A General Quiz By Rajiv Rai and Anannya Deb (from the Bombay Quiz Club) for the Mumbai Book Fair 2013

1. The Powai Open Quiz
By Rajiv Rai & Anannya Deb from The Bombay Quiz Club
For
The Mumbai Book Fair, 2013

2. Qualifiers

3. Prelims
 25 questions
 Tie breaker
 Odd number questions
 Even number questions
 Sudden death
 All questions are 1 point each except where specified
 Switch off all electronic devices

4. Prelims 1
Out of the six freshwater lakes that supply to the city, name the two
lakes which lie within the municipal limits of Greater Mumbai
(Brihanmumbai)?
(1 point each)

5. Prelims 1
Vihar and Tulsi.
Definitely not Powai
lake.

6. Prelims 2
What two word Hindi term is used to describe this ordered set?
(1) Bindi (2) Sindoor (3) Maangteeka (4) Anjana (5) Nath (6) Haar
(7) Karn Phool (8) Mehendi (9) Choodiyan (10) Baajuband (11)
Aarsi (12) Keshapasharachan (13) Kamarband (14) Payal & Bichaus
(15) Itar (16) Bridal Dress

7. Prelims 2
Solah Shringar

8. Prelims 3
The Daily Telegraph first made this significant change in 1939. The
Guardian made it in 1952 and the Times in 1966. The Hindu did it
temporarily for a day on 1st Feb 1948 - the permanent change
happened only in 1958. The Times of India changed in reverse for a
day in 2000 before the flood gates opened up.
What?

9. Prelims 3
News on Page 1. Before
that they used to feature
ads. TOI reversed it for
the launch of Indya.com
in 2000!
Now it is a daily irritant
for newspaper readers.

10. Prelims 4
With the introduction of Hindu-Arabic Numerals system, what
could Latin speaking people do which they couldn’t with Roman
numerals?

11. Prelims 4
Write the number “0”.
There is no “zero” in the
Roman numeral system

12. Prelims 5
One of the unsolved problems in physics is the attempt to reconcile
/ combine the two major strands of physics – the general theory of
relativity and the quantum field theory. It essentially aims at unifying
the four concepts of gravity, electro-magnetism, weak and strong
nuclear interactions and explain all phenomena in the physical
world using these four forces. The term used for this problem in
technical literature was first used by John Ellis in a paper published
in 1986 though it has been used, as a joke, in literature, notably in
Stanislaw Lem’s science fiction works. What is the term used to
refer to this problem?

13. Prelims 5
Theory of Everything.

14. Prelims 6
Sir Edwin Alliot Verdon Roe was the first Englishman to fly a British
made aircraft in 1909. In 1910, he and his brother Humphrey
founded the A.V. Roe and Company. The company existed till 1963
when it became amalgamated with the Hawker Siddeley Aircraft
Company. What were their planes called?

15. Prelims 6
Avro (from AV Roe)

16. Prelims 7
In random order, we have this exhaustive set:
Algeria, Burkina Faso, France, Ghana, Spain, Togo, Mali, ______
Give the missing country. (blanks are not indicative)

17. Prelims 7
Great Britain
These are countries
through which the
Prime Meridien (0
Degree Longitude)
passes through
England / UK is
acceptable

18. Prelims 8
In America, many coffee companies offer a blend which takes coffee
from Kenya, Indonesia and Hawaii. How do they generally market
this blend?

19. Prelims 8
Obama Coffee
All these are places
associated with Obama’s
childhood

20. Prelims 9
With Columbus claiming to have discovered India in the west, it was
left to the East India Company to define the term East Indies. As per
their charter drawn in 1600, what was the geographical
landmark that was defined as the point from where the East Indies
began?

21. Prelims 9
The Cape of Good Hope

22. Prelims 10
Freddie Maake, a life long supporter of the Kaiser Chiefs football
club in the South African football league, claimed that he invented
the vuvuzela. It was originally called Boogieblast but decided to
rename it in 1990 with a Zulu word which he claims means
“welcome”, “unite” and “celebration”. What historic event in South
African history triggered his decision to rename it?

23. Prelims 10
The Release of Nelson
Mandela in 1990

24. Prelims 11
If syphilis is large, variola is small, who or what is varicella?

25. Prelims 11
Chicken (pox)

26. Prelims 12
Complete the following poem by Basho to give a title of the 12th
novel of an author.
___ ____ ____ _____
Once when you are born
And once when you look death in the face

27. Prelims 12
You Only Live Twice

28. Prelims 13
Rae Bareli has been with the Nehru-Gandhi family since 1952. Who
was the first person from the family to win the Lok Sabha seat
here?

29. Prelims 13
Feroze Gandhi

30. Prelims 14
It was locally called “Scones Theory” but when a journalist had to
file a report, he had to explain what it meant. Being parsimonious,
what did he end up writing?

31. Prelims 14
Bodyline.
Hugh Buggy saved
telegram charges for 5
words by shortening “in
the line of the body”. Bob
Woodfull’s men referred
to it as Scones theory
while Jardine called it
the leg theory

32. Prelims 15
Bappida, who has been giving us gaan for 40 years now, said “I felt
very much nostalgica. Just like Bappi-Mithun style … all disco. I gave
disco word to India with the Mithun Chakraborty. He also became
Mithun because of Disco Dancer… sorry, not Disco Dancer but ________
… (hums)”
Name the film and also the special name of the character played
by the lead actor.
(1 point each)
(video removed)

33. Answer 15
Suraksha and Mithun
was Gopi or Special
Agent Gunmaster G-9

34. Prelims 16
This is the opening piece of which composition, arguably the most
influential piece of music in the last 100 years.
(audio removed)

35. Prelims 16
The Rite of Spring, a
ballet performed by
Diagliev’s company,
choreographed by
Nijinsky and music by
Igor Stravinsky

36. Prelims 17
This is a performance by a 1940s musician and his band who are
considered the pioneers of which style or genre of music?
(video removed)

37. Prelims 17
Bluegrass music.
So called because of Bill
Monroe and the Blue
Grass Boys

38. Prelims 18
Name the two singers of these songs
(1 point each)
(audio removed)

39. Prelims 18
Peter Sarstedt and
Anjan Dutta
Both have a Darjeeling
connection

40. Prelims 19
What prominent landmark of New York, named after a former
mayor, is referenced in this song?
(audio removed)

41. Prelims 19
The Ed Koch
Queensboro Bridge
(locally called 59th
Street Bridge)

42. Prelims 20
He was born in Karachi, and was a cricketer before joining films. He
came to Mumbai in 1952, and Chetan Anand introduced him in his
movie 'Haqueeqat'. 'Aaya Sawan Jhoom Ke' gave him his permanent
look, and a 1975 blockbuster contributed his popular name. His last
appearance was in his niece Raveena Tandon's movie 'Stumped'.
Who?

43. Prelims 20
MacMohan

44. Prelims 21
The designs for this pair of shoes are based on which comic
character?

46. Prelims 21
Iron Man

47. Prelims 22
In contemporary history, what achievement connects these two?

50. Prelims 22
For the first time in
either country / state,
an elected Prime
Minister / Chief Minister
completed a full five-
year term.

51. Prelims 23
On the Centre for Environment Education website, these lovely
word portraits are put up:
What’s going on?
Rhizobium: I live in a rented
house (roots) and I pay rent by
fixing nitrogen.
Mucor: Although I look like
fluffy cotton, I am not a delicate
darling…. I am your source of the
new fuel ethanol in cars
Blue Mold: I cause food spoilage
but I ooze a substance called
Pencillin
E Coli: I am the king of the gut
Also included are Wild Yeast,
Spirogyra, Lactobacillus,
Bacteriophage T4

52. Prelims 23
Campaign to get
people to vote for the
National Microbe of
India (just like you have
National Animal, Bird,
etc.)

53. Prelims 24
Which is the only Indian commercial organization that can boast
of having had 5 Chief Ministers as its employees?

54. Prelims 24
AVM Studios

55. Prelims 25
Give the first line of the poem called Tarana-e-Hind which was set
to music by Pt. Ravi Shankar?

56. Prelims 25
Saare Jahaan Se
Achcha, Hindustan
Hamara

57. Finals

58. Audience
Who will be the Chief Executive of The
Apprentice Asia, a version of The Apprentice
franchise which has Donald Trump and Richard
Branson playing those roles in other markets?
(This person has an Indian father (said to be from
Goa / Chennai in different sources) and a
Kristang mother (a Christian community in his
country.)

59. Tony Fernandes of Air Asia

60. Finals 1
A Tale of which two cities, where the rulers of City 1 destroyed City
2.
City 1:
Named “Victory City” by the
Chalukyas of Kalyan; between
1518 till 1686, it was one of
two most powerful cities
outside the Mughal empire
City 2:
Named “Victory City” by its
founders; between the 14th
and 16th century, European
travelers compared it with the
glory of Rome.

61. Finals 1
City 1: Bijapur
(“Vijayapur”)
City 2: Vijayanagara

62. Finals 2
Primula elatior and primula veris are two closely related flower
species which get their similar common names due to their
abundance in boggy pastures frequented by bovine creatures.
Shakespeare found them interesting enough to write copious lines
about them. In A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Puck describes a key
feature of primula veris
“The ________ tall Titania’s pensioners be,
In their gold coats spots you see,
Those be rubies, fairy favours
In those freckles live their saviours”
Which flowers are these?

63. Primula elatior
primula veris

64. Finals 2
Oxslips and Cowslips

65. Finals 3
The mystical teachings of the Hebrew Kabbala used them heavily.
French kings during the Renaissance were so convinced of their
magic powers that Royal practitioners in the art were appointed at
court. The Romans self-referentially called their practice ars magna,
or the "Great Art". What?

66. Finals 3
anagrams
Interestingly, ars magna
is an anagram of
anagrams

67. Finals 4
Since 2009, Usain Bolt has refused to participate in any athletic
meet in England. Barring the 2012 London Olympics, he has stayed
away even from the lucrative Diamond League meets. However, due
to certain changes in the rules, he has agreed to participate in the
2013 London Diamond League meet (which will also be celebrated
as an anniversary of the Olympics). What is the quite mundane
reason for his staying away from England?

68. Finals 4
Because of the
prevailing tax
laws, Bolt had to pay a
significant sum of his
winnings. He decided to
stay away.
They have changed that.

69. Finals 5
A popular metre, first heard in the 1938 film Algiers, rides through
60 years of Hindi film music.
Name any 2 of the 3 music composers whose songs you will hear
(5 points)
Name the original song. (5 points)
(audio removed)

70. Finals 5
SD
Burman, Roshan, Madan
Mohan respectively.
Charles Boyer sings C’est
la vie in Algiers. Listen
Though very different
songs, it is the metre
(syllable structures) that
is the same

71. Finals 6
German chemist Scheele was studying a compound used by a
particular group of artisans / craftsmen. He identified it as
hydrofluoric acid in 1771 and described various properties of it.
Funnily, the property which was useful to artisans was an
inconvenience in the laboratory as most equipment would not be
able to store HF acid. A little over 100 years later, Henri Moissan
was successfully able to isolate fluorine gas from the acid using
platinum containers and he received the 1906 Nobel Prize for it.
The question, what was the property of hydrofluoric acid that
was useful to artists or what kind of artists used hydrofluoric
acid?

72. Finals 6
Glass etching artists
used HF acid because it
dissolves glass. While
no one saw fluorine as
an element, its mineral
form fluorspar was well
known. Fluorspar
dissolved in sulphuric
acid gave glass etchers
their main tool.

73. Finals 7
Literally meaning “a sailing around”, this Greco-Latin term came to
refer to a document listing down ports and features along a
coastline visited by a ship. Information on distances, availability of
fresh water, supplies, etc. were also added. This term is part of the
earliest known travelogue, that of a Carthagian admiral, in recorded
history. What word?

74. Finals 7
Periplus as used in The
Periplus of Hanno and
The Periplus of the
Erythrean Sea

75. Finals 8
In 1969, during the production of the documentary Something
Beautiful for God, at one particular location in Calcutta, despite the
poor lighting conditions, the footage that was taken turned out to be
bright and clear. Was it a new kind of film that the cameraman was
using or was it a miracle? Who was the subject of the footage?

76. Finals 8
Mother Theresa

77. Finals 9
With respect to the planet Venus, Alpha Regio (a vast volcanic
region and the first major feature discovered), Beta Regio (a vast
volcanic region) and Maxwell Montes (a mountain) are the only
exceptions to what rule?

78. Finals 9
Only features not named
after females. As per the
IAU convention, all
features on Venus (the
goddess of beauty) are
named after females
(goddesses, common
female names, famous
women, etc.)

79. Finals 10
In 2010, a minor controversy erupted when Shubha Saxena
reminisced “My father had got new shoes for me, and was taking me
to the bus stop. Sardi ke din the, it was foggy and windy, and along the
way my father began to hum…”
In response, an eminent literateur retorted “I have not stolen any
shoes. I simply kept it aside and ran.”
What’s the story?

80. Finals 10 Saxena’s poem went:
Ibn-e-Battuta
Pahan ke joota
Nikal pade toofan mein
Thodi hawa naak mein ghoos gayi
Thodi ghus gayi kaan mein
Gulzar’s song went:
Ibn-e-Battuta
Bagal mein joota
Pehne to karta hai churr
Ud ud aave, dana chugeve
Sarveshwar Dayal
Saxena’s Battuta ka
Joota versus Gulzar’s
Ibn-e-Battuta bagal
mein joota.

81. Finals 11
The Latin alphabet had only 23 letters as compared to the Roman
alphabet (26). There was no use for W and V was used to represent
U. The third letter that is missing probably explains an important
pronunciation phenomenon. Name the third letter and recall a
famous Sean Connery dialogue which explains the missing letter.

82. Finals 11
“But in the Latin
alphabet Jehovah
begins with an I” says
Sean Connery in Indiana
Jones and The Last
Crusade
There is no J in ancient
Latin, hence Juventus,
Javier, Juan, etc.

83. Finals 12
10 years ago, anthropologists in Flores, Indonesia discovered a cave
full of pre-historic skeletons. Called homo floresiensis, these
skeletons were of a human-like species but extremely small – about
a metre tall, weighing about 25 kilos and a brain the size of a chimp.
The initial theory was that they were a separate species of human
beings who suffered some debilitating disease. However, a recent
study says that these were, possibly, descendants of home erectus
(ancestors of homo sapiens, i.e. us humans) whose size diminished
through a process of evolution called insular dwarfism. The
question is, what was the more popular name, based on the
prevailing pop culture theme, given to homo floresiensis?

84. Finals 12
“Hobbit” Human

85. Finals 13
This is the "Actor", the award statuette given by the Screen Actors'
Guild. The statuette pays homage by depicting a great acting
moment of a great role. Which scene and role?

87. Finals 13
Hamlet's scene in the
graveyard where he
picks Yorrick's skull,
and says "Alas, poor
Yorrick. I knew him,
Horatio." (Act V Scene I)
The most misquoted
line in literature.

88. Finals 14
The quest for what connects these products and concepts –
Dresden porcelain, gunpowder, sulphuric acid, Glauber’s salts, van
Helmont’s theories on gases.

89. Finals 14
The Philosopher’s
Stone
These products were
discovered
serendipitously by
people working on
making the stone.

90. Finals 15
Tectonic events like earthquakes in the Siwalik mountain areas are
common. Over time, they have led to changes in elevation and tilt of
the land. According to paleontological and geological evidence, the
Satluj (or Shataduri as it was called in Rigvedic times) and the
Yamuna drained in present day Rajasthan desert. But between 3000
BC till about 1700 BC, due to the tectonic events, the course of these
rivers changed to what they are today. Two theories from the world
of geology and natural history are tied to this phenomenon – one
concerns a disappearance, the other concerns a separation. Give
both the theories.

91. Finals 15
The disappearance
(drying up) of the
Saraswati river (fed by
the waters of Satluj and
Yamuna).
The two separate
populations of the
Gangetic River Dolphin
in the Indus systems and
the Ganges river systems

92. By what endearment did Raj Kapoor
address Hrishikesh Mukherjee, a long-
time friend of his?
Audience

93. Audience
Babumoshai.
Hrishikesh dedicated
"Anand" to Raj Kapoor
(along with the city of
Bombay) and based the
character of Rajesh
Khanna on him.
Amitabh's character was
based on Hrishikesh
himself.

94. Finals 16
On February 6th 2013, in a friendly football match against
Palestine, Neelkanth Khambolja made his debut for India.
However, people who know football know him by a different name.
Name him and what first did he achieve with his debut for India?

95. Finals 16
Arata Izumi, the first
PIO to play for India.
Arata, Japanese mother,
Indian father, was a
Japanese citizen till
2012

96. Anti-Clock

97. Finals 17
On 4th December 1981, tragedy struck when about 45 people,
mostly school children and their teachers, died. They were in a
staircase when the electricity ran out. In the darkness, confusion
prevailed leading to a stampede. Where was this and what
pleasure are we, henceforth, denied because of this incident?

98. Finals 17
Qutub Minar
They stopped allowing
people to enter the
monument, climb up to
the top and take a view
of Delhi from the top of
the tallest minaret in the
country.

99. Finals 18
What is this list and who are the missing people?
_____________
St Evaristus (97 – 105)
St Anicetus (155 – 166)
St Victor (189 – 199)
St Miltiades (311 – 314)
St Gelasius (492 – 496)
Theodore I (642 – 649)
John V (685 – 686)
Sisinnius (708 – 708)
Constantine (708 – 715)
St Gregory III (731 – 741)
________________

100. Finals 18
These are all Popes
who were born
outside Europe.
The first person was St
Peter (born in Galilee)
and the last person is
the current pope
Francis I

101. Finals 19
Ernie Pyle, war correspondent with over 400 daily and 300 weekly
publications, glorified the soldier. He suggested that soldiers get
combat pay which was later accepted under the Ernie Pyle Bill.
Sadly, he was killed by a sniper in the Okinawa campaign in
April, 1945. In pop culture, a film starring Burgess Meredith playing
Ernie Pyle and featuring Robert Mitchum as Lt Capt Bill Walker
created which iconic character?

102. Finals 19
GI Joe. The film was
called The Story of GI
Joe, based on his
descriptions of the
common soldier. The
action figure was based
on this film.

103. Finals 20
Al-Sayed Muhiyuddin Abu Muhammad Abdul Qadir al-Gilani al-
Hasani wal-Hussaini, (1077 – 1166), is the founder of the Qadiri /
Qadariyah silsila (Sufi order). He is known as al-Gauth al-Azam
“Supreme Helper” in the Arabic world. In India, he is revered as a
saint who “extends his hands” to all who come for help. Why was he
in the news in India last year?

104. Finals 20
The fire at Ziyarat of
Peer Dastageer Sahib
in Srinagar.
Dastageer means “one
who extends his hands”

105. Finals 21
Dick Francis, the prolific crime and thriller novelist, has many
quirks in his novels. One of these is that his plots begin with some
events that occur on January 1st. What is the logic of January 1st in
the context of Dick Francis’ work?

106. Finals 21
January 1st is the
official birthday of
racehorses, a subject of
all Dick Francis novels

107. Finals 22
In Iceland, a country of 300,000, three engineering students came
up with a much needed Android app, linked to Iceland’s online
registry Iselendingabok, with the tag line “Bump the app before you
bump in bed”. It addresses what serious social problem for young
Icelanders?

108. Finals 22
To check whether the
nice guy you met at the
bar is your long lost
cousin or not. Everyone
in Iceland is related to
each other. This makes
one-night stands very
risky in terms of incest.

109. Finals 23
The Refugee Council of Australia has recommended a new category
of refugees to be added to the existing Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees. Currently, this convention, drawn up in 1951
after WW2, focuses on people fleeing persecution. The need for this
new category rose because in New Zealand last year, a 36 year old
man from Kiribati sought asylum but was denied and deported.
What new category is the Refugee Council of Australia proposing?

110. Finals 23
Climate Change
Refugee.
People from the various
Pacific islands who are
displaced because their
homes are now under
water

111. Finals 24
They were the most curious army ever. They were not allowed to
marry, or to grow beards, the mark of free men. The troops were
organised into ortas, literally 'hearths', and ranks were based on
positions in the kitchen - such as Chief Soup Maker, Chief Cook.
Their chief military insignia was their kazan or cauldron, which they
would never abandon in battle. At the time of their disbandment,
now referred to as 'The Auspicious Incident', they had grown to
almost 200,000. They were the first and biggest standing army since
the Roman Praetorian Guard. Who?

112. Finals 24
The Janissaries of the
Ottoman Empire

113. Finals 25
The couplet that you will hear is based on the work of of a 12th
century Sufi mystic who is also considered to be the progenitor of
Punjabi literature. Three parts to this question:
(a)Name the mystic
(b)Name the Indian town which gets its name from him
(c) Name the literary work in which the original form of this
couplet is featured
(Audio Removed)

114. Finals 25
Baba Farid and
Faridkot and
Guru Granth Sahib

115. Finals 26
Who is talking about what?
Actually the domain name came after the instant messaging screen
name, which I picked late one night. Five, six, maybe seven years
ago, I was tired of having names that meant something.
Skywalker4, Animorph7... I wanted to pick a name that I wouldn't
get tired of. That would just always mean me. So I just went down
combination of letters that weren't taken, until I could find one
that didn't have any meaning, didn't have any pronunciation, and
didn't seem like an obvious acronym for anything.

116. Finals 26
Randall Munro on
choosing the name
XKCD

117. Finals 27
In order to give a three-day long weekend, in the state of
Massacheusetts, what American public holiday was moved from
April 19th to the third Monday of April?
And what is the main event of the morning?

118. Finals 27
Patriots’ Day (the day
when the American War
of Independence began
in Lexington and
Concord)
The Boston Marathon
FWIW, the 2013
winners were Lelisa
Desisa (ETH) and Rita
Jeptoo (KEN)

119. Finals 28
One for the page 3 types.
Abhishek Bachchan, it is believed, coined this nickname for his co-
star in a 2005 film and it became popular with everyone.
Later, Rohan Sippy, in his film Taxi No 9211, used the nickname to
officially credit the person for a cameo. Who and what nickname?

120. Finals 28
Priyanka Chopra and
Piggy Chops

121. Finals 29
In ancient India, during rituals like the Ashwamedha, among the
many things was the recitation of certain passages of the
Brahmanas, the commentaries on the Vedas. During these
recitations, the phrase “and so indeed it was …” was used.
Amarakosha, a Sanskrit thesaurus, lists this as which three-
syllable word, technically used to refer to literature like the
Ramayana and the Mahabharata?

122. Finals 29
Itihasa
Iti + ha + asa = and so
indeed it was

123. Finals 30
If it is “Eagle or Sun” in Mexico, “Castile or Leon” in Spain, “Omete or
Ura” in Japanese, “Capita aut Navim” in Latin, Cara or Coroa in
Brazil, what is it in English?

124. Finals 30
Head or Tail

125. Finals 31
Give the beginning and end of this 20th century chronological list:
1948 Palestine, 1956 Sudan, 1957 Ghana, 1960 Nigeria, 1962
Trnidad & Tobago, 1963 Kenya, 1966 Guyana, 1970 Fiji, 1973, The
Bahamas, 1980 Zimbabwe, 1981, Belize and 1991 Brunei.

126. Finals 31
1947 India and 1997
Hongkong. The
decolonisation of the
British Empire.

127. Finals 32
Exactly 100 years ago, on 21st April 1913, a select gathering of
invited guests were given a preview of Raja Harishchandra. The
public screening of it was on May 3rd 1913 at the Coronation
Cinema. The birth of the Indian film industry is generally tagged to
this event. However, 18th May 1912, Dadasaheb Torne made
Pundalik and premiered it also at the Coronation Cinema in Bombay.
However, due to what technicalities is this film not honoured as
the first feature film in India?

128. Finals 32
One, the film was
essentially footage of a
play being performed
(specially for the film, one
must say)
Two, it was not a
completely Indian
production - the
cameraman was a
Britisher and the
processing was done in
England

129. Thank you!!!