MELA @ MAHAQUMBH - MELA QUIZ

Prelims
25 questions for 30 points, 1-20 are 1-pointers, 21-25 are 2-pointers
Questions 11-20 are star-pointers and will be used to resolve ties. If a tie still persists, sudden
death will occur.
Top 6 teams make it to the finals.
Blocking hints, calling me Basab or indulging in uncalled-for behavior will result in
disqualification.
Please refrain from using unfair means for that will also result in disqualification.

1.
What follows right after in this scene is the 2nd highest ranked song on AFI’s list of Top 100 Most
Memorable Movie Songs. Which is the only song that ranks higher?

2.
Starring Bharat Bhushan in the titular role, Sohrab Modi’s Mirza Ghalib told the story of the
eponymous poet-legend who lived during 19th Century India. The film won the President’s Gold
Medal for the best film and the performance by Suraiya, who played the role of Ghalib’s
courtesan, was received with humongous praise.
The story of the movie was someone’s final living credit as writer, although since then it has
appeared in numerous movies across different film industries, the latest being during the latter
half of 2018.
Who wrote the story for Mirza Ghalib?

3.
Juan Fernandez Islands is a sparsely populated archipelago 670 km off the coast of Chile. The
group consists of three islands of which the smallest is the Santa Clara Island. Alejandro Selkirk
Island, the second island, is named after a Royal Navy officer who spent four months here as a
castaway in the first decade of the 18th Century.
Selkirk’s story was widely publicized after his return to England and might or might not have
inspired a bestseller that came out a decade later. This work is what gives its name to the third
and most visited island in the Juan Fernandez Archipelago.
Who/what is the island named after?

4.
As part of celebrations to observe the artist’s 350th Death Anniversary, the X House Museum is
running an exhibition titled X’s ______ _______ from February 1 to May 19 this year. The
exhibition draws from an ostensibly contemporary theme and explores how the artist made use
of contacts to acquire commissions and sell art, and people he turned to for support during
financial difficulty.
Who is the artist? What 2-word trendy and non-reclusive title, that one would also associate with
a 2010 movie, has been given to the exhibition by the museum?

5.
The recurring bird character in Charles M Schulz’s
Peanuts made its first appearance in 1967, but was
only given a name in 1970.
Born on the stomach of Snoopy where its mother laid
him, it was named by Schulz after an impactful
cultural event which had taken place about a year
before the character’s rechristening, and admitted to
the same during the mid-1970s.
What is the bird named?

6.
Daria is a recurring character in American animated sit-com Beavis and Butthead, who was later
featured as the protagonist of an eponymous spin-off. The eldest daughter of the Morgendorffer
family, Daria is a student of Lawndale High who is described by its creators as a disaffected and
misanthropic character.
Daria's best known characteristic is her deadpan sarcasm; her usual reaction to almost anything
and everyone being a dry, witty remark at their expense. Described as a naturally intelligent but
immensely lazy girl who likes to get away by doing the bare minimum, she is commonly
perceived as being very unhappy.
Due to these character traits and her appearance, another character from a TV Show of this
decade is compared to her in of the episodes of the newer show, calling her a version of Daria
from a different continent.
Which character? (image follows)

7.
Henry Hudson was an English explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known
for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States.
Hudson landed in North America in 1609 and explored the region around the modern New York
metropolitan area, looking for a Northwest Passage to Asia on behalf of the Dutch East India
Company. He was cast adrift by mutineers on his ship in 1611 along with seven others and was
never seen again.
It is theorised that the strangers met by a lazy resident of the Appalachain while escaping
household chores were actually members of Hudson’s crew, which would explain their strange
appearances and their potent and powerful liquor which – drinking which would result in the
person being invisible for an entire generation.
Whom did Hudson’s crew supposedly meet?

8.
After Munch is a series of 15 artworks published between 1983 and 1984, featuring some of the
most renowned motifs of the Norse artist. It was published by someone who was attracted to
Munch and his style much more than their own. The fact that Munch was technologically
innovative with his experiments of new textures and colors probably added to their interest
towards him, themselves a leading figure in the Pop Art Movement.
Look at the following images and tell who published After Munch.

9.
Mean Girls is a 2004 teen drama movie directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey.
Partially based on Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 non-fiction self-help book, Queen Bees and
Wannabes, which describes female high school social cliques and the damaging effects they can
have on girls, the movie grossed around $129 million worldwide and has since attained a cult
following and reentered public consciousness last year.
One of the most iconic moments of the movie was the introduction scene of “The Plastics” – a
group of four girls who ranked the highest on the social order – and their leader Regina George.
Carefully look at the video on the next slide and tell where would you have seen a similar
sequence recently?

10.
Abbas Tyrewala's “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na” can easily be termed as Imran Khan’s most memorable
performance. The film, apart from having a feel-good story and a catchy, balanced soundtrack,
also packed a very intelligent Easter Egg towards the very end. As Aditi and Jay exit the airport
along with their friends on returning from their honeymoon, keen-eyed spectators can notice a
stranger awaiting someone's arrival, since what seems to be very long.
Who is this person, who seemingly hasn’t arrived in forever?

11.
The Gardener is a 1913 anthology of prose of “mostly lyrics of love and life.” Not much is known
about the work, except for the fact that the translations in this book were done much earlier
than its more famous sibling, and that it played almost as significant a role in establishing a
continental first for its creator, although it has completely been foreshadowed by the sibling.
What is this more famous sibling of The Gardener?

12.
Since 1914 when it was discovered, there have been multiple speculations and theories about
its missing left eye. Some assumed that the quartz iris of the left eye had fallen out when the
sculptor's workshop fell into ruin. Dietrich Wildung proposed that the sculpture presently in
Berlin was a model for official portraits and was used by the master sculptor for teaching his
pupils how to carve the internal structure of the eye, and thus the left iris was not added.
The missing eye also led to speculation that the subject may have suffered from an ophthalmic
infection, and actually lost their left eye, though the presence of an iris in other statues of
contradicted this possibility. However, despite the presence of the eye in other portraits of that
time, most versions today come with a missing eye.
What piece of famous and widely imitated sculpture are we talking about?

14.
While last year’s summer blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians got heaps of praise globally for being the
first major, mainstream studio production comprising an all-Asian cast and crew, the local
Singaporean community felt cheated over the film’s cast. The male protagonist was played by a
British-Malaysian actor with a strong British accent, and other roles too were given to actors
who were not necessarily Chinese or Singaporean, just ethnically “Asian enough” to fit the cast.
The film also drew in criticism for its inaccurate treatment of Singapore and its localities. All of
this led to locals using a two-word term for the treatment of the film by Warner Bros., referring
to a similar, rampant practice, albeit one that would pale in comparison to this instance, and
modifying it to something more Asian.
What first-of-a-practice did they accuse the Warner Brothers of?

15.
The Guardian in a 2017 editorial on the occasion of their 200th Death Anniversary discussed how
snobbery has continued to cloud the celebration of one of Britain’s greatest writers. The article
goes on to discuss how they would have flipped in their grave given the popularity their most
famous work enjoys, with Zombie spin-offs and umpteen TV adaptations, as well as spawning off
another literary series.
The article laments the celebration of their stories as romantic ideals and the market for
“Scented-candles” inspired by their works and Book Clubs dedicated to them, and goes on to
say, “Much as their heroes save their heroines from poverty or reliance on grim relations, so
respectable admirers must rescue the author from these fans.”
The article is aptly subtitled as “_____, not _________”, taking inspiration from their bestselling
work. FITB.

16.
A sketch of The infant Hercules strangling Serpents by Joshua Reynolds has featured as the logo
of Woodward’s Gripe Water since long ago, to sell it’s reliability as a medicinal consumable for
children. However, in the early twentieth century, during the fervor of nationalism, Woodward’s
decided to identify itself with other imageries, using nationalist artwork in their calendars to
connect better with the local, nationalist crowd.
Whose images did Woodward’s primarily use to identify and connect with local mothers?

17.
In mid-2008, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy were touring the country with a debutant singer. Their tours
also included occasional appearances from people like Luke Kenny and Purab Kohli. A few
months later, the debutant singer came up with their own band.
Who was this singer? Why were Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy touring with him?

18.
Exit Through the Gift Shop is a 2010 documentary movie that tells the story of French immigrant
Thierry Guetta in Los Angeles, and his obsession with street art. Narrated by Rhys Ifans with
music by Geoff Barrow, the film premiered at the Sundance International Film Festival and was
also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Picture.
Produced by a Paranoid Pictures, there has been extensive debate since the film’s release over
whether the documentary is genuine or a mockumentary, although the director answered "Yes"
when asked if the film is real.
Why has there been such extensive debate over the film’s ingenuity/who is the director of the
movie? (video follows)

19.
The Mahabharata Secret is a 2013 thriller novel by Christopher C Doyle which speculates the
existence of a Vimana Parva in the Mahabharata, attributing its hiding to the Nine Unknown of
Ashoka’s reign. The book takes the reader through multiple locations of Mauryan importance,
including Bairat in Hazaribagh and Marang Buru in Jharkhand.
One such location explored in detail in the book is a site in Bihar near Gaya, which have existed
in popular literary imagination from much before the book’s release. The site is the oldest of its
kind and its walls are filled with Ashokan edicts.
Which site is this, first appearing in a fictionalised avatar in a twentieth century work that
derives its name from a Walt Whitman creation?

20.
Vladimir Serebrovsky was a Russian Painter who was mostly known for his work on set
decorations, easel painting, theater posters, and book graphics in the style of the Russian Silver
Age. He worked in the Moscow Theatre for 30 years.
A major theme in Serebrovsky’s work was his love for the east. He left home for Tajikistan in the
1970s and travelled through Nepal, India and Japan. Much like his predecessor Nicholas Roerich,
mountains held a special place in his artworks.
One of Serebrovsky’s most famous works is something he created as a “reply” of sorts to a very
famous series from the nineteenth century. Serebrovsky’s work comprises a century of paintings
on different angles of a geographical feature known as the roof of the world.
What is this series called?

21.
Brown Man’s Funk is the debut album by The Revisit Project, a funk band comprising of Delhi-
based musicians. The album celebrates brown stories and inspirations and comprises of eight
tracks. The debut single from the album is an instrumental piece which begins with the
saxophonist asking the guitarist whether his is a particular kind of guitar, to which he replies
with “Did you just ______ __ ______?” What punny question completes the name of the track?
The second single from the album is a tribute song. To shoot the music video for the same,
Abhay Shamra and other members of the band called out to their contacts asking for cricket
pads, helmets and wicket-keeping gloves. The song speaks of the exploits of the subject in
Adelaide and Calcutta, and further goes on to applaud him for his heroics which also include
taking charge of the U-19 team. Who is the song a tribute to?

22.
This is Danny Chan Kwok-Kwan, a Hong Kong
Chinese actor who rose into prominence with
the Stephen Chow films Shaolin Soccer and
Kung Fu Hustle, but his big break came while
playing a very famous character in a TV Show
in 2008. Which character?
He subsequently went on to reprise his role as
the same character in later installments of a
world-famous franchise from Hong Kong, in
2015 and 2018. Which franchise?

23.
“Within the next generation I believe that the world's rulers will discover that infant
conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs
and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people
into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience.”
The above are excerpts from a letter X sent to Y after reading his work, which came out more
than seventeen years after his own work. Often compared for their similarities, the scenario in
X’s work has come to closely be associated with modern liberal-capitalist regimes, while
elements of Y’s vision are more to be found in ex-communist dictatorships.
Who are X and Y? Also mention their respective works.

24.
Jacopo Comin, known more popularly as Tintoretto, was an Italian painter of the renaissance
period and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. The speed with which he painted, and
the unprecedented boldness of his brushwork, were both admired and criticized by his
contemporaries. He was termed Il Furioso for his phenomenal and unconventional display of
energy while painting.
Towards the period of his death, Tintoretto experimented unconventionally with light in his
works, and these can be seen in his biblical works from the later period. The following slides
contain two of his adaptations of famous biblical events. Identify each for a point (1+1)

25.
Kajar Bin Kare is a track from the second season of Coke Studio @ MTV, which is co-composed
and sung by Salim Merchant. The song was written long ago by Salim in collaboration with
another artist, who had died the previous year, and whom the track largely pays homage to.
Who?
The track is produced by Karsh Kale, an American musician who is seen as one of the pioneers of
the Asian Underground genre of Music which mixes disparate genres of music such as Indian
classical and folk with electronica, rock, pop and ambient music. Kale began as his work with a
group called the _____ Beat Science the style of which consisted of a mixture of Hindustani
music, Asian Underground, ambient music, drum and bass and electronica. The group was co-
founded by Bill Lawsell and an Indian. Who is this Indian?

4.
As part of celebrations to observe the artist’s 350th Death Anniversary, the X House Museum is
running an exhibition titled X’s ______ _______ from February 1 to May 19 this year. The
exhibition draws from an ostensibly contemporary theme and explores how the artist made use
of contacts to acquire commissions and sell art, and people he turned to for support during
financial difficulty.
Who is the artist? What 2-word trendy title, that one would also associate with a 2010 movie, has
been given to the exhibition by the museum?

X – Rembrandt, Social Network

5.
The recurring bird character in Charles M Schulz’s
Peanuts made its first appearance in 1967, but was
only given a name in 1970.
Born on the stomach of Snoopy where its mother laid
it, it was named by Schulz after an impactful cultural
event which had taken place about a year before the
character’s rechristening, and admitted to the same
during the mid-1970s.
What is the bird named?

7.
Henry Hudson was an English explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known
for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States.
Hudson landed in North America in 1609 and explored the region around the modern New York
metropolitan area, looking for a Northwest Passage to Asia on behalf of the Dutch East India
Company. He was cast adrift by mutineers on his ship in 1611 along with seven others and was
never seen again.
It is theorised that the strangers that a lazy resident of the Appalachain met during his escape
from household chores were actually the spirits of Hudson’s crew, which would explain their
strange appearances and their potent and powerful liquor resulting in him being invisible for the
entire next generation.
Whom did Hudson’s crew supposedly meet?

Thank U, Next opening sequence

12.
Since 1914 when it was discovered, there have been multiple speculations and theories about
its missing left eye. Some assumed that the quartz iris of the left eye had fallen out when the
sculptor's workshop fell into ruin. Dietrich Wildung proposed that the sculpture presently in
Berlin was a model for official portraits and was used by the master sculptor for teaching his
pupils how to carve the internal structure of the eye, and thus the left iris was not added.
The missing eye also led to speculation that the subject may have suffered from an ophthalmic
infection, and actually lost their left eye, though the presence of an iris in other statues of
contradicted this possibility. However, despite the presence of the eye in other portraits of that
time, most versions today come with a missing eye.
What famous and widely imitated piece of sculpture are we talking about?

14.
While last year’s summer blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians got heaps of praise globally for being the
first major, mainstream studio production comprising an all-Asian cast and crew, the local
Singaporean community felt cheated over the film’s cast. The male protagonist was played by a
British-Malaysian actor with a strong British accent, and other roles too were given to actors
who were not necessarily Chinese or Singaporean, just ethnically “Asian enough” to fit the cast.
The film also drew in criticism for its inaccurate treatment of Singapore and its localities. All of
this led to locals using a two-word term for the treatment of the film by Warner Bros., referring
to a similar, more rampant practice – albeit one that would pale in comparison to this instance –
and modifying it to something more Asian.
What first-of-a-practice did they accuse the Warner Brothers of?

16.
A sketch of The infant Hercules strangling Serpents by Joshua Reynolds has featured as the logo
of Woodward’s Gripe Water since long ago, to sell it’s reliability as a medicinal consumable for
children. However, in the early twentieth century, during the fervor of nationalism in the
subcontinent, Woodward’s decided to identify itself with other imageries, using nationalist
artwork in their calendars to connect better with the local, nationalist crowd.
Which baby’s images did Woodward’s primarily use to identify and connect with local mothers?

Farhan Akhtar; Rock On promotional
tours

21.
Brown Man’s Funk is the second album by The Revisit Project, a funk band comprising of Delhi-
based musicians. The album celebrates brown stories and inspirations and comprises of eight
tracks. The first single from the album is an instrumental piece which begins with the
saxophonist asking the guitarist whether his is a particular kind of guitar, to which he replies
with “Did you just ______ __ ______?” What punny question completes the name of the track?
The second single from the album is a tribute song. To shoot the music video for the same,
Abhay Shamra and other members of the band called out to their contacts asking for cricket
pads, helmets and wicket-keeping gloves. The song speaks of the exploits of the subject in
Adelaide and Calcutta, and further goes on to applaud him for his heroics which also include
taking charge of the current U-19 team. Who is the song a tribute to?

Assume my Fender; Rahul Dravid

X – Aldous Huxley (A Brave New World)
Y – George Orwell (Nineteen Eighty-Four)

The Wedding at Cana; Last Supper

Ustad Sultan Khan; Zakir Hussain

List of all the answers
1. Over the Rainbow
2. Saadat Hassan Manto
3. Robinson Crusoe
4. Rembrandt’s Social
Network
5. Woodstock
6. Diane Nguyen
7. Rip Van Winkle
8. Andy Warhol
9. Thank U, Next opening
10. Godot
11. Gitanjali
12. Bust of Nefertiti
13. No time for loos sirs cause
we are the Jam Peons
14. Yellow-washing
15. Pride, not Prejudice
16. Baby Krishna
17. Farhan Akhtar, Rock On
18. Directed by Banksy
19. Barabar Caves
20. 100 Views of Pamir
21. Assume my Fender; Dravid
22. Bruce Lee; Ip Man
23. X – Huxley (Brave New
World)
Y – Orwell (1984)
24. Wedding at Cana; Last
Supper
25. Sultan Khan; Zakir Hussain

Finals
32 questions in the finals.
Two dry rounds of 16 questions each.
Please refrain from using unfair means, or indulging in uncivilized behavior.
May the best team win, unless it doesn’t.

A Sincere and Heartfelt Gratitude to
Ashish Singh, Basab Ranjan Dahal and all the other Qnights
Ayushi Aishwarya
Rabin Jacob, and
Sumantra Sarathi Dutta

Dry 1
16 Questions on Infinite Bounce and Pounce.
+10/-5 on Pounce, +10/-0 on Bounce.
If a question goes unanswered, the next question will go to the next team.
The questions will go from Team 1 to Team 8.

1.
In 1997, Sony Music approached A R Rahman for doing an album with them for celebrating a
special anniversary. The resultant work remains Sony Music India’s largest selling non-film album
till date. What album was this, the title track of which was voted second out of 7000 songs in a
BBC World Survey?
Sony allowed Rahman to collaborate with one foreign artist for one of the ten tracks in the
album. Surprisingly, out of all the global choices Rahman had at his disposal to work with, he
chose someone from closer home, who was on Rahman’s mind all the time, and whom Rahman
would go on to call one of his biggest inspirations. Unfortunately for him, however, the album
only released after his untimely death. Which artist was this, and for which track did he
collaborate with Rahman?

Vande Mataram; NFAK, Gurus of Peace

2.
The third episode of the very first season of The Simpsons is about Mr. Simpson deciding to
commit suicide by jumping off a boulder after facing public embarrassment in front of Bart and
his friends during their field trip to his workplace, where he is fired for his incompetency. The
episode then goes to portray an epic journey that he takes, from being stopped from committing
suicide to stealing money from Bart’s piggyback to buy alcohol, to eventually him seeing the
error of his ways and decide to be the Green Crusader of Springfield, till he is finally offered the
job of safety inspector by the evil Mr. Burns against the condition that he stops his crusades.
What is the episode aptly titled, that might also remind of an antiquarian work?
In its United Kingdom home video collection, this episode was paired with the sixth episode of
the season, which deals on a very sad, depressed daughter of The Simpsons family, and her
attempts to sublimate it with playing the saxophone. The first episode to specifically focus on
her, what is this episode titled, much to her anguish, and punning on a world-famous creation
from early 16th century Italy?

Homer’s Odyssey; Moaning Lisa

3.
During the late nineteenth century, George Wingrave was working as a clerk with the Barclays
Bank. On the suggestion of his landlady, he decided to share his room with his co-tenant to save
some money. Wingrave would go on to become the manager of the Barclays Bank at Strand, and
eventually died in 1941.
Carl Henstchel arrived in England in 1869 at the age of five. Born in Lodz, Russian Poland, he left
school at 14 to help in his father’s flourishing photographic blocks business, and later on had his
own prospering career, meriting an obituary in The Times after his death in 1930.
Both Wingrave and Henstchel shared a common love for the theatre, along with Wingrave’s
roommate. This mutual love for the performing art would serve as the building blocks to a
lifelong friendship which would be forever etched in public consciousness thanks to a late
nineteenth century work.
What work? Who was the only “completely genuine” character in it among the protagonists,
according to its creator?

Three Men in a Boat; Montmorency

4.
Maki Na Kamura is a Germany-based Japanese painter who is known for her paintings of
abstract, figurative landscapes. In the words of Michel Rutten, “Maki Na Kamura shows us how
the artistic heritage of her current home in the West and her ethnic heritage in the East can
come together to create landscape compositions that diverge from the styles of landscapes
created in the past”.
This influence of the artistic heritage of Germany, her current home can be best seen in two of
her works, which can be studied as her interpretations of famous works by an Italian and a
Frenchman, respectively.
Look closely at the images in the following slides, and tell what paintings have been
reinterpreted in each of them by Na Kamura.

Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus;
Millet’s Gleaners

5.
The original idea these two singer-songwriters had when they decided to collaborate with each
other was to create an up-tempo song. Instead, the end result was a slow piano ballad. The song
sees the singer addressing their partner on what they know will be their final night together, and
processing the end of their relationship. According to one of the co-writers, when the lyrics were
first being written, there was a minor debate with his collaborator about including the word
“lovers” but they ultimately kept it since “makes the song bigger because no one says it”.
Which song? Who are the two singer-songwriters?

All I Ask; Adele and Bruno Mars

6.
Also known as the Hippie Van, the Volkswagen Type 2 makes an appearance in the 2004 video
game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. A very difficult to obtain vehicle in the game, the game
version of the hippie type 2 is called The Mothership and appears only in three specific missions
in the game. It is owned by The Truth, a larger-than-life character who smokes copious amounts
of weed and believes more in Conspiracy Theories than actual facts. Owing to his appearance as
well as him owning sizeable marijuana farms, The Truth is believed by many fans to be a
reference to a famous country singer, whose songs incidentally also feature in the GTASA
soundtrack. Who is The Truth believed to be a reference to? (image follows)
Due to obvious copyright laws, the makers at Rockstar could not use the Volkswagen logo on The
Mothership. They thus replaced the VW logo with something similar, which was way more
telling of its use as a “hippie”-van. What did they replace the Volkswagen Logo with?

7.
Hari Das is a Dalit from Kannur who works as a manual laborer during the weeks and a prison
warder during the weekends for 9 months of the year. However, during the period between
December and February every year, he transcends to divinity, which earns him reverence even
from the upper-caste Brahmins. This is because of his performances as part of annual festivities.
What does he perform?
In late 2009 and early 2010, Hari along with some other artists, which also included Paban Das
Baul, was touring the country and outside with a certain Scotsman. One of the locations they
toured was Jaipur, in January 2010. Who was this Scotsman? Why were they touring the country
with him?

Theiyyam; William Dalrymple, Nine Lives
Book Launch

8.
Dermatitis herpetiformis is a chronic autoimmune blistering skin condition, characterized by
blisters filled with a watery fluid, that is insensitively itchy. The disease was first described by
Louis Adolphus Duhring in 1884, and subsequently treatment to the condition has been made
available.
It has been hypothesized that someone from about a century ago from Duhring’s description
suffered from dermatitis herpetiformis for at least three years before meeting their unfortunate
fate. To be able to work despite their condition, they decided to spend most of their time
permanently soaked with minerals which would ease their suffering and help them focus on
their work. Subsequently, this makeshift home of theirs came to be intrinsically associated with
them. Who? What association?

9.
In late 2014, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was in Norway to perform a short concert of 14 minutes
which included his adoptive father’s songs, “Tumhe Dillagi”, “Mast Qalandar” and “Aao Parhao”.
Rahat was invited to perform as part of an annual occurrence, making him the first Pakistani to
ever play in such a concert.
What annual event was Rahat playing at? Why was he invited specifically in 2014?

Nobel Peace Proze Ceremony; the 2014
winners were Malala and Satyarthi

10.
Released in Netflix in 2017, Trevor Noah tackles with issues of racism and immigration politics in
his hour-long stand-up special Afraid of the Dark. One of the arcs in the special involves Noah
discussing the practical unviability of a rumored casting choice involving one of his favorite
characters, stating that it would be an immensely difficult task to operate as a spy in Northern
European countries where most supervillains operate, being the only black guy in the whole
town. What rumored casting choice that saw the internet erupt a couple of years ago does Noah
talk about thus?
While calling the decision unviable, Trevor Noah disses internet trolls who were against the
decision of the above casting choice just because a fictional character was based on a white man
and thus could not be played by a black guy. Noah gives his own example to show how the fact
that a guy from the Middle East has almost always been portrayed on screen by a white guy, and
that it never bothers the saviors of fair casting on the internet. Who is Noah talking about?

Idris Elba as James Bond; Jesus

11.
Originating from the Late Latin term grutellum, it is generally defined as consisting of some type
of cereal – oat, wheat or rye flour, or rice – boiled in water or milk. A thinner version of porridge,
it has been historically a staple of Western peasant diet, and was also part of the third class
menu of the titanic on the eve of its sinking. What dish is this?
Although hot malted milk is also classified as a form of this dish, the manufacturers of such
products like Ovaltine and Horlicks usually avoid using this term, mainly to avoid a negative
connotation attached with it since the early 19th century, after someone decided to ask for
more. Where did it appear in such a negative light?

12.
An expression of despair and discontent, My Dress Hangs There was painted during a period
when the artist was feeling increasingly homesick and portrays the decay of society and
fundamental values in the United States, as perceived by her. After spending more than three
years in the States, she desperately wanted to go back but had to give in to her husband’s calls
to stay back, who was busy painting commissioned works, one after the other. Who is the
painter of My Dress Hangs There?
The work was painted during the same time as that of the commissioned work by her husband,
who expressed their approval of Industrial Development through his work. A picture perceived
to depict the binary battle of Capitalism v/s Communism, it was later discovered that the fresco
had secretly smuggled in a depiction of Lenin in the painting. When asked to remove the same,
he refused. Subsequently, the mural was peeled off from its location, and the artist decided to
paint another version of it in his native country. Which fresco? What was the recreated version
called?

Firda Kahlo; Man at Crossroads, Man the
Controller of Universe

13.
Baaba Maal is a Senegalese singer, known internationally as one of Africa’s most famous
musicians and was made a UNDP Youth Emmissary in 2003. In 2018, Baaba Maal assisted Ludwig
Gorranson in his research into African music as a part of scoring a project headed by Gorranson’s
collaborator from before. He also gave his vocals for the same. Which project was this?
In the early 2000s, Maal had worked with the Red Hot Organisation that is dedicated to fighting
AIDS through pop culture. As a part of this, he worked on a tribute album to Nigerian musician
Fela Kuti, where he collaborated with American musician Henry Saint Claire Fredericks on the
track “Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am”. Primarily a blues, jazz and r&b singer-composer, Henry
Saint Claire Fredericks goes by the stage name of ___ _____ which he chose after having a
dream about Gandhi and India, although the name has absolutely nothing to do with Gandhi or
non-violence. What is his stage name?

14.
In the 2010 teen-drama Easy A, Emma Stone’s character lies to her friend about losing her
virginity to a college friend, and after that she is approached by a multitude of guys who ask her
to say that she has had sex with them in exchange of gifts. News of her perceived willingness to
sleep with anyone spreads like wildfire which gets her a tag of a “dirty skank”, which she agrees
to wear with pride instead of denying the rumors. She decides to stich a red “A” across
everything, inspired from a Nathaniel Hawthorne novel that their class is reading at that time,
and which partly inspired the screenplay of the movie. What novel is this?
This novel is incidentally mentioned in another Emma Stone movie in 2011, where it is being
taught in her younger brother’s class. Which multi-starrer rom-com is this, for the naming of
which the director had held a competition among the crew with an iPad as the prize, after they
were unable to come up with anything?

The Scarlet Letter; Crazy, Stupid Love

15.
The Radhasoami Satsang is a religious organization that was founded in 1861 on the occasion of
Basant Panchami. A movement that started in Agra, there are over thirty Radhasoami groups in
the world today. The Vrindavan ashram of the Radhasoami was visited by someone in the 1970s,
after the death of their husband in a car crash. On witnessing the abject poverty and daily sexual
exploitation of young widows in the ashram, she wrote her book The Blue Necked Braja in 1976
about the condition of these girls in Vrindavan. Who?
Close to three decades after this book, her most well-known work was published in English. A
critique of an age-old sacrificial practice in an important shrine, the author had to face even
death threats for this work of hers. Which book is this, which carried on its cover a painting by
Tyeb Mehta?

Dr. Indira Goswami; The Man from
Chhinnamasta

16.
Satyajit Ray gave the music for all of his films starting from Teen Kanya. As such, he came up with
a theme track for one of his literary creations - Feluda - when adapting it on the screen the first
time. The theme track takes a very obvious inspiration from a 1773 Salsburg creation. What
creation?
The said inspiration in turn was used in a commercial in the 1990s by someone who would go on
to share a moniker relating to the original creator. Who is this composer, and for which
commercial did he recreate the piece?

Mozart’s Symphony 25; Titan
Commercial By AR Rahman

Dry 2
17 Questions on Infinite Bounce and Pounce
+10/-5 on Pounce, +10/0 on Bounce
If a question goes unanswered, the next question will go to the next team.
Questions will go from Team 8 to Team 1.

17.
Music Week magazine’s latest cover story features Mark Ronson. The story title is a nod to his
propensity for producing hits like a machine, and is a pun on a phrase that in another field is
associated with a Michael Hickenbottom.
Give the title, which is also probably a reference to his recent release featuring Miley Cyrus.

18.
In a 2016 article for The Guardian, Jonathon Jones discusses the permanent relevance of an
artist who had died more than half a century ago. He writes, “They (the paintings) are insidious
conundrums that can never be solved, and the 21st century just can’t resist puzzling over them.”
Taking his painting of four panels depicting the same room with only one of them having a
human in it, Jones goes on to discuss how ________’s biggest statement in his art was pointing
out the eeriness of existence. “We exist, and then we don’t...The dull factuality of physical things
does not need human perception to make it persist.” What is this article quite aptly titled, taking
from something written on the artist’s most well-known creation?
In November 2016, the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris had an exhibition of the painter’s works
during its 40th anniversary. The exhibition too took its title from the artist’s most well-known
creation, with the title of the exhibition being a slight variation from the original title, changing
one word but retaining the meaning of the original. What was the exhibition titled?

This is not an article; The Treason of
Images

19.
Irrfan Khan’s van in 2018 road-trip movie Karwaan has painted over it a famous sher by a
Bollywood lyricist who worked in the industry for six decades with different teams of directors
and composers. Called a “soloist for all seasons” by film journalists, the couplet conveys the
writer’s journey in the film industry. He walked alone, but was never lonely. People kept joining
him at different times. Who is this lyricist?
Well fitting with the nature of the characters in Karwaan who somehow come together in a
road-trip despite being completely different individuals, the couplet is briefly referenced in one
of the songs of the movie. Which famous couplet is this?

Majrooh Sultanpuri;
“main akela hi chala tha jaanib-e-manzil...”

20.
Gregory Alan Isakov is a singer based in Boulder, Colorado. Born in Johannesburg, Gregory’s
family immigrated to the States when he was young and he grew up in Pennsylvania. Isakov’s
music combines indie and folk, featuring instruments such as the guitar and banjo, which can be
heard prominently in his albums, the seventh of which released in 2018. One of Isakov’s earlier
songs from his album, This Empty Northern Hemisphere was used last year to fell the curtain on
a ten-part re-imagination of a classic piece of horror literature. Where was it used?
For his higher education, Isakov obtained a degree in horticulture from Boulder-based Naropa
University. Named after an 11th century monk and teacher, the university has a very obvious
leaning towards a religion. Which religion? Where, closer home, was Naropa a teacher at in the
11th century? (image follows)

The Haunting of Hill House; Tibetan
Buddhism, Nalanda

21.
Adventures of God is a webcomic that is hosted on Webtoons, a platform by Line. Written and
illustrated by two guys who call them Teo and Corey, the webcomic offers an interesting take on
the happenings on Earth and divine intervention (God had dinosaurs nuked so that Guinea Pigs
could grow freely), with God being an old forgetful father on heaven, assisted in his work by
Jesus and his science-guy who is named Gabe. What is Gabe’s biblical name?
One of the earlier running gags in the comic involved God calling the devil by a feminine name,
which has its own significance in the history of human evolution, and an irritated devil insisting
that his name isn’t that. However, as the episodes progress, everyone in the comic calls him that
and the devil doesn’t seem to have any bother anymore. By what name does the devil go in the
comic?

22.
The Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum in Pune, Maharashtra, contains the varied, omnivorous
collection of Dr. Dinkar G. Kelkar, an art and literary enthusiast. The three-storey museum
dedicated to Dr. Dinkar’s only son, Raja, houses over 20,000 objects of which 2,500 are on
display. These consist of mainly Indian decorative items from everyday life and other art objects,
mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum's collection depicts the skills of the
Indian artists of the time.
One of the biggest contributions by Dr. Kelkar to the conservation of Maratha and Indian history
has been his systemic dismantling of an 18th Century structure which was lying in ruins and
neglect in the town of Kothrud. Thanks to his efforts, a section of the monument is now on
display within his house, and art and history enthusiasts can grasp an idea of the splendor of the
original structure by visiting his place. Which structure is this? Aptly enough, on which road does
it lie?

23.
Taxi Fabric is a start-up with bases in Mumbai (and now also in parts of Delhi) that has been
working to make taxi seats and auto-rickshaws a canvas for art. The goal is to bring art into the
streets and the daily commuter’s life, one vehicle at a time. The start-up shot to fame after
featuring in the music video of Coldplay’s Hymn for the Weekend.
The three-wheeled canvases of the venture came into popular public consciousness last year,
after featuring prominently in a Anand Tiwary-Ronnie Screwalla production, which had a lot of
sequences shot inside auto-rickshaws with the two protagonists. What production is this, also
the first movie by Screwalla’s new company RSVP pictures?
A few months later, the company came to the limelight again, this time for all the wrong
reasons, after controversial allegations against co-founder Sanket Avlani came up as part of a
larger global internet movement. What was Sanket Avlani accused of?

Love Per Square Foot; Sexual
Harrassment (#metoo)

24.
Tommy Steele, regarded as Britain's first Teen Idol and Rock and Roll star, presented before the
Liverpool City Council in 1981 a proposal to create a sculpture as a piece of tribute to one of the
country's most famous quartets for a fee of a mere three pence. The resultant work was a
bronze statue seated on a stone bench. It depicts a seated woman with a handbag on her lap, a
shopping bag on her right, and a copy of the newspaper the Liverpool Echo on her left. Poking
from the shopping bag is a milk bottle, and on the newspaper is a sparrow and a piece of bread.
The woman is looking down at the sparrow. A plague behind the statue reads, “_______ _____,
dedicated to ___ ___ ______ ______”. Who is the subject of the sculpture? Who is the statue
dedicated to?
In 2012, Steele was among the many cultural icons selected by to appear in Vintage Blake, a
recreation of his most famous and iconic artwork. The original version involved 57 photographs
and waxworks involving people from different walks of life. What was the original artwork,
created about four and a half decades before Vintage Blake?

Eleanor Rigby, “All the lonely people”;
Sgt. Pepper’s Cover

25.
BTS’s Serendipity references a famous novella that makes several observations on life and nature
disguised as a children’s book. The music video particularly references a story where the
protagonist fell in love with a rose, but did not know how to show his affection towards her. In
the video, Jimin is the protagonist singing about his love while surrounded by whimsical imagery.
What work does the song and its video reference?
Also a pioneering aviator, the author published his memoir on flying experiences four years prior
to the release of his above work. He titled his work on three things which he saw and felt while
flying, above and below. What name did he keep for this autobiographical work?

The Little Prince; Wind, Sand and Stars

26.
Cesar Peli is an Argentine-American architect who has designed some of the world’s tallest
buildings and major urban landmarks, including the World Financial Centre at New York City. In
2007, Peli was honored with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for one of his most famous
works which was completed more than a decade earlier, and which had a glass and steel facade
designed to resemble motifs in Islamic Art. What did Peli design?
In 1999, a new record in BASE Jumping was set from a window of the structure’s top area by
someone who would script their biggest claim to fame after over a decade. Who set this record
which has since been broken?

Petronas Towers; Felix Baumgartner

27.
Rated 2/5 stars by The Times of India, Januray Malayalam film Oru Karibbean Udayippu by
director A. Joji revolves around the college lives of six youngsters who are music enthusiasts. Of
the six protagonists in the movie, the role of Benson is played by someone who has only done
one Malayalam movie before Joji’s film. Who plays Benson? In which movie did we see him?

Samuel Abiola Robinson; Sudani from Nigeria

28.
Barobax Corp is an Iranian pop band that was founded by three Iranian nationals Kahshayar
Haghgoo, Kevian Haghgoo and Hamiz Farouzmand.
In 2012, the group alleged that the beginning sequence of their wildly popular song Soosan
Khanoom was shamelessly plagiarized by an Indian for use in an Illuminati Films, and slapped a
legal notice to the creator. The Indian song too went crazily viral. Although the allegations were
not responded to, one does notice the similarity between the two songs while listening carefully.
Quite unsurprisingly, this was not the first time the person was involved in plagiarisation, him
allegedly having lifted tunes from all sorts of songs, ranging from Queen to K-Pop.
Against whom did Barobax Corp slap a legal notice? For which song?

29.
______ of the Raj by Vithal Rajan is a 2010 pastiche work that takes its protagonists to India in
1888. The duo meet people like Lord Ripon and Motilal Nehru, expose the true identity of Jack
the Ripper, send their archenemy to an ashram, and also foil General Dyer’s attempt on Annie
Besant’s life. Who is/are the subject of the book?
Towards the beginning of the book, the protagonists spend some time in a Buddhist monastery
where they meet a prince named ___, who in the latter part of the book would meet another
Englishman and inspire him to keep his name alive, forever. Who did they meet?

Sherlock Holmes/Sherlock-Watson; Kim

30.
Venkat Raman Singh Shyam hails from Madhya Pradesh and is one of the prominent exponents
of the art of his region. Having worked under the apprenticeship of his uncle Jangarh Singh
Shyam before going independent, the modern and traditional coexist alongside each other in his
work. Which art style does Venkat Shyam practice?
Venkat’s most famous work is a series of sixteen canvases he made depicting a ghastly event
from a little over a decade back. Being a live witness and one of the survivors of the incident,
Shyam decided to use his art to tell this story that had shocked him and moved him greatly. The
images from this series are now on display in museums in Ottawa and Portugal, among other
places. Which event is this?

31.
In 2007, the Mayor of Paris began to accept applications for the revival of this structure. A
favorite of Santosh Patel, the structure fell into disuse in 1989 and closed down soon thereafter.
Known for its Art Deco designs and the popular introduction of the bikini by Louis Reard on 5
July 1946, it was declared a French monument historique. After renovation work was completed,
it reopened along with a four-star hotel complex in 2014.
What structure is this? Who, after getting irritated by their association with it, decided to
rechristen themselves?

32.
Dai Dudu, Li Tiezi and Zhang An are Taiwanese artists who decided to collaborate together to
make a mural containing famous faces of the world across histories of different period. This
2006 work has a total of 103 faces from history figuring in it. The artists probably had a problem
with the under-representation of Asians in World History, with a significant number of Indian,
Chinese, Taiwanese and other Asian icons featuring prominently in the artwork. The artists
decided to paint themselves too, and they can be seen on the top-right corner of the piece, with
a person belonging to the late 13th and early 14th centuries (not necessarily Asian), discussing
something. Who is this figure the artists are with? What are they discussing?

Discussing the Divine Comedy with Dante

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