BCQC Fundraiser: ELIMS India Quiz by Debanjan Bose and Sachin Deshpande

INDIA QUIZ
Prelims
QMs: Sachin & Debanjan

How to
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answers
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One submission per team only
We’ll evaluate the first submission
in case of multiple entries.

RULES 30 questions (35 points)
Qs 11-20 are starred questions,
which will be used to resolve ties
Qs 26-30 have two parts each.
Every part worth 1 point. No halves.
Please don’t Google and
spoil this fundraiser event!
Top 8 teams qualify. All the best!

‘This’ has been in existence since the early 70s and was launched
by Sunil Dutt. In 2002, Amitabh Kant (then a Joint Secretary and
now NITI Aayog CEO) spearheaded a project where he hired O&M
for a rebranding exercise, while retaining ‘this’.
In six years, foreign footfalls more than doubled to 5.4 mn
and revenues rose to a whopping $11.5 bn from $3bn.
What alliterative reason led to a rise in tourists,
something that is stylised with an exclamation mark?
1

Footage
from 1962.
Who wore
these ‘uniforms’ ?
2

These characters are some of the protagonists featured in
different episodes of a television serial of the early 90s:
Government Official, Patient’s friend, Tenant, Professor,
Chief Guest, Doctor, Telephone customer and Doctor.
Which hit show is this?
3

In the late 1960s, this statue of
George V was moved from near
India Gate to an open space,
a location that was rather apt.
What event took place
at this location thrice?
4

Delhi Darbar
The statue is now located at
Coronation Park, in New Delhi

This produce grows in and around a particular town (marked in
map), where conditions are dry. This contributes to a uniquely
sharp and pungent flavour, among other vital characteristics.
Purists claim the authentic version of a particular dish can only
be made using these. As an extension, this is also why the dish
gets its popular name, with the produce contributing to one-half
of the name.
Which dish?
5

Laal Maas
Mathania Mirchi is integral
to this meat prep from Rajasthan

6
What is Jahangir shown
to be taking aim at?
The same was also promised
in a slogan of the 1970s.

Poverty
“The auspicious portrait of His Exalted Majesty who, with the arrow of generosity,
eradicated the trace of daliddar, ‘in other words, the personification of poverty’. from the
world and laid anew the foundation of a world marked by justice and munificence”.

“Her face was twisted in anguish. She wept. Then, with a glance
at the sky, she scooped a finger of honey on to her tongue.”
These words describe events from 2016 that marked the end of
the longest of its kind in the world, after nearly 16 years.
What ended?
7

Irom Sharmila’s hunger strike
Honey was chosen as it’s liquid in form and carries antimicrobial properties.

The chariots in the Puri Rath Yatra require over 1,000 logs of wood
from 12 different species. Of these, over 800 are at least eight feet
in length each. Eventually, the chariots are built from 4,000
different pieces of wood.
After the festivities are over and the chariots dismantled,
the wood is dispatched for a particular purpose that benefits
more than 30,000 people every day.
How/where is the wood repurposed?
8

Used as firewood in
the temple kitchen
More than 30,000 people eat prasad at the Jagganath Temple every day!

Name this object in the news recently. It was…
- inspired by the sight of a wooden object held aloft upon victory
- flown halfway across the world on a separate airplane seat
- named Michael Mason
- suggested it be used to stir drinks in Bledisloe Cup, a rugby trophy
9

The (WTC) Test mace
Now given for the WTC winners, it was previously presented to the team that finished the year at
No. 1 in Test Rankings. Some said how the biggest worry is the players can’t drink out of it!

Wild Women was a video interview series that ran for half of 2020.
One of the guests featured was Lee Durrell, a naturalist, director of
the acclaimed Jersey Zoo, and wife of the late Gerald Durrell.
Who hosted these web interviews, a person who
has been inspired by the Durrells in work and words?
10

Janaki Lenin
Her column (and two books) was named after
Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals

Qs 11-
21
Starred
questions
begin

The story goes that local villagers often noticed a cow visiting
a particular spot among the shrubbery. On inspection, they
unearthed a Shivling under a banana tree. And, thus started a
temple that’s over 350 years old.
Located bang in the middle of an expanse marked by lakes
and dense growth, this temple is what gives its name to the
surrounding lands known to us for other reasons.
Name this temple or the surrounding area.
11

Keoladeo
National Park
takes its name from the Shiva temple at Bharatpur

About a hundred years ago, the man encircled,
a Maharashtrian, became the first entrant in a list of men
and women who were almost there. This includes
people hailing from Punjab in Pakistan to Agartala in
Tripura, most recently.
What (specific) list is this?
12

Indians finishing
fourth at Olympics
Randhir Shinde is seen in the photograph with India’s
contingent at the 1920 Antwerp Games. Shinde lost his
featherweight wrestling bronze bout.

You will see a photograph taken at the signing of an agreement to
solve citizenship issues between two neighbours. While the treaty
was only partially successful, its scars are felt to this day.
A tale of the agreement’s repercussions was found in a pop culture
sensation that came out in March 2021. The creator narrates the
fates his ancestors suffered as a result of the memorandum.
What alliterative work is this?
13

Enjoy Enjaami
Arivu’s grandmother worked as a landless migrant labourer, whose ancestors were forcefully
transported to Sri Lanka to work in the tea estates. The Shastri Sirimavo pact resulted in some of
these migrant labourers being repatriated to India, including Arivu’s grandmother Valliamma

This tradition of rulers appearing in front of their subjects was
started by Hindu kings of the north, and later borrowed by the
Mughals. Such appearances took name from where the royalty
would position themselves in their residences.
What feature lent its name to these?
14

Jharoka
These darshans were named after the
architectural term for ornate balcony
windows seen in forts and palaces.

Serampore, located on the Hooghly near Calcutta, is a town of a few
firsts - Bengal’s first printing press and newspaper both began here.
In 1880s, an 18-yr-old gave a speech at the town college on the
importance of spending four years in USA. Some of the conservative
townsfolk, who had opposed this decision of travelling abroad for a
particular purpose, were so convinced that they funded a part of this
trip! They realised the need and didn’t see it as anti-Hindu.
Name this person, who hailed from opposite end of the country and
settled in Serampore before setting sail for USA from Calcutta docks.
15

Anandibai Joshi
She was the first Indian woman to become a doctor.
Her husband Gopalrao was posted in Serampore .

When this one-time theatre actor was yet to find his calling,
Tigmanshu Dhulia offered him a role in Haasil. This acting
experience was captured by the man in question on canvas.
The next slide shows the scene and the artwork.
Name the actor, who went on to shine in a different creative field.
16
(seen in white)

Subodh Gupta
The artist went on to achieve fame with shiny utensils as art.

This sect, distinguished principally by their facial covering, gets
their name quite literally because the monks inhabit places –
in this case, halls, where they meet to pray, and not temples.
Which sect is this, whose origins
can be traced back to 15th c Gujarat?
17

Sthanakvasi
These prayer halls are called sthanaks, literally meaning place

In Satyajit Ray’s Hirak Rajar Deshe, the king’s greatest enemy
in the land is Udayan Pandit, a schoolteacher,
who resists the ruler’s tyrannical rule.
In a scene, the teacher meets a brainwashed farmer
and finds him singing joyous praises of the king. He
then immediately dismisses it as nonsense.
What familial two words did Ray use in the
dialogue as a response from the schoolteacher?
18

Abol Tabol
Nonsense verse written by
Sukumar Ray, Satyajit’s father

While many more have been found, there exists only seven
‘complete’ ones. Five of them share a common characteristic.
The two exceptions – bull and elephant - are shown on next slide.
One stands relocated inside Rashtrapati Bhavan, possibly
the only one that’s not in a museum or at its location.
What are these?
19

Rashtrapati Bhavan Uttar Pradesh

Capitals of Ashokan Pillars
The Sarnath
Capital is the
most well-known

To mark Women’s Day coinciding with the farmers’ struggle, a
Chandigarh-based art collective roped in young women designers to
create a poster that borrowed from a representation of the ladies on
the next slide.
Dressed in light green, red and orange-ish ochre, the poster showed
this group freed from their otherwise melancholic and brooding
selves and placed on a tractor in an open field.
Who are these women?
20
Names not required. Need an answer like India’s Spin Quartet

Amrita Shergill’s Three Girls
Sisters named Beant Kaur, Narwair Kaur and Gurbhajan Kaur were the
models for Shergill’s first painting after returning to India.

Headgears such as the ones on the next slide are part of the
cultural identity of a tribe in Arunachal Pradesh.
Thanks to stricter laws, conservation efforts and awareness,
most of these are now made of artificial materials, mimicking
the shape of the original.
What is the original source of this headgear?
21
Need an answer like Sachin’s bat, not just cricket bat.

Hornbill beak
This headgear is worn by the Nyishis

A fruit that entered India due to the Columbian Exchange gets
one of its common names from the natural gum found in many
members of its genus.
It was used to make chewing gum in Aztec cultures, and thus
gave name to a minty brand once commonly found across India.
Which fruit is this, also a common nickname?
22
Points only for the name that fits the question

Chikoo
From ‘chicle’ – which also gives name of Chiclets

These are protest songs/poetry written by activists of an organisation
that has been in national news since May 2020 and has recently found a
cause to celebrate. The blanks are self-referential.
Which organisation is this?
23
Ye sannata chhod ke aa
Saare ______ ___ ke
Aazadi se dosti Kar le
Saari zanjeeron ko ___ ke
aa
______ ___…pankh
phailaye,
nayi bhor ki hum,
parchaiyee
duniya wapas, hum lene
aayin
ummeedon ne li, angdai
Hit the streets in celebration;
We don’t need false protection;
You can’t cage half the nation!
(It’s time to) _____ ___!
Don’t use culture as excuse;
Behind doors, there is abuse.
Woman’s a citizen, not a recluse.
No more cagin’; we refuse.
She’s not an egg, or a flower;
Rapunzel has leapt out of her
tower;
Red Riding needs her Hood no
more;
It’s time to _____ ___!

Pinjra Tod
It’s “an autonomous collective effort to ensure secure, affordable and not gender-discriminatory
accommodation for women students across Delhi. It’s gained national prominence since the cowardly arrest
and release of activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita under the UAPA Act wrt Delhi Riots.

These instruments are made of bamboo/wooden sticks and carry a
pointed tip. A section of it has a cotton ball secured with strings tied
around. This absorbs the colour, which is released in varying
amounts, subject to the degree of applied pressure.
A sharper tip is used for creating outlines, while colours are
filled using ones with a blunter tip.
Which art form is created using such instruments?
24

Kalamkaari
The instrument is the pen, or the kalam, used to create the designs.

You will hear a person recount his experiences from a visit to
Rajasthan in 2020. This led to an award-winning creation born out
of a hobby.
He talks about the desert, camels and a ballerina-like figure in the
thick of things. The speaker has visited India multiple times
in the past for another reason we otherwise know him for.
Name the speaker.
25

Steve Waugh
winner of Wisden’s cricket photograph of the year award

Qs 26-30
have two
parts each
Please write your answer in the correct box –
marked as A and B for each question

As per a local retelling of a legend, this deity (X) was born to
parents who had seven daughters: Sitla, Prabhadevi, Mahalaxmi,
Shanthadevi, Lilavati, _________ and X.
Come September, when the city celebrates a festival in her (X’s)
honour, the deity is said to visit each of her six sisters by boat,
inviting them to partake in the gala held at one location in the city.
Who is this deity? (X)
FITB with the name of the other sister. (the blank)
26

This murder-mystery film of the early 80s takes its name from
the location of a bungalow in the film. This is where the suspects
gather before the killer is revealed. This Hindi movie also happens
to be one of the last featuring a regional screen legend.
A - Name this excellent actor, seen wheelchair-bound in this film.
B – Which early 70s track is the BG score an obvious lift from?
27

Uttam Kumar;
Pink Floyd’s Time
Salil Chowdhury scored the background music for this film.

Meteorologist Anna Mani’s contributions are plenty – from standardising
instrumentation to setting up weather stations.
In early 1960s, another pioneer reached out to her to set up a station at
a particular location ahead of a big day. The station was critical to its
success. Picture on next slide shows the reaction of some locals.
However, Mani began her career in a different field, producing
research on the properties of gemstones, as understood from their
interaction with electromagnetic radiation and light emittance.
A - Where did she set up the meteorological facility?
B - Who was her research guide?
28

Anna Mani at fieldwork
Reactions of the locals

Thumba; CV Raman
Vikram Sarabhai asked Anna Mani to set up a meteorology
observatory and instrumentation tower ahead of the first launch. Mani
used the Raman Effect in her research on diamonds and rubies.

Below is an excerpt from a lecture given in the 1950s. The
speaker was the first Indian head of an institution.
“It was really not a revolutionary measure and even its purpose as a
minatory and punitive gesture towards black-marketing was not
effectively served. There was no fool-proof administrative method by
which a particular note brought by an individual could be proved as the
life-savings of the hard-working man who presented it or established
as the sordid gains of a black-marketer. Another loophole of which
considerable advantage was taken was the exemption of the princely
states from scrutiny or questioning.”
A - Who is the speaker? B - What is being talked
about?
29

CD Deshmukh; Demonetisation
The first Demon happened in 1946
Deshmukh was the first Indian Governor of the Reserve Bank of India

A hobbyist and an illustrator teamed up to create a series of
artworks that told the story of the India. It is inspired from
something that often similarly represents the various facets
of Indian life, society and culture.
A - What is this series inspired from?
B - What tourist attraction is blanked out, one
that takes its name from a numerical overestimation?
30

Matchbox Labels; Unakoti
The designs by Shreya Katuri and Shantanu Suman are a tribute to the pop art seen on such labels.
Unakoti gets its name from “one less than a crore” rock sculptures at the site in Tripura.

BCQC Fundraiser: ELIMS India Quiz by Debanjan Bose and Sachin Deshpande

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