The India Quiz conducted by Disha Rawal and Aastha Anupriya.

1. Al-Hind: The India Quiz
Aastha Anupriya
Disha Rawal

2. Rules
r
Bounce +10/0
Pounce +10/-10

3. FINALS

4. Q.1 Chandauli, UP sees a kind of tourism very
different from others. It is estimated that around
15,000-20,000 people visit this district on a certain
‘tour’ everyday, and a five hour tour costs between
Rs. 100 and Rs.200. Consequently, traffic across
the UP-Bihar border surges every evening. What
are these tours?

6. ‘Daaru’ tours

7. Q.2 Around 300 years ago, a certain someone
took the string instrument taus, and modified it
in such a way that it would become light enough
to be carried on horseback conveniently. Thus,
the dilruba was born, of which esraj is the
modern variant. Who made this modification?

9. Guru Gobind Singh

10. Q.3 This group, formed by six artists F.N. Souza,
S.H. Raza, M.F. Husain, K.H. Ara, H.A. Gade and
S.K. Bakre sought to break away from the
nationalism established by the Bengal School of
Art and encourage an Indian avant-garde. By
1950, many famous artists like Vasudeo
Gaitonde had also joined the group. However, by
1956 three founding members had broken apart
and the group had disbanded. Which group was
this?

12. Bombay Progressive Artists’
Movement

13. Q.4 The Central Govt. Employees Consumer
Cooperative Society Ltd. popularly known as X
was set up in 1963 as a welfare project for the
benefit of Central Govt. employees and public
at large. The first branch of X was set up at
Raisina Road, Delhi. Since then X has
expanded exponentially in India. Give X.

15. Kendriya Bhandar

16. Q.5 A famous late 80s song was a remade in
the past decade with certain modifications.
The length was increased and certain lines
from the song were removed. Though it
found little appreciation in general, the
Sindhi community was particularly offended
by the modifications. Which song?

18. Mile Sur Mera Tumhara

19. Q.6 Nandalal Bose was an artist of
importance, both artistically and politically.
He was associated with a certain project
thrice. In the first he picked elements of
village life, by using hay and straw. The most
famous of these three, however, was made
on strawboard and cheap paper, and
depicted the panorama of village life, with
professionals like cobblers, jugglers, ear
cleaners- all finding their place. What was
this project?

21. Congress Pavillions - Faizpur,
Haripura and Lucknow

22. Q.6 A unique kind of auction happened on
28 January 2019 at the National Gallery of
Modern Art in Delhi. A wide gamut of items
like shawls, pagdis, portraits, statues,
miniature paintings and pictures were
auctioned off. These curios were collected
over a specific time period. However, most
items failed to attract interest and
consequently, high prices. What set of items
is these?

24. Gifts received by Narendra Modi
during his tenure.

25. Q.8 True to its name- it is said that the palace was originally
painted over 15 times, so it could resemble the colour of the
sky. After a hiatus of 60 years, this palace, extremely
luxuriantly designed, was painstakingly renovated over 10
whole years, with the renovation being supervised by a
member of the royal family. The toughest part was piecing
together the elaborate decor, sourced from all over the world.
For instance- Burroughs and Watts from England designed
two identical tables. One found its way to the Buckingham
Palace and the other is right here, at this palace. What palace
is this?

27. Falaknuma Palace

28. Q.9 House of ______, a fine jewelry store, came
about when owners of Maxfield’s in Los
Angeles noticed X’s elaborate diamond rings
and placed an order, which eventually sold out.
X moved to US in the age of 5, and has often
faced racist remarks and jibes. New York city
declared October 19,2016 as X day,
recognizing his powerful message of religious
tolerance.

30. Waris Ahluwalia

31. Q 10. The company began with the establishment of
a restaurant by the name of ___ tiffin room in
Bangalore in 1924 by Yagnanarayana Maiya.
In 1975 when India was under emergency, a Food
Control Act was introduced which mandated that
food was to be sold at very low prices. This move
made it difficult for them to maintain high
standards in its restaurant business and forced
them to diversify into ready-to-eat food. How do
we now know this company?

33. MTR

34. Q.11 This organization was for many Bengalis,
an essential part of how they start their
mornings and was once called nectar by
Mahatma Gandhi. The nectar started turning
sour from the time when the newspaper
group switched from its antiquated premises
at Ananda Chatterjee Lane in Baghbazar to
the multi-storey structure at Acharya Jagdish
Chandra Bose Road in central Calcutta by the
end of 1986. Revenues started falling, and
recently this organization crumbled under
debt. Which organization?

36. Amrita Bazar Patrika

37. Q.12 This place has been witness to many
Indian achievements in a certain field. It was
named after a certain white flower that grew
here in abundance. Originally, back in the
1960s, this place was chosen for a specific
purpose (the field mentioned in the first line is
related) because it is close to the earth’s
magnetic equator.

39. Thumba

40. Q.13 This profession is associated with a
certain caste. A lot of people get trapped into
this dangerous profession either because of
lack of skills, or because breaking away from it
is said to speak negatively about the person’s
masculinity. What profession is this?

42. Thumba

43. Q.13 This profession is associated with a
certain caste. A lot of people get trapped into
this dangerous profession either because of
lack of skills, or because breaking away from
it is said to speak negatively about the
person’s masculinity. What profession is this?

45. Toddy Tappers

46. Q.14 This person is famous for sher post-
independence work in reviving cottage
industries. Many types of sarees , including
pochampally and nalgonda ikat became popular
because of her efforts. Many cultural institutions like
NSD and Sangeet Natak Akademi exist because of
her vision. However, her contributions go back to the
pre independence times- she was the first woman to
run for a legislative seat in the country. ID.

48. Kamaldevi Chattopadhyaya

49. Q.15 An excerpt from the book The North
Water is given here. What is the origin of the
word Pandy?

51. Mangal Pandey, Sepoy Mutiny

52. Q.16 This profession, prevalent in India and
Bangladesh, is fast being replaced by modern
implements that are perceived as being more safe.
However, these professionals dismiss these claims
and list the therapeutic effects of their practice.
Nevertheless, they are down to receiving just about
20-30 customers a day in most parts, and this may be
the last generation in this profession. Which profession
is this?

54. Ear Cleaners

55. Q.17
Paikas were peasant militia under the Gajapati rulers of Odisha who
rendered the resource of military service to the king during times of
war. They rebelled against the British rule under the leadership of
Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhara as early as 1817. They recently came
under public attention with a development following Naveen Patnaik’s
letter of request to the Central Government.
How did he suggest the redemption of the Paikas’ long forgotten glory?

57. The ‘Paika Bidroha’ to be declared
the first war of independence.

58. Q.18
The 2014 film, The Hundred Foot Journey, follows the rivalry between
Madame Mallory’s Le Saule Pleureur, an established Michelin-starred
restaurant and Maison Mumbai, a new Indian restaurant run by the
Kadams, who are migrants. This rivalry tends to get dirty as Madame
Mallory buys out all the ingredients on the Kadams’ inaugural menu,
and the Kadams hijack her customers. It gets the nastiest when her sous
chef Jean-Pierre sets fire to Maison Mumbai’s interior. Surprisingly, we
see Madame Mallory clean the vandalised mess herself and fire Jean-
Pierre.
Follow the chain of events, and tell me, what did she say to Jean-Pierre
while dismissing him?

60. “I don’t pay you to burn things.”

61. Q.19
TVF’s Yeh Meri Family follows the life of a teenager and his
family in small town India, set in the year 1998. What fitting
tribute did the makers give to the good ol’ times?

63. Each episode is named after a
homegrown game popular with
kids that age

64. Q.20 Token Jharkhand Question
The man in the picture is Raghubar Das, Chief Minister of
Jharkhand. Apart from being the first non-tribal man to hold
the office, what somewhat unfortunate distinction does he
hold?

66. First CM of Jharkhand in nineteen
years to (nearly) complete his
tenure

67. Q.21
Gurinder Chadha’s Bride and Prejudice (2004) was a
bright Bollywood-y take on the most classic Jane Austen
novel, starring big names like Aishwarya Rai and
Anupam Kher. What is catchier, however is the
soundtrack with songs such as ‘A Marriage has Come to
Town’ and ‘No Life Without Wife’. Whose debut in music
were these songs, as opposed to the popular notion that
it was a 2008 movie?

69. Farhan Akhtar

70. Q.21
A doctor by training, Dr Rajendra Singh took up an
unconventional and financially unprofitable career nearly
35 years ago when the entire board of Tarun Bharat
Sangha resigned, leaving the organization to him. That
was when he moved to a village in Alwar district, and
noted that the area was nearly barren due to adoption of
modern techniques instead of the local johad. His
continued work in this area won him the Magsaysay
Award in 2005. What do we know Rajendra Singh as?

72. Water Man of India

73. Q.22
Literally known as the son of the almighty, she changes
identities several times in her lifecycle. Halfway through,
she meets Manas and later they’re joined by what is
synonymous to the lotus. Finally, in Kishoreganj, she
assumes the identity described in the Urban Dictionary
as follows:

75. Brahmaputra; the blanked out
word is Meghna

76. Q.23
On June 9, 2017 Washington Post carried an article
titled “Indian legislator declares war on killer dumplings.”
The legislator in question was an MLA from Jammu who
demanded a crackdown on street stalls selling these,
something with xenophobic undertones. Of course, this
got a lot of attention on the internet. Given that this
incident took place before the Supreme Court overruled
the Section 377 of the IPC, what was the rest of this
fitting tweet?
“BJP policies – _______________________”

78. BJP policies – 1. no homo 2. no momo

79. Q.24
When PM Modi was speaking at a press conference in
Wuhan, China, he mentioned a list of things that make
the country powerful. However, we weren’t expecting to
hear ‘art’, but we did. What social media funfest did this
lead to?

81. STREANH

82. Q.25
Born to Moolchand and Dhaniyabai in a Koli family in
Bundelkhand, she is said to have demonstrated exceptional
courage. Folklore has it that when a tiger from the jungle tried
to attack her, she stood her ground and killed the tiger with only
an axe. She reportedly once killed a leopard in the forest with a
stick she used to herd cattle. She had no formal education but
was trained in horseback riding and use of weaponry – a
skillset that would lead her onto an unconventional path for the
time.
She was recently in the public conscious due to claims of
merely fleeting references to her in a work of art, and
‘itemization’ of her position. Who am I talking about?

84. Jhalkari Bai

85. Q.26
The devotees are expected to follow a 41 day-austerity period prior
to the pilgrimage. This begins with wearing of a special Mala (a
chain made of Rudraksha or Tulasi beads). During these 41 days,
the devotee who has taken the vow, is required to strictly follow the
rules that include follow only a lacto-vegetarian diet, celibacy,
teetotalism, not use any profanity and have to control the anger,
allow the hair and nails to grow without cutting. They must try to
help others, and see everything around them as lord _______. They
are expected to bath twice in a day and visit the local temples
regularly and only wear plain black or blue colored traditional
clothing.
FITB and what pilgrimage?

87. Ayyappa; Sabarimala

88. Q.26
On June 23, 1985 two airplane bombings were executed by the
Babbar Khalsa group – one on the Montreal-London-Delhi-Mumbai
AI 182 and the other on the Tokyo-Bangkok AI 301. Canadian
investigation agencies, in 2010, declared the two bombings to be
related and intended for the bombs to explode simultaneously.
The first bomb exploded while baggage handling at Narita, killing
two logistics personnel. The second bomb exploded 55 minutes
later off the coast of Cork, Ireland. Considering that it was a
carefully engineered plot, what caused the time difference?

90. The terrorists did not realize that Canada
observes daylight saving time (DST) while
Japan doesn’t.

91. Q.26
In 1991, Princess Chandrika Kumari of Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh
married into the royal family of Rajpipla. Her groom was quoted as
saying, “I was hoping marriage would change things, and I would
become normal. But it only ruined two lives instead of one.”
Obviously, the marriage did not last. Who was the husband, and
how do we know him in the 21st century?

93. Manvendra Singh Gohil; world’s first
openly gay royal.

94. Q.27
Nagpuri and Sadri/Sadani are names of a language spoken in
Eastern India, mainly on the Chhotanagpur Plateau. Both the
names refer to old clans or ethnic groups. Where do Nagpuri and
Sadani come from?

96. Nagpuri – Nagvanshi; Sadani – Nisada

97. Q.28
X is a Tamil-born actress/singer who started acting with Kamal
Hassan in the 1990s. She went on act in a number of critically
acclaimed movies – one in particular, directed by Mira Nair was
nominated for a Golden Globe.
However, you’ll know her best as Preity Zinta’s singing voice from
the prime of the latter’s career, mainly in a couple of Karan Johar
films. ID X.

99. Vasundhara Das