10Q (March 6, 2018)

[For most of the images, larger versions can be viewed by clicking on them]

1. According to Sri Lankan legends, when the Buddha died in 543 BCE (or thereabouts), his body was cremated in a sandalwood pyre at Kushinagar, and his left canine tooth was retrieved from the funeral pyre by Arahat Khema, who then gave it to King Brahmadatta for veneration. Brahmadatta kept it in his capital city of Danta____, where it remained for a long while before continuing its journey to its final resting place.
As per Vedic writings, though, the place was originally called Purushamandama-grama meaning the place where the creator deity of the world was deified on a mandapa. Over time the name got changed to Purushottama ____, and later to just ____.
These are alternative explanations of what city name, that is said to be cognate with the Greek 'polis'? (All blanks above are the same.)

2. What object of household use gets its name from the biological genus of these fruit classified in the cucumber (Cucurbitaceae) family, specifically X aegyptiaca and X acutangula?

3. The Swiss corporation Phœbus S.A. Compagnie Industrielle pour le Développement de l'Éclairage (French for Phoebus, Inc. Industrial Company for the Development of Lighting) that existed from 1925 to 1955, was actually a front for a number of companies including Osram, Philips, Tungsram, Associated Electrical Industries, ELIN, Compagnie des Lampes, International General Electric, and the GE Overseas Group,which held shares in the Swiss corporation proportional to their lamp sales. Known after the fatcs came to light as the Phoebus cartel, the group engaged in large-scale planned obsolescence, reduced competition in the light bulb industry, and has been accused of preventing technological advances that would have produced longer-lasting light bulbs. Who in Greek mythology did the cartel take its name from? (In other words, Phoebus, which means 'bright' in Greek, was one of the alternative names for whom?)

4. Apco Worldwide is an American lobby group and PR firm which has, among other 'achievements', run an image-improvement campaign for the US financial industry at the height of its troubles in the early 2010s; helped keep Kazakhstan dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev in power; and handled crises as diverse as Merck & Co's scandal involving Vioxx, the arthritis drug that killed thousands before it was withdrawn, and Ford Motor's troubles with Firestone tires on its Explorer vehicles. Its first venture into India in 2007 was for a person who has since used them to great effect, in helping to promote and rebrand a showpiece investor meeting. What name did they come up for the biennial event?

5. The circulation of engravings such as this one were significant contributors to the anti-colonial fervour in America in the 1770s. What event does it depict, and who made the engraving?

6. Listen to this audio clip.
This is from a 2003 reggae version of a famous rock album. The name of the tribute album, produced by Easy Star All-Stars, is the same as that of the original album, but with one key word changed. (a) Name the tribute album.
Included with the liner notes of the tribute are instructions on how to synchronise the album with a 1939 film and produce a variation of the perceived "____ ____ of the Rainbow" effect. (b) Which movie?

7. Incorporated in 1948, it claims to be the largest exporter of viscose rayon fibre in the country, with exports to over 50 countries. It is headquartered in Nagda in Madhya Pradesh, and also has plants at Kharach (Kosamba, Gujarat) and Harihar (Davangere, Karnataka). The company's products include Freedom ("the softest fabric available"), Ice Touch ("fabric which keeps body temperature five degrees cooler"), Uncrushables ("first wrinkle-free polyester viscose fabric"), Venetia ("designs inspired from Italy") and Caramel ("soft, smooth and lightweight fabric"). Name the company, associated for a long time with a beauty pageant.

8. On 16 October 1834, a fire broke out at an historic location, after an overheated stove used to destroy a stockpile of tally sticks set fire to one of its most hallowed chambers. The resulting conflagration destroyed a significant part of the complex. The artist J.M.W. Turner watched the fire from a vantage point, and painted several canvasses depicting it, including the one shown below. (a) What were the buildings involved in the disaster, that were swiftly rebuilt, and ready for use by February the following year?
Immediately after the fire, King William IV offered an almost-completed building as an alternative, hoping to dispose of a residence he disliked. The building was considered unsuitable for the proposed use, however, and the gift was rejected. (b) What building?


9. What reversal of parenting roles occurs in only one species of mammal, the Dayak fruit bat shown here?


10. The record for the maximum ODI centuries on a single cricket ground is seven, achieved by three different batsmen. Ricky Ponting did it at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. On which ground did both Saeed Anwar and Sachin Tendulkar hit seven centuries?

Answers
1. Puri, in Odisha
2. Loofah, from luffa

3. Apollo, god of, among other things, light
4. Vibrant Gujarat (their client being, of course, Narendra Modi)
5. The Boston Massacre, by Paul Revere

6. (a) 'Dub Side of the Moon' (b) 'The Wizard of Oz'
7. Grasim Industries Limited, which has since diversified into building materials and chemicals, and from 1992 to 2012 sponsored the Grasim Mr India competition

8. (a) The British Houses of Parliament at Westminster (b) Buckingham Palace
9. Milk production and nursing is done by the male of the species
10. Sharjah

10Q (February 24, 2018)

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1. An underground version of this path-breaking 1970s English movie, dubbed in Tamil, was doing the rounds when I was in college in Madras in the '80s. It was titled (in translation) 'Supriya Shocks Selva', which is both appropriate and absurd. Which movie?

A. 'Sybil', the cult classic
 

2. This image depicts St X of Y, a 4th-century Bishop nicknamed the Doctor of Grace whose writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity. He is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses. An order named after him built a church (also named after him) on Monte Santo in Old Goa between 1597 and 1602, which was abandoned in 1835 due to repressive government policies, and has fallen into ruin since.
Y is a place in modern-day Algeria that was the site of a number of church councils and synods in the 4th and 5th century CE. Its name comes not from the Latin for 'horse' but the Punic 'ûbôn', meaning 'harbour'. Name the good doctor.

 

A. St Augustine of Hippo
 

3. Who, in 1917, formed the Socialist Party that soon became the Communist Party of Mexico, the first Communist Party formed outside Russia, before forming the Communist Party of his own country in, of all places, Tashkent in 1920?

A. MN Roy
 

4. The circulation of entries such as the ones below for a 1998 contest organised by online magazine Salon led to what persistent myth on the Internet?

Yesterday it worked.
Today it is not working.
_______ is like that.

Three things are certain:
Death, taxes, and lost ____.
Guess which has occurred.

Everything is gone;
Your life's work has been destroyed.
Squeeze trigger (yes/no)?

A. Haiku
 

5. Who in Hindu mythology is originally called Bhargava Rama, using the name of his kul, but later gets named for the weapon that he wields?

6. The Quds Force is a special unit of Iran's Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (usually called the Revolutionary Guard). It has been tasked with "exporting" Iran's Islamic revolution, and is responsible for "extraterritorial operations" of the Revolutionary Guard. What is Quds the Arabic for?

7. This picture shows a technology called OptimEyes in operation at one of Britain's biggest retailer Tesco's petrol stations. The technology, which Tesco said is like something out of 'Minority Report', was blasted by privacy campaigners when it launched. What does OptimEyes do? [Disclaimer: I had first put this info away some five years ago. When I do a search now, I can't locate anything about it more recent than that, so I don't know if Tesco is still using it.]

8. The X are an indigenous people, the majority of whom live in Meghalaya, with small populations in neighbouring Assam, and in parts of Bangladesh. Their language, also called X, is the northernmost Austro-Asiatic language. This language was essentially oral until the arrival of European missionaries. A Welsh missionary, Thomas Jones, transcribed the alphabet in Roman script as shown below. What is X which, in a different Indian language, would sound like an ailment or affliction?

9. In 2010, publishers Frederick Warne & Co. sent this Oscar-winning British actor and screenwriter (she has won BAFTAs and Academy Awards in both categories) a box containing half-eaten radishes and a letter from Peter Rabbit asking her to write him another adventure. Over the next few years, she produced these three sequels to Beatrix Potter's original. Who?


10. The component parts of the name of which financial institution come from the Dutch word for 'general' and the names of the cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam?

Answers
1. St Augustine of Hippo
2. Manabendra Nath Roy, generally known simply as M. N. Roy, who later also founded the Communist Party of India. 
He had fled, via Indonesia, Japan and the US, to Mexico after unsuccessfully attempting to launch an armed insurrection against British rule in India in the first decade of the 20th century. In Mexico, he became associated with like-minded revolutionaries, including then President Venustiano Carranza, and formed the Socialist Party. 
3. That Windows' Japanese edition uses haiku error messages
4. 'Sybil', the cult classic
5. Parashurama ('parashu' means 'axe')
6. In this context, it's the Arabic for Jerusalem
7. It scans customers' faces so that advertising can be tailored to their age and gender
8. Khasi
9. Emma Thompson

10. ABN AMRO Bank
In 1991, Algemene Bank Nederland (ABN – meaning 'General Bank Netherlands') and AMRO Bank (itself the result of a merger of the Amsterdamsche Bank and the Rotterdamsche Bank in the 1960s) merged to create the original ABN AMRO.

10Q (February 20, 2018)

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1. The X Challenge, a promotional initiative for the movie X, hit social media recently. Alia Bhatt did it hanging upside down from some equipment in a gym; Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao did it outside a pharmacy somewhere in Punjab, prompting Sonam Kapoor to tweet: "Woohoo!! Dad this is fantastic! I am who I am because of you and how you think! #progressive #feminist #artist #BestDad"; Ravi Shastri did it at his hotel in South Africa; Diana Penty did it with a bunch of friends, all of them pointing fingers at her.
What is X?
Who took the challenge and posted the following tweet with his photo? [Half points for an explanation, 1 point for the name]
"Yes that’s a Y in my hand & there's nothing to be ashamed about. It's natural! Period. #StandByHer Copy, Paste this & Challenge your friends to take a photo with a Y!"
Y is part of the name X, and you don't have to tell me what it is (I'm shy that way).

2. A band called Siervas, which is Spanish for "servants” or "those who serve", is a group of 12 unconventional female members who come from Argentina, China, the Philippines, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Japan. Their first music video, "Confía en Dios” recorded in Lima, Peru, was released in October 2015, and notched up nearly 1.25 million views. What is the common vocation of the group members?
You can listen to the song here.

3. For most of the 1920s and part of the '30s, the man in the picture below quit art and devoted his life to learning and playing chess. Later, after doing quite well at several international tournaments, he realised that he had got as good as he was ever going to be and was never going to make it to the top flight in the world. He then returned to his Cubist and Dadaist art. His gravestone epitaph roughly translates in English to “Anyway, it’s always other people who die.” Who?

4. This is a song from the film '1920'. Identify the singer and also name the music director, who is of late an Indian.

5. This design, still persistent though obsolete, was created by Christopher Latham Sholes in 1873 for the Sholes and Glidden __________ and sold to X in the same year. While it is often said that it was designed to slow things down, this is incorrect – it was designed to prevent jams. The design of what, and who or what is X?

6. Polish pianist-composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski has a star on the Hollwood Walk of Fame. How does that make him unique in terms of people so honoured?


7. Watch this video clip.

That is Elvis singing the German children's song "Muss i denn" in a 1960 movie, where it's part of an English adaptation. What is the Elvis song called in English, and what's the film (appropriate given he was posted as a soldier in Germany at the time)?
The same tune appears in the form of some "ku-ru-ku"ing in a song from a 1971 Hindi film based on the Tamil movie 'Server Sundaram'. Name the song (the initial few words after the ku-ru-ku will suffice).

8. The Oxford Group, a non-denominational movement modelled on 1st-century Christianity. One of its 'Groupers', Ebby Thacher, found membership in the group an aid in avoiding one of his major vices, and recruited buddy Bill Wilson, who also found that it helped him. What did Bill W. go on to found as a result?

9.  The most recent one fell on April 4 two years ago. The next one will be on May 5 seven years from now. One suggested way of celebrating it is by eating dishes like the one being cooked here. What is this 'holiday'? (It has a three-word name.)

10.  This restaurant and entertainment venue in Stockholm is based on the Greek taverna featured in which 2008 musical?


Answers
1. 'Padman', Muruganathan (the actual chap the movie is based on)

2. Watch the video

They are all nuns
3. Marcel Duchamp
4. Pandit Jasraj, Adnan Sami
5. The QWERTY design of a typewriter and now computer keyboard, X is Remington
6. The only European head of government with a star (he served as Prime Minister of Poland between the World Wars)
7. Watch ...

"Wooden Heart" from 'GI Blues'
Here is the Hindi song

"Do Mastaane" from 'Main Sunder Hoon'
8. Alcoholics Anonymous
9. Square Root Day -- 4/4/16, 5/5/25, etc (and root vegetable cut into squares, get it?)
10. This one.

'Mamma Mia!' 
It is the brainchild of ex-ABBA member Benny Ulvaes, who's the guy in the picture.

10Q (February 10, 2018)

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1. You might imagine that this World Heritage Site, National Park and Ramsar Site is named for its natural beauty, but it's actually named after the local name for the mangrove species Heritiera fomes (whose flowers are shown here), that are found there in large numbers. Which cross-border site?

2. [Audio link] These are the opening lines of the audiobook version of a novel first published in 1923. Identify the actor who did the recording, and name the character he is 'playing'. If you can identify the book – only the second to feature its protagonist and the first set outside England – from this scant sample, an additional 2 points!

3. What word used originally for a medieval contest between groups of knights on horseback, deriving from the Old French for 'to joust', was first used the way it currently is – in the context of other sports and games – in 1761?

4. The bottles in the photo below contain liquids composed of X, propylene glycol, glycerine, and flavourings. They are used to refill devices known, besides other common names, as ECs, ENDS and PVs. What are these devices, and what is X (it's the expansion of one of the letters in one of the abbreviations mentioned here)?

5. In Hindu theology, the six passions of the mind – negative characteristics that prevent people from attaining moksha or salvation – are kama (lust), krodha (anger), lobh (greed), moha (attachment), mada or ahankar (pride) and matsarya (Y). What are they collectively known as, and what is Y (that is, 'matsarya' in English)?

6. This type of simple, reversible line embroidery stitch (left, in the image below) is named for the 16th-century portrait painter (right top) best known for his paintings of Henry VIII (such as the one right below) and his children, almost all of whom are depicted wearing clothing decorated with blackwork embroidery. What is it called?

7. What is known in defence services terminology as a brown-water navy?

8. The construction of this Tudor-style edifice with fortified towers, battlements and turrets was started in 1862 and completed in 1944. In 1884, it was bought by the British guardians of the minor Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X, to serve as a place of residence during the course of his education and administrative training. It is known by the name of the city where it stands. What is it called?

9. Theron, who is the headmaster of the Collegium Magikos located in the Himalayas, is the father and teacher of which fictional character?

10. The two people in this photo were known to be good friends. In 1976, in Mexico City, the guy on the left (let's call him A) attended a screening of the film 'La Odisea de los Andes', for which the other man (B) had written the script. Spotting his friend, A went to embrace him. B, however, punched him in the face, knocking him down and giving him a black eye. Ever since, literary people in Latin America have wondered why. One story is that A had told a mutual friend that he found B's wife Patricia less than beautiful. A second is that Patricia, suspecting that B was having an affair, had asked A what she should do about it, and A had told her to leave him. The cause of this famous falling-out remains unknown. Who are these two?


Answers
1. The Sundarbans, named after the Sundari tree
2. Hugh Fraser (who played the character in the popular TV series) playing Captain Hastings in 'The Murder on the Links'

3. Tournament (or tourney), from 'tornoier'
4. Electronic cigarettes, nicotine [visual]
The abbreviations expand, respectively to electronic cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery systems, and personal vapourisers (hence vapes and vaping).

5. Arishadvarga, jealousy
6. Holbein stitch, named after Hans Holbein the Younger
7. A naval force that carries out military operations in river or littoral environments. 
The term originated in the US Navy during the Vietnam War, used for the small gunboats and patrol boats used in rivers, along with some of the larger ships that support them as 'mother ships'. The US Naval Operations Concept document defines blue water as "the open ocean", green water as "coastal waters, ports and harbors", and brown water as "navigable rivers and their estuaries"
8. Bangalore Palace (not Mysore, though he obviously was from Mysore, but that palace has obviously existed from way before)
9. Mandrake the Magician


10. Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mario Varga Llosa

10Q (February 2, 2018)

[For most of the images, larger versions can be viewed by clicking on them]

1. The word for what annual event comes from the French word for a purse or a small bag, which is why there's usually a handy briefcase involved?

2. In US prison slang, what is a 'four-piece suit'?

3. Name subject and (rather surprising) artist of this sketch made c. 1656 - c. 1658.

4. The area that is now this cricket ground was originally a lake, and there were plans to connect it to the sea by a canal to make it an alternative inner city harbour. However, the massive 1855 Wairarapa earthquake uplifted the area nearly 1.8 m and turned the lake into a swamp. The local city council accepted a proposal that the new land be drained and made into a recreational area, and in 1863 prisoners from the Mount Cook Gaol began to level and drain the new land. Which cricket ground is this (its name reflects its origins), and in which city is it?

5. It is the national animal of Guyana, and features in the country's coat of arms. It also appears on Brazilian currency notes. What English name for the Panthera onca comes from a Tupi word for the creature?

6. This is a clip from a single-season seven-episode soap opera titled 'X Heights' that was shot in a commercial location in Burbank, California, in 2009, without the people who ran the place getting to know about it. What is X?
If you have any problem viewing the YouTube video above, you can access the clip here.

7. Amini, Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlat and Bitra constitute a group of islands that came under the rule of Tipu Sultan in 1787. They passed to British control after the Third Anglo-Mysore War and were attached to the South Canara Collectorate of the Madras Presidency. What is this group of islands called, and which Indian Union Territory are they now part of? The name of the UT used to contain the name of this island group till 1973, when it was given its current name.

8. The name of the crystal that the wine goblet shown below is made from comes from a Greek term that can be translated as 'not drunken'. This is rooted in the belief that it is a strong antidote against drunkenness. In his poem "L'_________, ou les Amours de Bacchus et d'_________" ("_______ or the Loves of Bacchus and _________"), the 16th-century French poet Remy Belleau invented a myth in which Bacchus, the god of intoxication, wine and grapes, was pursuing a maiden named _________, who refused his affections. She prayed to the gods to remain chaste, a prayer which the goddess Diana answered, transforming her into a white stone. Humbled by her desire to remain chaste, Bacchus poured wine over the stone as an offering, dyeing the crystals purple. Name the maiden / crystal. [Different forms of the name fit all the blanks above.]

9. The four-in-hand, Pratt or Shelby, half-Windsor and Windsor are all types of what? [Specific answer, containing at least two words, required.]

10. This is the unusually-named St. Olav’s Church on Dr. Bishwanath Jot Sarani at Tin Bazar, one of 100 buildings that were constructed between 1755 and 1845, when the town it is situated in was called Frederiksnagore. What is the current name of the town, named after an avatar of Vishnu, and which colonial power ruled it at the time?

Answers

1. The presentation of the Budget (which comes from 'bougette')

2. A full set of restraints, composed of handcuffs, leg irons and waist chain

3. Shah Jahan by Rembrandt

4. Basin Reserve, Wellington

5. Jaguar

6. Watch the title sequence 

IKEA

Titled Ikea Heights, the show is a comedic melodrama in which the characters live in a society of the same name inside an Ikea store. The characters are aware that they exist in an Ikea store but never comment on the ridiculousness of the concept. Sometimes, non-actors in the store accidentally end up being a part of the show – for example in the second episode, in which a detective investigates a murder by walking up to unassuming Ikea attendants and asking for clues.

7. Aminidivi islands, part of Lakshadweep (originally Laccadive, Minicoy and Aminidivi Islands)

8. Amethyst

9. Necktie knots

10. Serampore (locally Srirampur), which was a Danish outpost

10Q (January 27, 2018)

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1. The person who owns this film production company (as well as a publishing imprint by the same name) could be ruing or relishing the irony – the meaning of the phrase in Latin could apply to his fortunes, his marriage and even his reputation. Who, and what does Infinitum Nihil mean?

2. This commonly-used English phrase alludes to the nocturnal burrowing mammal Meles meles, and refers to the so-called sport in which they were pitted against dogs and the protagonists tore each other apart. These creatures were chosen for this 'entertainment' as they are extremely tenacious when cornered and have the ability to bite their prey until their teeth meet. As a result, dogs could literally suffer the fate that the phrase states, which in its modern idiomatic sense refers to obstinate and persistent requests or demands placed on one. What's the phrase?

3. If you'd travelled frequently on Air Asia flights a couple of years ago (like I did), you would have heard this song played every time you landed. Just name the band who perform this song, both originally and in this ad (thinking of people like Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner might help).
If you have any problem viewing the YouTube video above, you can access the clip here.

4. In what way could these Test cricket batting performances be considered one-man shows (this is an exhaustive list): Bobby Abel (120) for England v South Africa in Cape Town in 1888-89; Len Hutton (364) for England v Australia at The Oval in 1938; Don Bradman (185) for Australia v India in Brisbane in 1947-48; Inzamam-ul-Haq (329) for Pakistan v New Zealand in Lahore in 2002; and Matthew Hayden (119) for Australia v Pakistan in Sharjah in 2002-03?

5. What is the poetic name of this magnificent structure, modelled after the Sublime Porte (Bab-i-Hümayun) in Istanbul, and therefore sometimes also known as the Turkish Gate? In which city – whose Metro service, launched last year, uses it as a logo symbol – is it located?

6. The insect family Coccinellidae derives its name from the Latin word 'coccineus', meaning 'scarlet'. Its common name refers to the Virgin Mary, who was often depicted wearing a red cloak in early paintings. The insects' prominent markings were said to symbolise her seven joys and seven sorrows. What are coccinellids commonly called?

7. Originating from an Italian word for a strong, heavy paper or pasteboard (also the root of another English word very close in spelling to the one this question refers to), this was originally a full-size drawing made on sturdy paper as a study for a painting, stained glass or tapestry, such as the one on the left by Leonardo da Vinci. It got its current meaning after John Leech used it for the other image that you see, which he titled "[X] no. 1: Substance and Shadow" (1843), satirising such preparatory images for frescoes in the Palace of Westminster. What's the word?

8. The Vayu Vajra service whose bus you see here links up to KIA, named after the man whose statue is shown. Name the fellow, and tell me in which city the buses ply.

9. Mount Kenya (Africa), Mount Tyree (Antarctica), Puncak Mandala (Australia), K2 (Asia), Dykh-Tau (Europe), Mount Logan (North America) and Ojos del Salado (South America) are collectively known by a term that abbreviates to SSS. If the first S stands for 'Seven', and the third S stands for 'Summits', and the whole three-word term sounds like you could climb these mountains in a very short time, what does the middle S stand for?

10. The song lyrics below were written purely to exploit a clause in composer Anthony Courage's contract. As a result, though the lyrics were never actually used, the fact that they existed allowed the writer to claim half of Courage's royalties. Fill in the blanks in the lines below.
Beyond
The rim of the star-light
My love
Is wand'ring in star-flight
I know
He'll find in star-clustered reaches
Love,
Strange love a star woman teaches.
I know
His journey ends never
His ____ ____
Will go on forever.
But tell him
While he wanders his starry sea
Remember, remember me

Answers
1. Johnny Depp; 'Nothing is forever'
2. 'To badger [someone] to death'
3. American Authors
4. They outscored the opposition's match total on their own in one innings.
5. Rumi Darwaza, Lucknow
6. Ladybirds, from Our Lady's birds

7. Cartoon, from 'cartone' (also the root for 'carton')
8. Kempegowda (International Airport) in Bangalore
9. Second – the Seven Second Summits are the second highest mountains on each of the seven continents
10. Star trek – the lyrics were written by the show's creator Gene Roddenberry

10Q (January 12, 2018)

[For most of the images, larger versions can be viewed by clicking on them]

1. The name that the Persians used for the nomadic tribe that the Greeks called Scythians is associated in India with what is known as the Indian national ________. This may give the official marker, but hardly anyone knows it. You can get to the relevant figure by subtracting 78 from the equivalent figure in the more commonly used global system. What am I talking about? [For full points, you have to give me a two-word answer in which the first word is the Persian name for the Scythians, and the second word is what comes in the blank.]

2. This diamond was seized in 2007 by the U.S. Marshals Service in a federal drug and money laundering investigation, and auctioned in 2011 for $2.84 million. After which James Bond movie has it been named, on account of its unusual colour?

3. With seven appearances at the FIFA World Cup, which country's men's national football team — nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables (The Indomitable Lions or Untameable Lions) in French — has been the most successful African team at the top level?

4. The most common form of what everyday object on European churches, farms and homes traces its origins back to a decree made by Pope Nicholas I in the 9th century, that decree made in reference to the prophecy that Peter would deny Jesus “before the cock crows”?

5. The man on the left, Sunil Narkar, played the man on the right in a popular ad from some eight years ago. For a point apiece, name the company, the product advertised, and the real-life person Narkar played.

6. Its full ceremonial name is: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit. In English, this translates to "The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishwakarma." By what short name is it commonly known?

7. Until the introduction of automatic weapons, infantry troops tended to fight in a certain formation to repel cavalry or superior forces. What word for a small group of soldiers, now applied to sports teams and other such groups, shares its etymology with the word for the shape of the formation, as evidenced in the shared four letters at the beginning of both words?

8. This is a language in the Munda subfamily of Austroasiatic languages, related to Ho and Mundari. It is spoken by around 6.2 million people in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, although most of its speakers live in India, in the states of Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar, Odisha, Tripura, and West Bengal. The language has its own alphabet, known as Ol Chiki, created in 1925 by Raghunath Murmu (it had till then been written using the Latin alphabet). What language?


9. Identify (a) this 1970 movie based on a 1962 book whose title has become a term used in English, and (b) the actor playing the American soldier (it was his debut film).

If you have any problem viewing the YouTube video above, you can access the clip here.

10. China and Russia top this list, with 14. Brazil is next, with 10. The Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo come next, with 9 each. India's tally is officially 7, though the situation on the ground makes it 6 for all practical purposes. What is this a list of?

Answers
1. The Saka calendar
2. Golden Eye

3. Cameroon

4. Weather vanes
Pope Nicholas I decreed that a figure of a rooster should be placed atop every church as a reminder of the incident, and from there it was adopted on other buildings and used for the weather prediction function. 

5. Intel's USB ad, in which Narkar played USB inventor Ajay Bhatt


6. Bangkok
7. Squad, from 'square'
8. Santali
9. (a) Catch-22 (b) Art Garfunkel
10. Countries which share land borders with the largest number of neighbouring nations

10Q (January 6, 2018)

[For most of the images, larger versions can be viewed by clicking on them]

1. The snark mark is a new-age punctuation mark that indicates that there's another layer of meaning in a sentence, usually a sarcastic or ironic one. What two standard keyboard characters, meant to represent an eye and a raised eyebrow next to it, make up the snark mark? [You can just type the relevant characters for the answer.]

2. Identify the man in this photo, the only American to become a member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), the only non-Indian to sign the Congress manifesto in 1921, and the only American to become a political prisoner of Great Britain in the Indian freedom struggle (he was jailed for sedition).

3. Some of you will hopefully remember this ad from the early 2000s. What was it an advertisement for?

If you have any problem viewing the YouTube video above, you can access the clip here.

4. Infrastructure projects in Iceland — such as a 2015 highway project building a direct route from the Alftanes peninsula, where the president has a home, to the Reykjavik suburb of Gardabaer — often come up against protests not just by environmental activists but also people protesting on behalf of 'Huldufolk' (Icelandic for 'hidden folk'). Because of the cultural significance of this 'community', these protests do get taken seriously, and can lead to delays or even cancellations. Who are the Huldufolk?

5. Identify this young man who, among other achievements, won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 1984 for 'Ankahee' and has sung or composed for films in Hindi, Marathi, Kannada and Bengali. (It would help to imagine him older.)

6. What connects the stellar Test cricket careers of Andy Sandham (1921-30), Bill Ponsford (1924-34), Seymour Nurse (1960-69), Aravinda de Silva (1984-2002), and Jason Gillespie (1996-2006)? In this context, what distinguishes (a) Andy Sandham and (b) Jason Gillespie [two separate answers required]?

7. The ATS, a treaty system that entered into force in 1961 and which currently has 53 signatory nations, was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War, banning military activity where?

8. The Insight Meditation Movement refers to a number of branches of modern Theravâda Buddhism which stress insight into the three marks of existence as the main means to attain awakening and reach Nirvana. It finds its origins in modernist influences on the traditions of Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Sri Lanka, and the innovations and popularisations by Theravâda teachers such as Mahasi Sayadaw, Ledi Sayadaw, Anagarika Munindra and Pa Auk Sayadaw. The Indian branch primarily follows the teachings of S.N. Goenka and his co-teacher wife Illaichi Devi. By what name are we familiar with this movement?

9. While you are probably more familiar with his spy novels, this author also has a range of historical novels such as this trilogy of books, published between 2010 and 2014, which follow the fates of five inter-related families through the events of the 20th century. Name him. 

10. These are, respectively, Hon. Joan Barbara Yarde-Buller, the eldest daughter of the 3rd Baron Churston; Hollywood actress Rita Hayworth; and Kendra Spears, an American fashion model. They have all been married, at different points of time, to different persons holding a certain hereditary title. The current holder of the title – the fourth to do so – is Shah Karim Al Hussaini, a French-British business magnate, racehorse owner and breeder, who has some 15 million followers. Spears, now known as Salwa, is married to Karim's son and heir apparent Rahim. What title?

Answers

1. A period and a tilde

2. Satyananda Stokes

3. Visa

4. Elves

5. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

6. They all hit double centuries in their final Tests. 

(a) Sandham's was a triple, the first ever in Test cricket. 

(b) Gillespie's was also his maiden century, and the only one he ever scored in any form of the game!

7. Antarctica

8. Vipassana

9. Ken Follett

You might remember this one

10. The Aga Khan