Prelims of the MELA quiz held on 20th March 2018 during Quiz Week at IIT Guwahati

1. Prelims

2. Prelims
General Instructions:
• Teams of 2(max).
• Points for each part of an answer are mentioned with every
question.
• Prelims scores will NOT be carried forward to the finals.
• Top 8 teams qualify for the finals.
• No googling.
• In case of a discrepancy QM's decision will be final and binding.

3. In and out, 40 min adventure.

4. 1(1)
X (1864–1938) was a great personality and celebrated pioneer of modern Y
literature. He was one of the leading figures of the Jonaki Era, the age of
romanticism in Y literature when through his essays, plays, fiction, poetry
and satires, he gave a new impetus to the then stagnating Y literary caravan.
There is a confusion regarding X's date of birth however in his
autobiography X has confirmed that he was born on a boat in the autumn on
a full-moon night, on which Lakhmi Puja is celebrated in India, and to mark
the coincidence, he was named by his parents as X ( A name for Vishnu, the
Hindu God and husband of Goddess Lakhmi).
Id X.(1 point)

5. 2(2)
X, fully titled The Ingenious Nobleman Sir ******** of La Mancha is a novel that
follows the adventures of a noble named Alonso who reads so many chivalric romances
that he loses his sanity and decides to set out to revive chivalry, undo wrongs, and bring
justice to the world, under the name X de la Mancha. He recruits a simple farmer, Sancho
Panza, as his squire, who often employs a unique, earthy wit in dealing with X's
rhetorical orations on antiquated knighthood.
The term Y inspired from this masterpiece is used to refer to the impracticality in pursuit
of ideals, especially those ideals manifested by rash, lofty and romantic ideas or
extravagantly chivalrous action. It also serves to describe an idealism without regard to
practicality. An impulsive person or act might be regarded as Z.
Identify X and either Y or Z.(X->1 point; Y or Z->1 point)

6. 3(1)
X is a form of self-contained rhyming couplet in poetry composed in Mātrika metre. This
genre of poetry first became common in Apabhramśa and was commonly used in Hindi
poetry.
A X is a couplet consisting of two lines, each of 24 instants (Matras). The rules for
distinguishing light and heavy syllables is slightly different from Sanskrit. Each line has
13 instants in first part and 11 instants in the second. The first and third quarters of X
have 13 instants which must parse as 6-4-3.
Many Hindi poets have created several books which explain whole stories and epics in
the form of Xs. The most popular is Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas, a popular rendition of the
Sanskrit epic Ramayana.
Id X.(1 point)

7. 4(1)
Inexhaustive connect.
• Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2
• "Johnny B. Goode" written and performed by Chuck Berry.
• "Jaat Kahan Ho" sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar
• Beethoven, String Quartet No. 13
• Navajo Indians, Night Chant
• Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria
• "Melancholy Blues" performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven
• Rite of Spring; Sacrificial Dance, Igor Stravinsky
• Zaire, Pygmy girls' initiation song
• Beethoven, Fifth Symphony
• Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C

8. 5(1)
Two people have been expelled from the Academy.
• Carmine Caridi
Date of expulsion: February 3, 2004
Reason: Copyright infringement. He was accused of leaking screeners that had been sent
to him.
• X
Date of Expulsion: October 13 2017
Reason: *****************
Id X and give reason for expulsion.(1 point)

9. 6(1)
X is a Hindi language sitcom which debuted in 2002. X is widely considered by
audiences and television critics to be one of the finest examples of true situation comedy
in India. It does not use a laugh track like many Indian comedy shows, but instead relies
on its deadpan humour (à la The Simpsons) and its witty lines to become its unique
selling point.
X follows the story of a family who live in an old mansion. The joint family encounters
many typically Indian situations, but they try to solve it in the most atypical fashion
imaginable. This is a funny bunch of people that is firmly united in their movement to get
separated. They want to sell their ancestral property and move out and form their own
nuclear families. But the head of their family does not agree. He gives them the choice to
walk out and survive on their own; but nobody is ready to let go of the money that is due
to them. So they stay together and wait for the 'head' to change his mind or stop
breathing, whichever happens first. And this is where the upwardly mobile middle class
joint family faces its trials and tribulations. X is a look at the lighter side of an Indian
joint family.
Give X.(1 point)

10. 7(1)
The song is considered the most famous recording by the band, and its long guitar coda is
often considered the best guitar solo of all time. The song was awarded the Grammy
Award for Record of the Year in 1978. The lyrics of the song have been given various
interpretations by fans and critics alike, the X themselves described the song as their
"interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles".
Frey came up with a cinematic scenario of a person who, tired from driving a long
distance in a desert, saw a place for a rest and pulled in for the night, but entered "a
weird world peopled by freaky characters", and became "quickly spooked by the
claustrophobic feeling of being caught in a disturbing web from which he may never
escape."
Id the song.(1 point)

11. 8(1)
Wernher von Braun - inventor of Nazi V-2 rockets and father of US Apollo program
wrote the novel 'Das Marsprojekt' in 1952. It is a technical sci-fi novel with flight details.
Von Braun's vision is astonishing: from assembling spaceships on Earth's orbit, to Mars
flight, studying its atmosphere with drones, landing and finally contact with Martians. In
short description of Martian social system we suddenly discover that Martians have a
President and call him X. ‘X’ is also an African name which means “god loves me” and
an African-American name meaning “spirit.” X(real person with same name) was born in
South Africa, which has led conspiracy theorists to believe that Von Braun was using an
African name to predict an African Mars pioneer.
Give X.(1 point)

12. 9(2)
At the end of World War II, English writer X used Y, as a general term, in his essay "You
and the Atomic Bomb", published 19 October 1945 in the British newspaper Tribune.
Contemplating a world living in the shadow of the threat of nuclear warfare, X looked at
James Burnham's predictions of a polarized world, writing:
Looking at the world as a whole, the drift for many decades has been not towards anarchy
but towards the reimposition of slavery....James Burnham's theory has been much
discussed, but few people have yet considered its ideological implications—that is, the
kind of world-view, the kind of beliefs, and the social structure that would probably
prevail in a state which was at once unconquerable and in a permanent state of Y with its
neighbours."
Give X and Y.(1 point each)

13. 10(1)
A big trend in modern TV and film comedy: shows where the humour mostly comes
from placing characters in the most embarrassing situations possible, or having them say
the most awkward or offensive thing possible at all times. Often uses documentary feel to
heighten the naturalism and increase the X, or has actors in character interacting with an
unsuspecting public. Comedy that gives you second-hand shame. Comedy you have to
watch through the gaps between your fingers.
Often this is mollified by the characters being oblivious to the embarrassment they should
be feeling. Sometimes though, all the characters are acutely aware of their humiliation,
which can make it so much worse. Or worse yet, there's a single audience surrogate
character who realizes how humiliated everyone should be feeling, while everyone else
remains oblivious.
What genre of comedy is being described? (Give X)

14. 11(1)
X chess was the style of chess prevalent from the late 15th century until the 1880s. Chess
games of this period emphasized more on quick, tactical maneuvers rather than long-term
strategic planning. The X era of play was followed by the Scientific, Hypermodern, and
New Dynamism eras. Games during this era generally consisted of 1.e4 openings such as
the King's Gambit and Giuoco Piano. Queen side pawn openings were not popular and
seldom played. The X era is generally considered to have ended with the 1873 Vienna
tournament where Wilhelm Steinitz popularized positional play and the closed game.
During the 1930s, Nazi Germany, much like the Soviet Union, co-opted chess as a
political tool and to that end circulated propaganda alleging that the age of X chess,
dominated by dashing Aryan players such as Morphy and Anderssen, had been derailed
by "cowardly, stingy" positional chess exemplified by Jewish players like Steinitz,
Emanuel Lasker, and others.

15. 12(1)
The song ____ ____ __ _____ ___ cost Rs 10 million to make. It reportedly required 105
re-writes before music director Naushad gave it his approval. The only way Naushad
could get the reverberation he wanted was to have Lata Mangeshkar sing the song in a
studio bathroom.
Cinematographer R D Mathur had to experiment with lighting to shoot the famous setting
of ____ ____ __ _____ ___. He tried painting the mirrors with wax to check the glare,
which worked but also made the visuals dull. He then tried placing strips of cloth
strategically to create bounced lighting.

16. 13(1+0.5*4) Who are they named after? Name them.

17. 14(1+0.5)
As pop artists took to the image with glee, it evolved into a popular and heavily
commercialized icon that often strayed far from X’s hard-line Marxist message.
When converted into a stark black cut-out, Korda's photograph became easy, cheap, and
fast to copy using the favored material and method of the 1960s: lith film and screen
painting.
By the time of his death in 1967, X was already "a legend, the romantic epitome of
worldwide rebellion" and in the wake of his perceived martyrdom, Korda's photograph
went viral. Rebellious young people found in it a "sense of empowerment, a
crystallization of the perennial idealism of youth."
Who's iconic image?(0.5 points extra for name of the image)

18. 15(2)
Xite, also known as Detroit agate or Motor Agate, is old __________ _____ which has
hardened sufficiently to be cut and polished. It was formed from the buildup of layers of
_____ slag on tracks and skids in the old days of ___ manufacturing which later got
replaced by automated process. Widespread use of conveyor belt technology in ___
manufacturing led to repeated baking of the layers which had accumulated on the
conveyor tracks. In recent times the material has been recycled into "eco-
friendly" jewelry.
(vis.)
What is Xite made of?(1 point)
What is X?(1 point)

20. 16(1)
A _________ is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by
caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their
subjects. The word derives from the Italian burla – a joke, ridicule or mockery.
A later use of the term, particularly in the United States, refers to performances in
a variety show format. These were popular from the 1860s to the 1940s, often
in cabarets and clubs, as well as theatres, and featured bawdy comedy and
female striptease.
FITB.(1 point)

21. 17(1)
X is a 2000 cult classic Indian comedy thriller film directed by Priyadarshan. It is the
remake of 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking. The film spawned a sequel which
released in 2006.
It was voted as the best Bollywood comedy film of all time in an online poll conducted
by The Indian Express. ______ _____ won the best comedian award in Filmfare, IIFA
and Star Screen Awards.
The plot revolves around an eccentric trio, consisting of a comically hilarious but kind
hearted garage owner, a crafty and cunning loafer and a simple and struggling pauper
who find themselves trapped in crazy shenanigans.
Id X.

22. 18(1)
X is a mural-sized oil painting on canvas by artist Y completed in June 1937. The
painting, which uses a palette of gray, black, and white, is regarded by many art critics as
one of the most moving and powerful anti-war paintings in history. The large mural
shows the suffering of people wrenched by violence and chaos.
The painting was created in response to the bombing of X, a Basque Country village in
northern Spain, by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italian warplanes at the request of the
Spanish Nationalists.
While Y was living in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II, one German officer
allegedly asked him, upon seeing a photo of X in his apartment, "Did you do that?" Y
responded, "No, you did."
Id X and Y.(1 point)

23. Prelims Answers

24. 1
X (1864–1938) was a great personality and celebrated pioneer of modern Y
literature. He was one of the leading figures of the Jonaki Era, the age of
romanticism in Y literature when through his essays, plays, fiction, poetry
and satires, he gave a new impetus to the then stagnating Y literary caravan.
There is a confusion regarding X's date of birth however in his
autobiography X has confirmed that he was born on a boat in the autumn on
a full-moon night, on which Lakhmi Puja is celebrated in India, and to mark
the coincidence, he was named by his parents as X ( A name for Vishnu, the
Hindu God and husband of Goddess Lakhmi).
Id X.(1 point)

25. Laxminath Bezbarua

26. 2
X, fully titled The Ingenious Nobleman Sir ******** of La Mancha is a novel that
follows the adventures of a noble named Alonso who reads so many chivalric romances
that he loses his sanity and decides to set out to revive chivalry, undo wrongs, and bring
justice to the world, under the name X de la Mancha. He recruits a simple farmer, Sancho
Panza, as his squire, who often employs a unique, earthy wit in dealing with X's
rhetorical orations on antiquated knighthood.
The term Y inspired from this masterpiece is used to refer to the impracticality in pursuit
of ideals, especially those ideals manifested by rash, lofty and romantic ideas or
extravagantly chivalrous action. It also serves to describe an idealism without regard to
practicality. An impulsive person or act might be regarded as Z.
Y is usually related to "over-idealism", meaning an idealism that doesn't take
consequence or absurdity into account. It is also related to naïve romanticism and to
utopianism.

27. X -Don Quixote
Y-Quixotism
Z-Quixotic

28. 3
X is a form of self-contained rhyming couplet in poetry composed in Mātrika metre. This
genre of poetry first became common in Apabhramśa and was commonly used in Hindi
poetry.
A X is a couplet consisting of two lines, each of 24 instants (Matras). The rules for
distinguishing light and heavy syllables is slightly different from Sanskrit. Each line has
13 instants in first part and 11 instants in the second. The first and third quarters of X
have 13 instants which must parse as 6-4-3.
Many Hindi poets have created several books which explain whole stories and epics in
the form of Xs. The most popular is Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas, a popular rendition of the
Sanskrit epic Ramayana.
Id X.(1 point)

29. Doha
• काल करे सो आज कर, आज करै सो अब |
पल में परलय होयगी, बहुरी करेगा कब ||
• चलती चक्की देख कर, ददया कबीरा रोये |
दो पाटन के बीच में, साबुत बचा ना कोए ||

30. 4
Inexhaustive connect.(1 point)
• Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2
• "Johnny B. Goode" written and performed by Chuck Berry.
• "Jaat Kahan Ho" sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar
• Beethoven, String Quartet No. 13
• Navajo Indians, Night Chant
• Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria
• "Melancholy Blues" performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven
• Rite of Spring; Sacrificial Dance, Igor Stravinsky
• Zaire, Pygmy girls' initiation song
• Beethoven, Fifth Symphony
• Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C

31. Music on Golden Record that was sent
on voyager

32. 5
Two people have been expelled from the Academy.
• Carmine Caridi
Date of expulsion: February 3, 2004
Reason: Copyright infringement. He was accused of leaking screeners that had been sent
to him.
• X
Date of Expulsion: October 13 2017
Reason: *****************
Id X and give reason for expulsion.(1 point each)

33. Harvey Weinstein, sexually predatory
behavior and workplace harassment

34. 6
X is a Hindi language sitcom which debuted in 2002. X is widely considered by
audiences and television critics to be one of the finest examples of true situation comedy
in India. It does not use a laugh track like many Indian comedy shows, but instead relies
on its deadpan humour (à la The Simpsons) and its witty lines to become its unique
selling point.
X follows the story of a family who live in an old mansion. The joint family encounters
many typically Indian situations, but they try to solve it in the most atypical fashion
imaginable. This is a funny bunch of people that is firmly united in their movement to get
separated. They want to sell their ancestral property and move out and form their own
nuclear families. But the head of their family does not agree. He gives them the choice to
walk out and survive on their own; but nobody is ready to let go of the money that is due
to them. So they stay together and wait for the 'head' to change his mind or stop
breathing, whichever happens first. And this is where the upwardly mobile middle class
joint family faces its trials and tribulations. X is a look at the lighter side of an Indian
joint family.
Give X.(1 point)

35. Khichdi

36. 7
The song is considered the most famous recording by the band, and its long guitar coda is
often considered the best guitar solo of all time. The song was awarded the Grammy
Award for Record of the Year in 1978. The lyrics of the song have been given various
interpretations by fans and critics alike, the X themselves described the song as their
"interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles". In the 2013 documentary History of the
X, Henley said that the song was about "a journey from innocence to experience... that's
all.
Frey came up with a cinematic scenario of a person who, tired from driving a long
distance in a desert, saw a place for a rest and pulled in for the night, but entered "a
weird world peopled by freaky characters", and became "quickly spooked by the
claustrophobic feeling of being caught in a disturbing web from which he may never
escape."
Id the song.(1 point)

37. Hotel California

38. 8
Wernher von Braun - inventor of Nazi V-2 rockets and father of US Apollo program
wrote the novel 'Das Marsprojekt' in 1952. It is a technical sci-fi novel with flight details.
Von Braun's vision is astonishing: from assembling spaceships on Earth's orbit, to Mars
flight, studying its atmosphere with drones, landing and finally contact with Martians. In
short description of Martian social system we suddenly discover that Martians have a
President and call him X. ‘X’ is also an African name which means “god loves me” and
an African-American name meaning “spirit.” X(real person with same name) was born in
South Africa, which has led conspiracy theorists to believe that Von Braun was using an
African name to predict an African Mars pioneer.
Give X.(1 point)

39. Elon

40. 9
At the end of World War II, English writer X used Y, as a general term, in his essay "You
and the Atomic Bomb", published 19 October 1945 in the British newspaper Tribune.
Contemplating a world living in the shadow of the threat of nuclear warfare, X looked at
James Burnham's predictions of a polarized world, writing:
Looking at the world as a whole, the drift for many decades has been not towards anarchy
but towards the reimposition of slavery....James Burnham's theory has been much
discussed, but few people have yet considered its ideological implications—that is, the
kind of world-view, the kind of beliefs, and the social structure that would probably
prevail in a state which was at once unconquerable and in a permanent state of Y with its
neighbours."
Give X and Y.(1 point each)

41. X-George Orwell; Y-cold war

42. 10
A big trend in modern TV and film comedy: shows where the humour mostly comes
from placing characters in the most embarrassing situations possible, or having them say
the most awkward or offensive thing possible at all times. Often uses documentary feel to
heighten the naturalism and increase the X, or has actors in character interacting with an
unsuspecting public. Comedy that gives you second-hand shame. Comedy you have to
watch through the gaps between your fingers.
Often this is mollified by the characters being oblivious to the embarrassment they should
be feeling. Sometimes though, all the characters are acutely aware of their humiliation,
which can make it so much worse. Or worse yet, there's a single audience surrogate
character who realizes how humiliated everyone should be feeling, while everyone else
remains oblivious.
What genre of comedy is being described? (Give X)

43. Cringe Comedy

44. 11
X chess was the style of chess prevalent from the late 15th century until the 1880s. Chess
games of this period emphasized more on quick, tactical maneuvers rather than long-term
strategic planning. The X era of play was followed by the Scientific, Hypermodern, and
New Dynamism eras. The X era is generally considered to have ended with the 1873
Vienna tournament where Wilhelm Steinitz popularized positional play and the closed
game.
During the 1930s, Nazi Germany, much like the Soviet Union, co-opted chess as a
political tool and to that end circulated propaganda alleging that the age of X chess,
dominated by dashing Aryan players such as Morphy and Anderssen, had been derailed
by "cowardly, stingy" positional chess exemplified by Jewish players like Steinitz,
Emanuel Lasker, and others.

45. Romantic Chess

46. 12
The song ____ ____ __ _____ ___ cost Rs 10 million to make. It reportedly required 105
re-writes before music director Naushad gave it his approval. The only way Naushad
could get the reverberation he wanted was to have Lata Mangeshkar sing the song in a
studio bathroom.
Cinematographer R D Mathur had to experiment with lighting to shoot the famous setting
of ____ ____ __ _____ ___. He tried painting the mirrors with wax to check the glare,
which worked but also made the visuals dull. He then tried placing strips of cloth
strategically to create bounced lighting.
Which song? (1 point)

47. Pyaar kiya to darna kya

48. 13(1+0.5*4) Who are they named after? Name them.

49. Named after Italian Renaissance artists; Leonardo,
Michelangelo Rafaello, and Donatello

50. 14
As pop artists took to the image with glee, it evolved into a popular and heavily
commercialized icon that often strayed far from X’s hard-line Marxist message.
When converted into a stark black cut-out, Korda's photograph became easy, cheap, and
fast to copy using the favored material and method of the 1960s: lith film and screen
painting.
By the time of his death in 1967, X was already "a legend, the romantic epitome of
worldwide rebellion" and in the wake of his perceived martyrdom, Korda's photograph
went viral. Rebellious young people found in it a "sense of empowerment, a
crystallization of the perennial idealism of youth."

51. Che Guevara(Guerillero Heroico)

52. 15
Xite, also known as Detroit agate or Motor Agate, is old __________ _____ which has
hardened sufficiently to be cut and polished. It was formed from the buildup of layers of
_____ slag on tracks and skids in the old days of ___ manufacturing which later got
replaced by automated process. Widespread use of conveyor belt technology in ___
manufacturing led to repeated baking of the layers which had accumulated on the
conveyor tracks. In recent times the material has been recycled into "eco-
friendly" jewelry.
(vis.)
What is Xite made of?(1 point)
What is X?(1 point)

54. Automobile paint, Fordite(X-Ford)

55. 16
A _________ is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by
caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their
subjects. The word derives from the Italian burla – a joke, ridicule or mockery.
A later use of the term, particularly in the United States, refers to performances in
a variety show format. These were popular from the 1860s to the 1940s, often
in cabarets and clubs, as well as theatres, and featured bawdy comedy and
female striptease.
FITB.(1 point)

56. Burlesque

57. 17
X is a 2000 cult classic Indian comedy thriller film directed by Priyadarshan. It is the
remake of 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking. The film spawned a sequel which
released in 2006.
It was voted as the best Bollywood comedy film of all time in an online poll conducted
by The Indian Express. ______ _____ won the best comedian award in Filmfare, IIFA
and Star Screen Awards.
The plot revolves around an eccentric trio, consisting of a comically hilarious but kind
hearted garage owner, a crafty and cunning loafer and a simple and struggling pauper
who find themselves trapped in crazy shenanigans.

58. Heri Pheri

59. 18
X is a mural-sized oil painting on canvas by artist Y completed in June 1937. The
painting, which uses a palette of gray, black, and white, is regarded by many art critics as
one of the most moving and powerful anti-war paintings in history. The large mural
shows the suffering of people wrenched by violence and chaos.
The painting was created in response to the bombing of X, a Basque Country village in
northern Spain, by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italian warplanes at the request of the
Spanish Nationalists.
While Y was living in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II, one German officer
allegedly asked him, upon seeing a photo of X in his apartment, "Did you do that?" Y
responded, "No, you did."
Id X and Y.(1 point)

60. Guernica by Pablo Picasso