This quiz was hosted by Balaji Subramanian at Interrobang 2016, the 3rd Edition of the NALSAR Quiz Fest earlier this year. It was also rerun at the November 2016 Quiz of the Month by Rama Subramanian. Content by Balaji and members of Quizzing@NALSAR. Feedback/reviews would be appreciated, you can send it in to quizzing@nalsar.ac.in.

1. INDIA QUIZ
INTERROBANG 2016
(ALSO RUN AT THE NOVEMBER
2016
K-CIRCLE QUIZ OF THE
Prelims

2. TOPIC BREAKDOWN Mythology
10%
Entertainment
13%
Business
10%
Sports
11%History
16%
Politics
16%
Geography
13%
Science and Technology
11%

3. RULES
•30 questions
•Top 8 teams in the final
•Multiples of 5 are starred
•Please stow all electronic devices.

4. 1. THESE GLYPHS ARE THE
EASTERN COUSINS OF WHAT
TOTEMIC FIGURE?
Chin
a
Java Bali Tibet

5. THE OM SIGN.

6. 2. WHAT DID HE DO THREE YEARS
INTO HIS SECOND INNINGS IN THE
SUBCONTINENT?
Dispatched as a clerk to Madras in 1743-44 by the
East India Company, this man found himself driven to
suicide by the monotony of his job and the oppressive
weather, but his gun refused to fire when he raised it
to his head. However, it fired when he pointed it out
the window, leaving him convinced he was destined
for great things (he ended up killing himself with a
penknife in London).
He later earned accolades for his bravery as a soldier
when the French attacked Fort St. George. He went
home to England in 1753, but returned to Madras in

7. ROBERT CLIVE DEFEATED SIRAJ
UD DAULAH IN THE BATTLE OF
PLASSEY

8. 3. WHO IS THIS?
In June 2006, he went to the Bihar state secretariat with a
specific proposal but was not allowed to meet Nitish Kumar.
Refusing to give up, he knocked on the doors of the chief
minister’s residence a month later.
After the meeting, the chief minister took him to a chamber
where he was about to address reporters. Describing him as a
source of inspiration, the Chief Minister vacated his seat for a
little over five minutes and asked him to sit in it saying, "This is
the best I can do for your unmatchable grit.” His proposal was
also accepted by the Minister who also told him that he could
lay the foundation stone himself.

9. DASRATH MANJHI, THE MOUNTAIN
MAN

10. 4. BRAHMAN NAMAN IS A 2016 INDIAN
COMEDY FILM DIRECTED BY QAUSHIQ
MUKHERJEE. THE MOVIE IS SET IN
1980S BANGALORE, WITH A FOCUS ON
THE LOVE LIVES (OR LACK THEREOF)
OF A GROUP OF QUIZZERS. THE MOVIE
ALSO CAREFULLY SCRUTINIZES
INDIA'S CASTE SYSTEM.
AT SUNDANCE EARLIER THIS YEAR, TO
WHOM DID THE DIRECTOR AND THE
CAST DEDICATE THE MOVIE TO?

11. ROHITH VEMULA

12. 5*. WHAT HAPPENED IN 1981?
In a speech at NYU's Stern School of Business, he spoke about an
incident that changed him forever. While hitchhiking across Europe in
1974, he was arrested and locked up for 3 days without food or water
in Bulgaria on suspicion of criticising the communist regime. Upon
his release in Istanbul, he says, he was a changed man. "This long,
lonely, cold journey forced me to deeply rethink my convictions about
communism. Early on a dark Thursday morning, after being hungry
for 108 hours, I was purged of any last vestiges of affinity for the
Left. I concluded that entrepreneurship, resulting in large-scale job
creation, was the only viable mechanism for eradicating poverty in
societies. Deep in my heart, I always thank the Bulgarian guards for
transforming me from a confused Leftist into a determined,
compassionate capitalist! Inevitably, this sequence of events led to
1981."

13. NR NARAYAN MURTHY FOUNDED
INFOSYS

14. 6. WHO, OF QUESTIONABLE
ETHNICITY?
Her most famous work has an unquestionably Indian
flavour, named as it is after a Tamil legend with an
appetite for elephants. What you probably didn't know
was that she herself has some Indian blood in her. She
gets her name from her father, who arrived in Trinidad
in the 19th century with the Hindu name Maharaj,
which subsequently was contracted and corrupted to
its present form.
The subject continues to puzzle internet users - 600
people google "Is X Indian?" every month, and another
2400 people google "Is X African?" every month. An
additional 3600 people google "X ethnicity" in a

15. NICKI MINAJ

16. 7. IN WHAT WAY DO THE MEDIEVAL
CHARACTERS BABUR, AHMED
SHAH ABDALI, MAHMOOD OF
GHAZNI, AND MUHAMMAD GHAURI
STILL THREATEN TO RE-ENTER
INDIA?

17. THEY ARE ALL NAMES OF
PAKISTANI BALLISTIC MISSILES

18. 8. (A) THE ANSWER TO WHAT? (B)
WHERE?
In 2014, a Reuters report stated that the
presence of certain fires in the region might
prove to be the answer for what was turning out
to be a very frustrating question. While most
considered it to be prime conspiracy fodder, it
was later stated that if a retrieval process was
set into motion, it had to be extra delicate
considering the region's (and its inhabitants')
famously aloof history.

19. (A) THE WHEREABOUTS OF MH370; (B)
NORTH SENTINEL ISLAND. (ACCEPT
ANDAMAN IF NOBODY GETS EXACT
ANSWER.)

20. 9. WHAT CITY IS THIS, THAT BEGOT
A “NEW YEAR’S PRESENT” TO INDIA
IN 2000?
One hypothesis of this city's name suggests that it has evolved
from the local dialect version of the name of Alexander The
Great who founded the city in 330 BC. Ibn Batutta mentioned
the region in the 14th century by describing it as a large and
prosperous town three nights away from Ghazni. It has also
been mentioned extensively by Mughal Emperor Babur and
others.
An alternative etymology derives the name of the city from the
name of an ancient Buddhist kingdom. Ernst Herzfeld claimed
that this city perpetuated the name of the Indo-Parthian king
Gondophares, who re-founded the city under the name
Gundopharron.

21. KANDAHAR

22. 10*. IT WENT BY THE NAME OF
FRONTE IN JAPAN; TICO IN SOUTH
KOREA; MEHRAN IN PAKISTAN. ONE
VARIANT IN CHINA IS KNOWN AS
THE CITY BABY, BUT MOST
CHINESE EXAMPLES GO BY THE
NUMERIC DESIGNATION 7080. HOW
DO WE KNOW IT IN INDIA?

23. MARUTI 800

24. 11. A CHENNAI HOTEL RECENTLY
MADE THIS CAKE ON THE EVE OF A
ROCK SHOW. FOR WHOM?

25. FARHAN AKHTAR, FOR WAZIR

26. 12. WHICH MYTHOLOGICAL
CHARACTER'S NAME LITERALLY
TRANSLATES TO 'THE ONE WHO IS
STEADY AT WAR'?

27. YUDHISTIRA

28. 13. FILL IN THE BLANK.
In the 1962 general elections, one of the most talked about
contests was in North Bombay, between VK Krishna Menon and
Acharya Kripalani. One of Kripalani’s chants went like this:
I do not hold with all these cracks and mockery
At Krishna Menon.
It is his virtues I would rather pin on.
For instance, consider his skill with crockery:
What could be finer
Than the loving care with which he handles _____.

29. CHINA

30. 14. WHOSE INPUTS WOULD’VE
HELPED BENGALURU FC DEFEND
FREE-KICKS?

31. RAHUL DRAVID

32. 15*. THREE STATE PARTIES IN INDIA
USE THE BICYCLE AS THEIR SYMBOL.
IF THE JAMMU & KASHMIR NATIONAL
PANTHERS PARTY IS ONE OF THEM,
NAME THE OTHER TWO.

33. TELUGU DESAM PARTY;
SAMAJWADI PARTY

34. 16. WHAT WAS BEING TRACED?
After detailed research and inquiries at various levels to trace it, it
was revealed after a decade-long quest that no recordings were
made. While there are ‘recordings’ available on the Internet, which
claim to be it, their authenticity has been questioned on three counts:
a) it is known that no recordings were made as per studies conducted
by Marie Louise Burke, a researcher who studied the impact of his
visit;
b) that he was introduced not by a woman as found in some of these
recordings, but by Mr. Barrows (as written by him in a letter to his
admirer Alasinga Perumal on November 2 of the same year); and
c) that the technology at that time did not allow this.

35. VIVEKANANDA’S PARLIAMENT OF
THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS
ADDRESS

36. 17. WHO WAS REPRESENTING
MEDAK IN THE LOK SABHA?
Medak is one of the 17 Lok Sabha
constituencies in Telangana. After the elections
in 1980, a horde of industrialists and politicians
descended here and an ambitious five-year
plan - which no other district in the former
Andhra Pradesh state had - was drawn up.
However, all of this was not able to materialize
successfully especially considering that the
constituency holder was only able to come here
a mere five times.

37. INDIRA GANDHI

38. 18. A) WHO WERE X AND Y? B) IN
WHICH 2007 FILM DID WE SEE A RE-
ENACTMENT OF THIS FIRE SCENE?
On 1 March 1957, an accident occurred during the fire
scene in this film when the wind direction changed
and the fire grew out of control, trapping X. She was
saved by Y, who quickly grabbed a blanket, plunged
inside, and rescued her. Shooting halted temporarily
as both had sustained injuries.
Y was hospitalised for the burns and X helped nurse
him. The two fell in love and while X wished to marry
soon, the director protested that the real-life marriage
of the onscreen mother-son would be disastrous for
the film. Owing to their relationship, X also found it
difficult to perform a scene where she had to beat Y

39. SUNIL AND NARGIS DUTT; OM
SHANTI OM

40. 19. NAME THE SISTER. (OR) WHAT
FESTIVAL RESULTED FROM THIS
INCIDENT?
One of Hiranyakashyapu's attempts to kill
Prahlada was to have him sit on a burning pyre
with his (Hiranyakashyapu's) sister, who had a
fireproof cloak.
However, after she sat on the pyre, the cloak
flew from her and encased Prahlada, leading to
her death. Prahlada, who kept chanting Lord
Vishnu's name all the while, came out
unharmed.

41. HOLIKA; HOLI

42. 20*. BIOGRAPHY OF WHOM?
'The Edge of Time: The Authoritative Biography
of X' is a book written by Jean-Pierre Harrison,
released at the Punjab Engineering College in
2011. The book contains chapters like 'India',
'Arlington', 'Boulder', 'Sunnyvale', and 'Houston'.
Harrison had also previously accepted the
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award on behalf of X
from Atal Behari Vajpayee. (Image follows)

44. KALPANA CHAWLA

45. 21. WHILE BRAHMA SAT IN
PENANCE, LORD SHIVA APPEARED
IN FRONT OF HIM FROM THE 'EARS
OF A COW', THUS LEADING TO THE
PLACE GETTING ITS NAME.
WHICH TOWN IS THIS, WHERE THE
MAIN TEMPLE HOUSES WHAT IS
BELIEVED TO BE THE ORIGINAL
IMAGE OF THE ATMALINGA?

46. GOKARNA

47. 22. HOW DO TEAMS FROM DELHI AND
MAHARASHTRA GET MORE TRAINING
TIME THAN THOSE FROM LADAKH?
For fairly obvious reasons, India never really had a strong presence on
the world's ice hockey stage. Beginning in the 1970s, however, the
Army stepped in to promote the game by setting up teams for outfits
such as the Ladakh Scouts Regiment and the Indo-Tibetan Border
Police. Apart from Army support, the sport also received generous
funding from the Canadian High Commission, which donated
equipment regularly.
Today, the Senior National Ice Hockey Championship is held every
winter in Leh, where the frozen Karzoo reservoir provides a solid ice
sheet. At the national tournament, most of the players are from
Ladakh, but a common complaint is that they are unable to train
adequately, and that the whipping boys of the tournament such as
Delhi and Maharashtra end up getting the most training.

48. INDOOR SKATING RINKS AT MALLS

49. 23. WHAT WOULD YOU USE PROF.
GIRDHER’S DESIGN FOR?
In its 2013 decision in People’s Union for Civil
Liberties v. Union of India, the Supreme Court declared
that a sign had to be designed that needed to be
“simple and unambiguous, denoting disapproval”.
In light of this ruling, Prof. Tarun Deep Girdher and his
team at NID, Ahmedabad were tasked with creating
such a sign. In September 2015, his design – a
rectangle superimposed with a cross – was granted
official approval.

50. NOTA OPTION ON ELECTRONIC
VOTING MACHINES

51. 24. FITB WITH SOMETHING THAT SITS
ON SAFDARJUNG ROAD AND HAS A
PENCHANT FOR TAX EVASION.
In motorsports, _______ events can feature obstacles
such as cones, tires, and barrels. The driver/rider
must maneuver through a predetermined "track"
performing many different techniques. What separates
_______ from traditional autocross events is that the
_______ requires drivers to perform reversals, 180
degree spins, 360 degree spins, parking boxes, figure
8s, and other advanced skills.
These events are named for the equestrian event that
inspired them, which in turn gets its name from the
establishments in which it was evolved.

52. GYMKHANA

53. 25. WHAT JOB DOES HE HAVE?

54. HE SERVES IN THE INDIAN ARMY

55. 26. WHAT TERM?
It was used for the first time, by Jyoti
Prasad Saikia (then a journalist in a
national daily) in a radio talk as an
inspired description in 1972 on the
occasion of the inauguration of Tripura as
a state (till then a Union Territory). It was
later adopted by Sarat Chandra Sinha, the
then Chief Minister of Assam, in 1976 to
relations in the context of a border

56. SEVEN SISTERS

57. 27. WHAT IS COMMON TO THE
ALPINE/PLAIN BACKED THRUSH,
THE HIMALAYAN FOREST THRUSH,
THE FRUIT BAT WHICH IS A RARE
MEGABAT SPECIES IN THE
MONOTYPIC GENUS LATIDENS?

58. THEY ARE ALL NAMED AFTER SALIM
ALI.

59. 28. WHO IS THE BEACH NAMED
AFTER?
______ Beach is a fishing village in the Malappuram district of Kerala.
The coastal hamlet shot into prominence when it was renamed after X.
The villagers here have been particularly vocal about their admiration
of X and his 'anti-imperialist' stance. The area has also witnessed
many anti-American and anti-British demonstrations with goods made
in these countries generally boycotted and thrown into the sea.
Many of the villagers who had work in Gulf countries were forced to
return here as their jobs were lost due to the aftereffects of the Gulf
War, further increasing animosity towards the West. The beach also
saw angry demonstrations taking place towards the end of 2006.

60. SADDAM HUSSEIN

61. 29. IN WHAT WAY DO WE SEE
MEHRA'S LEGACY COMING UP IN
THE NEWS EVERY YEAR?
As Harish Chandra Mehra recalled four decades later,
the drama and attention ended for him at the age of
14. After his brief celebrity status, he had visualised an
excellent career for himself, but was seen behind the
desk of an upper division clerk.
Back in 1959 when the whole nation spoke of it,
newspapers published profiles and interviews of
Mehra. A documentary depicting his daredevilry was
screened at cinema halls across the country. The owner
of Novelty Cinema, where Mehra lived, made it free for
anyone wanted to come and see the film. All India

62. NATIONAL BRAVERY AWARDS

63. 30. WHERE HAVE YOU RECENTLY
SEEN THIS TAXI?
Taxi Fabric, headed by Sanket Avlani has, for close to a year,
been working to make the seats of Mumbai taxis a canvas for
their art. The goal is to bring art to the streets, and into a
Mumbaikar’s daily commute, one taxi (and now even rickshaw)
at a time. Last August, just a few months after they had started
off with a crowdfunded Kickstarter campaign to enable their
project, the collective was contacted to provide one of their
taxis.
Created by Karachi based designer Samya Arif, the design they
provided is titled Monad (meaning an indivisible entity), and
explores commonalities in different hand gestures that are
culturally common to India and Pakistan.

64. COLDPLAY’S HYMN FOR A
WEEKEND VIDEO.

65. FINALS TO FOLLOW