wrote the bestselling novel 'Contact', which was later made into the 1997 movie of the same name, starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey?

5. Which planet in our solar system has two moons Phobos and Deimos, both of which are small and odd-shaped, with the hypothesis that they are probably captured asteroids? It is named after the Roman god of war and has only a quarter the surface area of the Earth and only one-tenth the mass, though its surface area is approximately equal to that of the Earth's dry land because it lacks oceans.

6. What is the so-called boundary of a black hole referred to as? It is defined as the boundary in spacetime for a given observer beyond which no electromagnetic energy, including light, can reach the observer. It is also the title of a science fiction movie starring Lawrence Fishburne and Sam Neill about a spaceship that had disappeared seven years ago (the spaceship has the same name as the movie).

7. Which Indian astronomer (~ 500 AD) presented a mathematical system that described the earth as spinning on its axis and considered the motions of the planets with respect to the sun (a heliocentric solar system)? He also gave a very accurate estimation of 'pi'. India's first satellite (launched in 1975) was named after him.

8. Foundations of modern astronomy
a. Which ancient Greek astronomer was responsible for the 'geocentric' model of the solar system (i.e. earth is the center of the solar system, and all planets revolve around the sun). This remained the generally accepted model in the Western and Arab worlds until it was superseded by the heliocentric solar system.

b. Which brings us to the next question - who was responsible for the 'heliocentric' model (sun at the center) of the solar system (as seen earlier, it was not new, but it is generally attributed to him in the modern age). He hails from Poland and this discovery is considered to mark the beginning of modern astronomy.

c. Contributing to modern astronomy were the three laws of planetary motion, the first of which states that the planets move not in circular but elliptical orbits around the sun (To be exact 'The orbit of a planet about a star is an ellipse with the star at one focus.'). Who was the German astronomer who proposed these laws?

9. Next to the sun, which is the star nearest to the earth? It is a red dwarf in the Alpha Centauri star system and is roughly 4.22 light years from Earth.

10. Which was the first planet in our solar system to be discovered that was not known in ancient times? It had been observed on many previous occasions but was always dismissed as simply another star. It was eventually discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1781.

11. What was the name given to a small planet supposed to exist in an orbit between Mercury and the Sun (from a 19th century hypothesis that has now been superseded by Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity)? [HINT: the name is the same as that of the planet from which Star Trek's Spock came from]

12. Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka (zeta, epsilon and delta - i cant seem to be able use greek symbols!) are three very prominent stars in the night sky and are signature identifiers for which constellation? They are visible throughout the world, make this constellation universally recognized. [HINT - they form the 'belt']

Quiz 6 : Indian (and related) Literature

2005-04-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Quiz 6 (April 11-17, 2005): Indian (and related) Literature

Most of the work is by Indian authors, some of them are not Indian, but either the subject is related to India or the author(s) are Indian born - basically, there is some indian connection. hence the 'almost indian' connection.

1. Which well known actor, playwright and director won the Jnanpith Award (India's highest literary prize) in 1998 for his literary contributions to Indian drama (most notably in Kannada)? His first is first play, titled 'Yayati', won the Mysore state award, while his second venture 'Tughlaq' was presented in London as part of the Festival of India in 1982. He has acted in several Hindi and Kannada films with eminent directors such as Satyajit Ray, and Shyam Benegal. He directed the movie 'Utsav' and more recently, his play 'Agni Mattu Male (The Fire and the Rain)' was made into a movie 'Agnivarsha', starring Jackie Shroff, Nagarjuna and Raveena Tandon. Hopefully, all these clues are sufficient.

2. For which novel set in the days of the partition of India did Bhisham Sahni win the 1975 Sahitya Akademi award in Hindi? It was later made into a television series with a stellar cast including Om Puri, A.K.Hangal, Bhisham Sahni himself, Dina Pathak, Deepa Sahi, and Amrish Puri.

3. Who was the author of the novel upon which the 2002 movie Devdas (Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai) was based?

4. Which Indian born writer (now based in New York) won the Pulitzer prize for her collection of short stories 'The Interpreter of Maladies'?

5. Which Indian born writer was a Pulitzer award finalist in 2005 for his book 'Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found'? Born in Calcutta, and raised in Bombay and New York, he co-wrote the Vidhu Vinod Chopra movie 'Mission Kashmir'.

6. Which Anglo-Indian writer, born in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh in 1934, won the Sahitya Akademi Award for English in 1992 for his short story collection 'Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra'? Currently based in Mussorie, he received the Padma Shri in 1999. Most of his works have been published by Penguin India, and include 'The Night Train at Deoli and other stories', 'Time stops at Shamli' etc.

7. Which famous Indian writer wrote the novel 'The Guide', later made into a movie starring Dev Anand? He also received the Sahitya Akademi award for this work.

8. Which famous writer wrote the story 'Shatranj ke Khiladi', upon which the movie by the same name directed by Satyajit Ray is based? Born Dhanpat Rai, he started writing in Urdu under the name 'Nawabrai', and his works in Hindi include the novels 'Nirmala' and 'Gaban'.

9. Which famous poet received the Sahitya Akademi award for Hindi in 1968 for his work titled 'Do Chattanen'? He received his doctoral degree from Cambridge for his research on the works of W.B. Yeats, and has enriched Hindi through translations of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat, and Shakespeare's Macbeth and Othello. He wrote his last poem 'Ek November 1984' after Indira Gandhi's assassination, and is famous for his poem 'Madhushala'

10. MARATHI (This is purely for the significant number of people on this list who had marathi as a medium of instruction in school):
a. Who won the Sahitya Akademi award in Marathi for his autobiographical novel 'Smaran Gatha'? He also wrote the novel 'Padghavali', later made into a Hindi serial 'Kuch Khoya Kuch Paya' on Doordarshan.
b. Who wrote the award winning novel 'Yayati'?
c. Who wrote the famous play 'Natasamrat'?

11. Which French author wrote the book 'The City of Joy' about the slums of Calcutta, later made into a movie starring Patrick Swayze? He has also been a leading advocate of the rights of the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy and wrote his book 'Five Past Midnight in Bhopal' in 2002. He was one of the top foreign reporters in the 1960s and 1970s and co-wrote 'Freedom at Midnight', about the eclipse of the British Raj in India.

12. Which well known wildlife conservationist wrote 'Jungle Lore', generally considered his autobiography. Born in Kumaon, he established India's first national park in 1934 in the Kumaon Hills, and today it is a Tiger Reserve under the Project Tiger program, and one of the most favorable places for tiger sightings.

13. [THIS EXTRA QUESTION IS INTENDED TO COMPENSATE FOR THE MARATHI QUESTION ABOVE, #10] Which well known cricketer's autobiography is titled 'Straight from the Heart'? He made his Test debut against Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1978-79 and played his last test against New Zealand at Hamilton in 1994.

Quiz 5 - Indian History

2005-04-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

This quiz is courtesy of Prashant (aka PHD). I will be sending in the next one on Sunday evening.

1. Asoka was a very aggressive and imperialist ruler who attacked most of the other independent states in India of his times and built the first all India empire. However, victory over an Indian state turned him a peace loving ruler. The reason was the huge bloodbath in the battle moved him. What was the name of the state which he defeated in that battle (Hint: it was located in the region which we call Orissa these days).

2. The ruling period of which empire is considered as the Golden era in Indian history? (Hint: the second half in the names of all rulers in these dynasty ended with the name of the dynasty)

3. What was the name of Hindu Rajput wife of Akbar who was also the mother of Jehangeer? (Hint: Remember Mughal-e-Azam)

4. What was the name of the fort on which Shivaji killed Afzal Khan? (Hint: There is some recent controversy about the shrine of Afzal Khan just on the way uphill on the top of the fort. Some Shivsena members tried to ransack it a couple of years ago.)

5. What was the name of the last Mughal emperor who participated against British in the rising of 1857? (Hint: There was a serial about this emperor a few years ago on Doordarshan.)

6. In 1911, British shifted capital of India to Delhi. Which city was India's capital before that? (Hint: The rising disturbance around the old capital was a reason behind this shift).

7. Who was the famous Indian leader who died as a consequence of injuries suffered while demonstrating against Simon commission in 1928? (Hint: Bhagat Singh killed police officer Saunders responsible for the Lathicharge).

8. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was the president of drafting committee for Indian constitution. Who was the President of the constitutional assembly overall?

9. If the president of India dies, automatically vice-president takes over as the post cannot remain vacant even for a minute. If vice-president is not able to assume the office, automatically it goes to the chief justice of the Supreme Court. What was the name of the only chief justice of India who became temporary president of India for just two weeks in 1969? (Hint: He was from the minority community and became vice-president of India after a decade in 1979)

10. Who was the first Finance minister of independent India? (Hint: He was from the same Tamil trading community that the current FM P Chidambaram belongs to.)

11. There was only one time in the history of independent India that the union cabinet had two deputy prime ministers at the same time. It was in Morarji Desai ministry in 1977. Both were prime-ministerial aspirants but silenced to give up their claim in favour of Morarji by Jaiprakash Narayan. But after JP's death, they fought among themselves over the succession to Morarji and brought down the first non-congress government by Janta Party. Who were these two politicians? (Hint: one of them became PM for a short duration subsequently).

12. Who was the only minister in Indira Gandhi cabinet who questioned President Gyani Zail Singh's decision to appoint Rajiv Gandhi as PM after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984 as Rajiv was not yet elected the leader of congress parliamentary party? (Hint: He is a senior member in Manmohan Singh cabinet currently. Although he was expelled by Rajiv Gandhi for his dissent, P V Narsimha Rao rehabilitated him in the congress party and politics).

ANSWERS

1. Kalinga
2. The ruling period of the Gupta empire
3. Jodhabai
4. Pratapgad
5. Bahadur Shah Zafar
6. Calcutta
7. Lala Lajpatrai
8. Dr. Rajendra Prasad
9. M Hidayatullah
10. R K Shanmugam Chetty
11. Charan Singh & Jagjivan Ram
12. Pranab Mukherjee

Quiz 4 (CHEMISTRY)

2005-03-31T19:10:00.000-08:00

This is the current version of the quiz, and the answers are not out yet for this one. Feel free to send in your answers.

1. Which American chemist, winner of the Nobel prize for Chemistry in 1932, invented the gas filled incandescent lamp, as well as the hydrogen welding technique? He even has a famous journal named after him in recognition of his contributions to its field.

2. Which group of chemicals (known chemically as alkyl- or aryl- magnesium halides) owe their name to the 1912 Nobel prize winner in Chemistry, who discovered them? As one of my class XII profs used to say, when all other options in organic synthesis fail, think of him!

3. IUPAC is an international non-governmental organization devoted to the advancement of chemistry. It is the recognized authority in developing standards for the naming of chemical compounds. What is the complete expanded form of IUPAC?

4. In addition to radium, which other element was discovered by Marie Curie? She named it after her country of birth.

5. What is the name of the machine, invented by Ernest Lawrence in 1929, and designed to accelerate charged particles (such as electrons and ions) to very high energies using a combination of electric and magnetic fields [a type of particle accelerator]?

6. Which ancient practice had the search for the ‘philosopher’s stone’ as one of its key goals, for converting any metal to gold, as well as for curing all diseases?

7. Chemical Companies
a. Which well known chemical company has the copyrighted slogan ‘The Miracles of Science’?
b. Which chemical company is credited with the development of such diverse chemicals as aspirin, heroin, mustard gas and the common antibiotic Ciprofloxacin?
c. Which company became the largest pharma company in the world in 2002 following a series of mergers with Warner-Lambert, Pharmacia and Searle (which had been previously acquired by Pharmacia)?
d. Which company first started making polystyrene foam under the tradename ‘Styrofoam’?

8. Which highly reactive metal was the first to be discovered by spectroscopic analysis? [It derives its name for the Latin for ‘sky blue’, because of the bright blue lines in its spectrum. This element was discovered by Gustav Kirchoff (of the ‘Kirchoff’s current law’ fame) and Robert Bunsen (of the Bunsen burner fame)]. If these were not enough clues, this element finds application in atomic clocks and devices based on the photoelectric effect.

9. Which organic compound, owes the deduction of its chemical structure to the French chemist Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz? It was originally discovered by Michael Faraday, who named it bicarburet of hydrogen.

10. Which compound was responsible for more than 2000 deaths in the Bhopal gas tragedy?

11. Nobel Prizes
a. For what pioneering contribution did Fritz Haber receive the 1918 Nobel Prize for chemistry?

b. Which American chemist won the 1954 prize ‘for his research into the nature of the chemical bond’? he was one of the key contributors in elucidating the structure of the DNA molecules, and also received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 for his campaign against above-ground nuclear testing

c. English biochemist Frederick Sanger has been a very key contributor to the genomic revolution by developing the ‘Sanger method’ for DNA sequencing. What is his unique qualification when it comes to Nobel prizes?

d. Who won the 1903 (the third year of the Nobel Prize) award ‘for his electrolytic theory of dissociation’? One of the pioneers of physical chemistry, his Nobel prize winning work was actually his doctoral thesis. It failed to impress his professors, and he received the minimum passing grade for it. In addition to this work, he proposed the concept of ‘activation energy’ – the energy barrier to be overcome before two molecules will react. He also formulated a quantitive relationship between activation energy and the rate of reaction.

12. Which elements comprise the alloy ‘brass’?

SCROLL DOWN FOR ANSWERS

1. Irvine Langmuir
2. Grignard reagents
3. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
4. Polonium (after Poland)
5. Cyclotron
6. Alchemy
7a. Du Pont
7b. Bayer
7c. Pfizer
7d. Dow Chemicals
8. Cesium
9. Benzene
10. Methyl isocyanate
11a. Synthesis of ammonia
11b. Linus Pauling
11c. To date, Frederick Sanger is the only two time winner of the Chemistry Nobel Prize.
11d. Svant Arrhenius
12. Copper + Zinc

Quiz 3 (BOLLYWOOD)

2005-03-31T19:09:00.000-08:00

Quiz 3 (March 21-27, 2005): Bollywood

1. Which actress won the first Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1970? [HINT: She was married to the Russian painter Svetoslav Roerich]

2. Who played Akbars wife Jodhabai in the 1960 classic Mughal-e-Azam?

3. Which actor made his hindi movie debut in the 1969 movie Saat Hindustani?

4. For which 1977 Shyam Benegal movie based on the life of actress Hansa Wadkar did Smita Patil win the national award?

5. Who won five consecutive Filmfare awards for best male playback singer?

6. What special occasion celebrates its fifty first anniversary this week (March 21)? It took place at Mumbais Metro theater and was presided over by the then US Ambassador to India, Mr. George V. Allen?

7. Who directed the critically acclaimed 1984 movie Saaraansh?

8. By what name was the comedian Badruddin Jamaluddin Qazi commonly known to the public? [HINT: He was first spotted by noted actor Balraj Sahni in a bus, where he
was working as a conductor.]

9. Which well known film critic and former editor of Filmfare made his directorial debut with the 2000 movie Fiza?

10. Who won Filmfare awards in the Best Dialogue category for movies Namak Haram and Anand?

11. Sanjeev Kumar is remembered for playing the character of Thakur in Sholay. What is the full name of this character?

12. in the last ten years, which 4 directors won Filmfare awards for Best Screenplay in their directorial debut ventures (1995, 1998, 1999, 2001)?

ANSWERS

1. Devika Rani
2. Durga Khote
3. Amitabh Bachchan
4. Bhumika
5. Kumar Sanu (1990-94: Aashiqui, Saajan, Deewana, Baazigar, and 1942: A Love Story)
6. The first Filmfare Awards function
7. Mahesh Bhatt
8. Johnny Walker
9. Khalid Mohammad
10. Gulzar
11. Thakur Baldev Singh
12. Aditya Chopra (Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge), Karan Johar (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai), John Mathew Mathan (Sarfarosh), Farhan Akhtar (Dil Chahta Hai)

Quiz 2 (CRICKET)

2005-03-31T19:07:00.000-08:00

Quiz 2 (March 14-20, 2005): Cricket [Although dealing with cricket in general, it is more focused on Indian cricket]

1. How many centuries has Sachin Tendulkar scored in ODIs? This seems to be a very easy question, but it's very easy to lose track of the number!

2. As of March 13, 2005 at what position does India stand in the ICC Test Rankings?

3. Which fast bowler (373 test wickets) made his test debut in the same match as Sachin Tendulkar?

4. Who won the man of the match award in the 2nd tied test match (Aus-Ind, Madras 1986-87)?

5. Who holds the Indian record for the longest stay at the wickets in a test inning? Any other details will get bonus credit.

6. how many triple hundreds has Sir Don Bradman scored in test matches?

7. who is the only Indian to have scored a century on his test debut at Lords?

8. rahul dravid is india's third highest run getter in tests after Gavaskar and Tendulkar. Who is the fourth highest? [hint former captain]

9. Javed Miandad's last ball six off Chetan Sharma is legendary. It was the final of which tournament (1986)?

10. Who was india's highest wicket taker in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa?:

11. India have played Pakistan 4 times in the World Cup (1991/92 Sydney, 1995/96 Bangalore, 1999 Manchester and 2002-03 Centurion).
a.Only one player apart from Tendulkar has played for India in all 4 games who is this player?
b.Which umpire has officiated in all these 4 games?

12. who is the only cricketer to have reached a test triple century with a six?

ANSWERS

1. 37
2. 3rd
3. Waqar Younis
4. Shared by Dean Jones and Kapil Dev
5. Rahul Dravid last year against Pakistan at Rawalpindi (270 off 495 balls in 740 minutes, beating Gavaskar's 172 in 708 minutes against England at Bangalore in 1981-82.
6. 2
7. Saurav Ganguly
8. Dilip Vengsarkar (6868 runs in 116 matches)
9. Australasia Cup
10. Zaheer Khan (18)
11. a. Javagal Srinath; b. David Shephard.
12. Virendra Sehwag

Quiz 1 (Academy Awards)

2005-03-31T13:09:00.000-08:00

This was sent out on Monday (March 7, 2005)

Last Sunday was the ceremony for the 77th Annual Academy Awards - this trivia series was supposed to have started from that day. Even though it didn't start last weekend, I am still going to use the awards as the topic for the first quiz. i have tried to cover a lot of categories of the awards, in order to give an allround flavor. Here is a brief intro the Academy Awards - some of you may already know it, you can move directly to the questions.

The Academy Awards are given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Here is the reason why they are called the "Oscars" - the award statuette was allegedly nicknamed Oscar when Academy librarian Margaret Herrick saw it and said, "it looks just like my uncle Oscar!". The name has since stuck, and is used very commonly. It has even been accepted by the Academy - in fact, the Academy's domain name is oscars.org and the official website for the Academy Awards is at www.oscars.com. Of course, I am hoping you will not use it as a resource to answer these questions!

1. What is the record for maximum number of Oscars for single movie (i.e. how many)? This record is shared by which three films?

2. Which was the first movie to win the award for "Best Animated Feature" in the year the Academy instituted this category (2001)?

3. For which 1996 movie did Nicholas Cage win the Oscar for best actor?

4. Which movie won the 1989 award for Best Foreign Language Film? [Hints: Directed by Guiseppe Tornatore, and a superb music score by Ennio Morricone, it is the story of a successful film director returning home to his town for the funeral of his friend, who was the projectionist at the local "movie hall" (the phrase in quotes is the giveaway). It has one of the best performances by a child artiste that I have seen. Hopefully these hints are more than enough]

5. Which 1990 movie about a cavalry officer befriending a band of Dakota "red" Indians won 7 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director

6. Which 1984 movie, based on a novel by E.M.Forster about tensions between British colonials and natives of India won 3 Academy award for Best Supporting Actress (Peggy Ashcroft), Best Music and Best Original Score?

7. Best supporting Actor awards:
a. For which 1997 movie (set in Boston) did Robin William receive the award?
b. For which 1992 western (directed by Clint Eastwood) did Gene Hackman receive the award?
c. Which actor won the Best Supporting Actor award in 2005? (he was twice nominated earlier for best actor in 1989 and 1994)

8. Which 1994 movie based on a Stephen King novel received 7 nominations but failed to win a single award? It was later listed as one of the top three movies on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) Top 250 Movies of All Time?

9. Which actress was posthumously awarded The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Academy in 1993 for her work as special ambassador for UNICEF? She won the best actress award for her role in a 1953 movie with Gregory Peck (I am not giving away the movie since it will make it too easy), and was nominated four other times for Sabrina, Wait until dark, breakfast at Tiffany's and The nun's story.

10. Which 1999 movie (whose lead character is named Thomas A. Anderson) won the Oscar for its revolutionary special effects?

11. For which 1995 movie based on the novel by Jane Austen did Emma Thompson win the award for Best Adapted Screenplay?

12. Which 1996 documentary won the award for best documentary feature? It was about the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire in 1974

ANSWERS:
1. 11, Ben Hur, Titanic and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
2. Shrek
3. Leaving Las Vegas
4. Cinema Paradiso
5. Dances with the wolves
6. A Passage to India
7. a) Goodwill Hunting
b) Unforgiven
c) Morgan Freeman
8. The Shawshank Redemption
9. Audrey Hepburn
10. The Matrix
11. Sense and Sensibility
12. While we were kings

A quizzing blog

2005-03-31T12:41:00.000-08:00

Hello all

I have been sending out a weekly quiz on a variety of topics to a bunch of my friends for the past few weeks, and on the suggestion of one of them, I decided to put the weekly quiz on the web. I thought it was a swell idea, and no better way to do it than through a blog. I have been using blogger for several months now, and am quite familiar with the interface, so it was a piece of cake. Besides it allows me to add some more spice to the quiz such as visual questions.

I will start by posting all previous quizzes. This week's quiz is on Chemistry, while previous quizzes were on Academy Awards, Cricket and Bollywood. In case you need to send me solutions, you can email me. Ofcourse, a honor system is in place, and it is hoped that you did not use the web or other sources to get the answers.

Generally, I send out the questions every Monday, and you have till the following Sunday to send in the answers. I will post the answers in the following week. Happy Quizzing ....