Monthly Archives: April 2012

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Hiranyagarbha: The Indian History Quiz

A set of easy questions on Indian History.

Rules:


Answer as comments against the post. Comments will be published only after the deadline.
Deadline: 10pm 15th April 2012

Prizes:
Only one Grand Prize: Original manuscript of Kamasutra autographed by sage Vatsayana

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Questions

1. This Indian language boasts of around 3-5 million speakers across the globe according to a recent survey although it is mainly centred in Southern India. Linguists consider it to be a very interesting case due to certain peculiar grammatical characteristics. The language is apparently used in a Greek mime that was in turn derived from Euripides’ play Iphigeneia in Tauris but adapted according to Indo Greek sensibilities. The language was also mentioned in a 2011 Bollywood blockbuster. ID. 10 points.

2. What is common between good old Hibiscus Cannabinus, a poisonous psychoactive mushroom from the genus Amanita, a shrub of Ephedra genus, Syrian Rue (which does not actually belong to the Rue family) and the Indian lotus? Many more can be added to this list but these are the more prominent ones. 10 points.

3. ID both (No Part Points) 10 points.

4. This modern day monument was built to commemorate certain ancient contacts in the region. The current name of the town X in which it is situated is derived from the first name of a great emperor Y of medieval times. Nevertheless, it is widely believed to be the final resting place of Z, a beloved of his master. ID all. 15 points.

5. The local head Haria married two sisters, one’s name loosely resembles that of an Indian spice while the other resembles a gemstone. One of his sons grew up to be a much more competent leader who started his own kingdom which was later divided into two parts due to infighting among the ancestors. Which Kingdom am I talking about? 10 points.

6. Just identify the person being honoured through this stamp. (Clue: Better known in some other parts of the world) 10 points.

7. ID the film and the events depicted in the same… 10 points.

8. Simply ID the person from this citation… 10 points.
X noticed enemy LMG inflicting heavy casualties on his company. With complete disregard for his personal safety, he charged the enemy bunker, bayoneted two enemy soldiers and silenced the LMG. Though seriously wounded in this encounter, he continued to fight alongside his comrades through the mile deep objective, clearing bunker after bunker with undaunted courage. Towards the northern end of the objective one enemy MMG opened up from the second storey of a well-fortified building inflicting heavy casualties and holding up the attack. Once again he crawled forward till he reached the building and lobbed a grenade into the bunker killing one enemy soldier and injuring the other.

9. He is one of the rare Indians of his kind, an explorer per excellence. He is responsible for mapping remote areas of Tibet and charting the trade routes between Nepal and Tibet way back in the 19th century. He was also the first person to exactly determine the location of Lhasa and is also believed to have met the then Dalai Lama. Who? 10 points.

10. The X family is of Baghdadi Jewish origin. They settled down in Bombay during the 19th century and had close contact with the British in various businesses, accumulating considerable wealth during the process. Opium trade with China was one of his most profitable ventures and eventually he became a naturalised citizen of England too. Scores of hospitals, schools and other institutions in the Bombay-Pune region were set up using donations of this family and are named after them. Identify. 10 points.

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Answers

1. Tulu, which is spoken mostly in Karnataka. One random character in Singham (2011) speaks the language
2. These are some of the contestants that are supposed to be the Rigvedic Soma Plant, that was used to prepare Somarasa, the ancient Indian wine
3. Uday Shankar and Ballerina Anna Pavlova
4. X-Jalalpur Sharif, Y-Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, Z-Bucephalus (Alexander’s Horse)
5. Koch/Kamata Kingdom
6. Dr. Dwarkanath Shantaram Kotnis who did most of his notable work in China
7. Chittagong (An upcoming film & not Khelenge hum Ji Jaan Sey), Chittagong Uprising
8. Lance Naik Albert Ekka
9. Pandit Nain Singh Rawat
10. Sassoon Family, David Sassoon

Scores

Harsha VS 70
Manoranjan Malakar 90
Daktar Vinay 20
Sushanta Sharma 40
Satam Choudhury 10
Yahsolankar Bhagawati 50
Suman Doogar 50
Beyond the Zero 85
Kaustav Lyon 10
Abhilash Patowary 80
Anurag Talukdar 55
Vikas Tripathi 80
Sushant Srivastava 105
Siddhartha Prakash 50

Sushant Srivastava continues his good for with 105/105 & hence wins the quiz.