Prelims & Answers

Question

In Assam an art form is performed annually at the

Kamakhya temple in Guwahati and is called

Deodhani. It gets its name from deva dhwani or

the ‘voice of god’. A similar art form exists in

Kerala. Its name is also derived from the same

Sanskrit root word. Name the Kerala version.

01

Theyyam 01

Question

A page from the 9th September 1947 (next slide)

log of the Harvard Mark II is shown. Although the

blanked out word was in use previously in this

sense, this particular occurrence is supposed to

have led to it becoming popular. What word?

02

Question 02

bug 02

Question

For what

specific purpose

was this CV

recently

used/sent?

03

Tendulkar Bharat Ratna 03

Question

Unlike the “moment magnitude scale” used

elsewhere, the shindo scale is used in Japan. A

given event may be described as “shindo 4 in

Tokoyo, shindo 3 in Yokohama” etc. with levels

ranging from “faint”, “weak”, “strong” and

“violent” and others in between. What does

shindo measure?

04

earthquake intensity

04

Question

The name of this dish in its original Portuguese

contains garlic (alhos) and wine, and translates to

“meat of wine garlic”. After many modifications,

it has now gained popularity in around the world

in Indian restaurants. Identify.

05

vindaloo 05

Question

Before the Prophet Muhammad changed it to

Mecca, towards which city would Muslims turn

(qiblah) while praying?

06

Jerusalem 06

Question

Identify the speaker (full name) and the composer

of the song.

07

Prince Rama Varma, Thyagaraja

07

Question The origin of the name of

this style of play (of a

sport) may be

onomatopoeic and taken

from a commentator’s

remarks during a Spain –

Tunisia game. Or it may

be derived from this toy.

Identify.

08

Tiki-taka

08

Question

From the “Thesaurus of Anecdotes” by Edmund

Fuller:

“Not all your plays are successes, I suppose, Sir

James”, someone remarked to J. M. Barrie at a

party…Barrie leaned toward him and said, “No,

some ______ out and some ______ out.”

Fill in the blanks. NO part points.

09

Peter

Pan

09

Question

According to a January 27 report in the Guardian,

among the top secret documents leaked by

Edward Snowden are presentations from the NSA

and GCHQ showing what information can be

extracted from smartphone ad platforms. What

example, downloaded over 1.7 billion times, is

shown as a case study?

10

Angry Birds 10

Question

According to the page titled “Question Hour in

Lok Sabha” on www.parliamentofindia.nic.in, “A

_____ _____ is one to which a member desires an

oral answer in the House and which is

distinguished by a XXXX mark.” Fill in the blank.

11*

starred question

11*

Question

What nickname, also the name of a tool, did the

following leaders and rulers share?

Judah Maccabee

Charles Martel

Edward I Longshanks aka (Malleus Scotus)

12*

hammer 12*

Question

This word may have its origin in an Arabic word

for ‘diversion’/‘amusement’ or the Chinese word

ch’ih-fan, meaning ‘eat rice’. The most likely

origin is an English colloquial term which means

“a draught of liquor”. In the Hobson-Jobson

dictionary, in 1785, it is defined as ‘eating or

drinking out of meal-times.” What word?

13*

tiffin 13*

Question

Identify the player. How

are we more familiar

with this photograph?

Part points available.

14*

Jerry West, NBA logo 14*

Question

An inscription on the Meguti temple in Aihole that

dates to 634 CE contains a fine example of a

Sanskrit pun. Praising the achievements of

Pulakeshi II in battle, it says of his famous

opponent that, “the mighty ______ lost his

_____”. Fill both blanks with one word.

15*

Harsha

15*

Question

Makmende [next slide], a fictional superhero,

may be Kenya’s first viral internet sensation. The

name is supposedly a mispronunciation of an

iconic phrase from a 1983 Hollywood movie, the

4th in a franchise. The original line was spoken by

the protagonist to a bad guy, daring him to

commit a crime. What is the original line?

16*

Question 16*

“Go ahead. Make my day.” 16*

Question

This constant was not discovered by the person

who it is named for. Accurate measurement of its

value only became possible when the

measurement of a single quantity could be done

at an atomic and a macro scale. The charge of a X

of electrons is 96,485.3383 coulombs, while the

charge of one is 1.602 x 10-19 coulombs. Which?

17*

17*

Avogadro number

Question

Excerpt from the first chapter of which classic?

“There was a brief flurry of excitement at

Spaceguard headquarters, and the interstellar

vagabond was quickly dignified by a name instead

of a mere number. Long ago, the astronomers had

exhausted Greek and Roman mythology; now they

were working through the Hindu pantheon. And so

31/439 was christened ________.”

18*

18*

Question

Dubashes were employed by the colonial

mercantile companies (East India etc.) for a

particular purpose. Their title went on to become

a surname in certain communities.

What specific profession/role did the dubashes

perform?

19*

interpreter/translator

19*

Question

Where would you find Gulliver, Buttonwood,

Charlemagne, Lexington and Bagehot together?

20*

The Economist

20*

Question

In November 2013, Captain _____ A. _____ took

over as commanding officer of the guided missile

destroyer USS Zumwalt. Lots of jokes about his

name floated around the internet around then,

and it was pointed out that when he was working

as a naval aviator, his call sign was “Tiberius”. Fill

in the blanks.

21

James Kirk 21

Question

The NSTL, Visakhapatnam and NPOL, Kochi have

jointly developed the ______ Advanced Torpedo

Defence System, which is capable of detecting,

confusing, diverting and decoying incoming

torpedoes.

Who in Hindu mythology is it named after?

22

Maariichaa 22

Question

Every station on the Indian Railways network is

associated with a station code. For example, TCR

for Trichur.

What is Kanyakumari’s 4-letter Indian Railways

station code, which is also a word in English?

23

CAPE 23

Question

A study by the University of Gottingen using UN

economic data about 159 nations found that when

the head of state of a country does something,

there is an average 8.1 % drop in exports from the

country to China over the next 2 years. There is

no measurable effect if someone of a lower rank

does the same thing. What is this effect called (2

words)?

24

Dalai Lama Effect 24

Question

The Kuno-Palpur wildlife sanctuaries in MP have

been proposed as the site of reintroduction of

two large mammals in the wild. The first is an

endangered species from a neighbouring state.

The second is extinct in the wild in India and

proposed to be brought from Iran. Both belong to

the same family. Both initiatives are stuck in legal

hassles. Name both species.

25

Asiatic lion, cheetah 25

Question

4 seas are named after colours. Name them. Half

points if you get 3 out of 4 correct!

26

Red, Yellow, Black, White

26

Question

In an interview published earlier this month in the

Sunday Times, the author said, “I wrote the X - Y

relationship as a form of wish fulfilment…For

reasons that have very little to do with

literature…X ended up with Y.” The reporter

commented that the author “…admitted she got

it wrong by pairing off X with Y rather than…”

Identify X and Y (first names will do).

27

Hermione, Ron 27

Question

This art form is an example of the amalgamation

of medieval art, poetry and music. Each work is

usually about one of 6 XXXs (and their 5 “wives”

and 8 “sons/daughters”). Each one of these is

personified by a colour, mood, and a verse

describing a story of a hero and heroine. It

elucidates a season and time of day; most of

them also specify a deity. What art form?

28

Raagamala

paintings

09

Question

This informal term for practitioners of a certain

branch of medicine seems to have originated in

the 60s as a disparaging reference to primitive

tribal practices directed against enemies, mostly

by the indigenous people of Melanesia and the

Jivaroan peoples of Ecuador and Peru. The first

known use seems to be in Thomas Pynchon’s “The

Crying of Lot 49”. Which term?

29

shrink

29

Question

What painting is being recreated?

30

Luncheon of the Boating Party 30

Question

Connect the 2 videos, with the name of a

person/character.

31

Warren Anderson 31

Question

Identify the bird from its call. It gets its name

from the sound it’s making.

Clearer version:

32

kiwi 32

Question

The structure on the bow of the ship you will see

in the clip takes its name from a similar structure

from the world of sport, currently in the news.

Name the structure.

33

ski jump/ramp 33

Question

Identify the singer from this 1963 clip recorded at

the Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta.

Hint?

34

Pete Seeger 34

Question

Connect with a one word answer X:

A. An Arabic words for “chain”, often used in the

sense of “lineage”/“genealogy”, especially in

Sufism. A Sufi’s X is his badge of identity which

provides him with a list of predecessors and

his relationship with them.

B. The movie clip.

35

35

Silsila continues in the Finals!