1. FLOW MOTION:
Several Indian rivers were known in ancient times by different names. What are the present names of these rivers?
a. Sindhu (The Tibetans called it Singi Khamban)
b. Vitasta (Greek name: Hydaspes)
c. Asikini (or Chandrabhaga)
d. Parusni (or Airavati)
e. Vipasa (Greek Hyphasis)
2. PEAK TIME:
Mountains that are also…
a. The name of a Doordarshan Maharashtra channel
b. A Satyajit Ray film
c. The first mountain to be mentioned in the national anthem
d. Highest in India if POK is included
e. A supermarket chain founded in 1905
3. JAI HIND!
Several places in pre-independence India are indelibly linked to incidents in our freedom struggle. Can you identify these?
a. Feb 4, 1922: Frenzied mob sets fire to police station in UP killing 23 people inside.
b. Aug 9, 1925: Revolutionaries led by Chandrasekhar Azad loot a train carrying British treasury money.
c. April 18, 1930: Surya Sen and others attack an armoury, capture the weapons, cut telegraph lines, and hoist the national flag.
d. April 30, 1930: C. Rajagopalachari led freedom fighters at this place in Tamil Nadu on a Salt Satyagraha inspired by Gandhi’s Dandi march the previous month.
e. August 9, 1942: The call to ‘Quit India’ was launched here. Although Gandhi, Nehru and other prominent leaders had been preventively detained, Aruna Asaf Ali hoistred the national flag at the Gowalia Tank maidan.
4. GAME OF THRONES
Our country has played home to several dynasties in different places and at different times. Which dynasties of India ruled from these capitals?
a. Thanjavur
b. Warangal
c. Badami (or Vatapi)
d. Raigarh
e. Patliputra
5. ALSO KNOWN AS:
Aliases, pen-names, assumed names….from ‘epic’ times to the 21st century. These are the real names of which famous Indians?
a. Ratnakar
b. Narendranath Datta
c. Manikarnika
d. Ramtanu Pandey
e. Satyanarayana Raju
6. WILD INDIA:
And we are not talking of the two-legged Indians! Which of India’s many sanctuaries is most closely associated with these animals?
a. One-horned rhinoceros
b. Olive Ridley turtle
c. Wild ass
d. Lions
e. Royal Bengal Tiger
7. NO UNPARLIAMENTARY LANGUAGE!
These are simple definitions of which common terms used in our Parliament?
a. Draft of a legislative proposal.
b. Annual financial statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the government for a financial year.
c. The first hour of the sitting of the house when Parliament is in session.
d. A question to which an oral answer is expected and which is marked by an asterisk.
e. Termination of the sitting of the house without any definite date being fixed for the next sitting.
8. MIGHT IS WRITE
20th century Indian writing. Can you name the authors of these famous literary works?
a. Swami and Friends
b. Train to Pakistan
c. Midnight’s Children
d. The Interpreter of Maladies
e. Autobiography of an Unknown Indian
9. STRINGS ATTACHED!
With which stringed instruments would you associate with these world-famous Indian artists?
a. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma
b. Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhat
c. L Shankar
d. Amjad Ali Khan
e. Pandit Ram Narayan
10. AND THE OSCAR GOES TO…
Oscar-related clues.
a. She won India’s first Oscar in the competitive category.
b. The first Indian film to be nominated for Best Picture in 1958
c. First Indian to receive Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 1992
d. Categories in which AR Rahman won for Slumdog Millionaire
e. Two other films shortlisted for the Best Picture Oscar (1988, 2001)
Answers
1. (a) Indus (b) Jhelum (c) Chenab) (d) Ravi (e) Beas
2. (a) Sahyadri (b) Kanchenjunga (c) Vindhya (d) K2 (e) Nilgiri
3. (a) Chauri Chaura (b) Kakori (c) Chittagong (d) Vedaranyam (e) Bombay
4. (a) Chola (b) Kakatiya (c) Chalukya (d) Maratha (under Shivaji) (e) Maurya
5. (a) Valmiki (b) Swami Vivekananda (c) Rani of Jhansi (d) Tansen (e) Sathya Sai Baba
6. (a) Kaziranga National Park (Assam) (b) Gahirmatha Turtle Sanctuary (Odisha) (c) Rann of Kutch Wild Ass Sanctuary (Gujarat) (d) Gir National Park (Gujarat) (e) Sundarbans National Park (West Bengal).
7. (a) Bill (b) Budget (c) Question Hour (d) Starred Question (e) Adjourned sine die
8. (a) RK Narayan (b) Khushwant Singh (c) Salman Rushdie (d) Jhumpa Lahiri (e) Nirad C Chaudhary
9. (a) Santoor (b) Mohan Veena (c) Violin (d) Sarod (e) Sarangi
10. (a) Bhani Athaiya (for Costume Design in Gandhi) (b) Mother India (c) Satyajit Ray (d) Best Original Score, Best Original Song (Jai Ho) (e) Salaam Bombay!, Lagaan