1. Which author’s 186th birth anniversary on September 9, 2014 was celebrated by a Google doodle by artist Roman Muradov depicting him and his works — War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and The Death of Ivan Ivanovitch?
2. This city in the district of Surat in Gujarat went on a Satyagraha in 1926 following a land revenue tax hike by the government. One person led the movement. He negotiated a settlement repealing the tax hike, reinstating village officials who had resigned in protest and the return of seized property and lands. For this success he was given a title by the people. Name the title and the city.
3. Which brave lady, who was a descendant of the family of Tipu Sultan and was a British spy during World War II, is the subject of a 2014 PBS documentary about Enemy of the Reich?
4. A bent sapling supported by a splint is the universal symbol for which medical speciality whose name is derived from Latin meaning ‘straight child’?
5. From The Guardian newspaper September 29, 2014: “They have tried surgical masks and diving goggles, even wrapped their arms and faces in clingfilm to shield themselves from the teargas and pepper spray the police are firing at them, but the most indispensable piece of kit for almost every Occupy Central protester is the __________... often turned inside out.” Fill in the blank?
6. Conducted in 2000, it was described at that time as India’s biggest IT raid involving 750 IT officials across the country. It was code named Operation _________ but as one official said at the end that it could have been called Operation Gaddar! The blank refers to the description in a sport that gained popularity when rich and aristocratic amateurs participated against professional ‘Players’ who were from less privileged backgrounds.
7. Which kind of personal video camera, that is fixed on the head, and is popularly used to film extreme sports was demonstrated for cricket by Adam Gilchrist in a recent MCC vs Rest of the World cricket match?
8. This pioneering film company introduced the letterbox format that added black bars to the top and bottom of the 4:3 standard television set in order to preserve the original aspect ratio of the film (first used for Invasion of the Body Snatchers). They introduced audio commentary on a separate analogue channel for King Kong. Which company did this?
9. Which one-word term was coined by astrophycist Neil deGrasse Tyson to describe the phenomenon of the rising sun positioned exactly between the towering skyscrapers of New York? This occurs twice a year in New York City during the solstices much like the way it happens across the Atlantic at a more famous location.
10. At which ancient temple was the song Bismil from Haider filmed?
11. Pitchfork, the Internet magazine on Indie music, recently lamented in an ‘obituary’, “Good night, sweet clickwheel”. It was observing the passing away of which landmark in the music industry? Which Shakespearean text were the lines taken from?
12. Founded by Oscar Vidal in 1924, this automobile manufacturer was mostly known by one word (X), though its full name was ‘Vidal & Sohn X-Werke GmbH’. Its best known models were Y and the Hanseat, though it also produced military vehicles during the 1930s and the 1940s. Daimler-Benz AG now owns this company and the associated brands. What are the X and Y models?
13. According to the Puranas when the coast of western India was being threatened, Parasurama shot an arrow into the sea and commanded Varuna to recede up to the point where it landed. What name — translating to ‘corner of the earth’ — was given to this piece of recovered land?
14. San Lorenzo recently won the Copa Libertadores — South American club football’s most prestigious competition — for the first time in the club’s 106-year history. They are planning to build a new stadium in Boedo, a working-class neighbourhood in the Argentine capital, and it is going to be named after a person who has been a fan since childhood. Name this person.
15. Which avian predator follows in this sequence, and what is the significance of this sequence in sports: Birdie, Eagle, Albatross….?
16. This form of transport is common to many cultures under different names. In Europe its name is possibly derived from the Latin/Italian word sede meaning ‘seat’. The more modern use of this word was used by car manufacturer Renault in 1899. Identify the word.
17. If Winsome Diamonds occupies the second position and Electrotherm India the third, who is the numero uno?
18. Which noted tabla player and associate of Pandit Ravi Shankar, is the father of tabla legend Ustad Zakir Hussain?
19. Which 95-year-old yoga pioneer and Padma Vibhushan recipient passed away recently?
20. Which university of ancient India has risen from the ashes this year when classes began on the first day of September with 15 students and 8 faculty members in the disciplines of Historical Sciences and Environment and Ecology?
Answers
1. Count Leo Tolstoy
2. ‘Sardar’ Vallabhbhai Patel / Bardoli
3. Noor Inayat Khan
4. Orthopaedics
5. Umbrella. This is a description of the Umbrella Revolution of Hong Kong.
6. Operation Gentlemen, against corruption and black money in the cricketing world. Early English cricket played between aristocratic amateurs and the middle class professional cricketers used to be titled ‘Gentlemen vs Players’.
7. Go Pro camera
8. The Criterion Collection
9. Manhattanhenge (like Stonehenge)
10. Martand Sun Temple at Anantnag, Kashmir
11. iPod Classic / Hamlet
12. X=Tempo; Y=Matador
13. Konkan. Kona = corner, Kana = piece.
14. Pope Francis
15. Names for scores below par for a hole in golf. Birdie is one below par. Condor is four below par
16. Sedan
17. Kingfisher Airlines (Kingfisher tops the List of Defaulters at Rs 4,022 Crore)
18. Ustad Alla Rakha
19. BKS Iyengar
20. Nalanda University