© Anannya Deb 2010

The Kartik Bose Open

6th June 2010For the Bombay Quiz Club

1

Having served in WW1 in the Medical Corps and as a correspondent in the Spanish Civil War, where he wrote his play “The Fifth Column” which Nobel Prize winning writer termed “precious cargo” by the Americans landed on Omaha Beach on 6th June 1944 traveling in an LCVP with the seventh wave of boats?

1

"The beach was just a complete shambles. It was like an inferno. There were bodies everywhere and some wounded being attended to. As I went by a tank I heard people screaming for morphine. The tank was on fire and they were burning to death. There wasn't a thing that I could do about that and it was pretty nerve-shaking."

Ernest Hemingway

2.

A variant of the shawarma, what popular European fast food named after the Turkish for “rotating roast” was invented by Turkish immigrant Mahmat Aygun in Berlin in 1971 when he wrapped lamb meat shavings into a roll of pita bread along with his own yoghurt based sauce? This item is to Europe what the hot dog is to America.

2.

The Doner Kabab

3.

The Polynesian vegetable Kumara was one of the many evidences that Thor Heyerdahl used to prove his theory of migration. This vegetable of the Ipomea genus originates from South America and Polynesian plantations proved that it had been manually brought here. Solanum Tuberosum was also a preserve of South America till it was brought to Spain in the 16th century. It takes its name from the Spanish corruption of the Incan languages Taino and Quechua. S. Tuberosum is the 4th largest produced crop in the world after rice, wheat and maize. Name both the vegetables, ironically completely unrelated biologically bar their geographical origins.

3.

Ipomoea Batatas a.k.a sweet potato Solanum Tuberosum a.k.a Potato (or Irish Potato in the US)

4.

In the ruins of Machu Picchu, 164 skulls were found. 109 were identified as women. The rich artifacts found in the houses of these skulls suggested they were women of high importance. According to Hiram Bingham, who were these women accorded special status in the Inca tradition, similar to a another tradition in Ancient Rome?

4.

Virgins of the Sun

Similar to the Roman Vestal Virgins (and Devdasis in India?)

5.

Situated on the crossroads of three big trade routes, the uttarpatha (northern road later morphed into the Grand Trunk Road), the north-western route through Bactria and the Indus route linking the Silk Route in Central Asia to the Indian Ocean including present day Karakoram Highway, which historic site and centre of Buddhist learning possibly named after a character in the Ramayan was ruled over time by Persians, Greeks, Indians, Afghans, Mughals and the British?

5.

Taxila or Takshashila

The more popular theory is that it is named after Taksha, the son of Bharata.

There is another theory that it is an extension of Takshakhand (present day Tashkent)

6.

The State Law and Order Restoration Council is the official head of this country. Made up of four of their top Army generals, the council took power in 1988 and has ruled the country since then. Known as SLORC, Amitava Ghosh writes in an essay written in 1996,“The word is pronounced with an appropriately slurping, swallowing sound – ‘like Ian Fleming’s SMERSH’ as a diplomat once observed.”Name the leader of the political party which won maximum seats in the 1988 elections, the only one ever held since WW2 and which were ignored by SLORC?

6.

Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy

7.

Who are the two newsmakers on the right and the left? The lady in the middle is an interpreter.

7.

Yuri Gagarin and Pratima Puri.

One of the first news bulletins on Doordarshan back in 1965

8.

A Pune type lexical connect. What aspects of historical studies do the following three exhibits represent?

A: A premium brand of whiskey made in IndiaB: 35 - 50C: Charlie Chaplin

No part points – get all three terms and what are they collectively called

8.

Antiquity: From the discovery of writing till the birth of the Christian era

Middle Ages: The Christian Roman Empire to the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans

Modern Times: Renaissance onwards

Antiquity, Middle Ages, Modern Times – these are the three periods of history.

First established by Leonardo Bruni in his History of the Florentine Peoples written in 1442.

9.

1837 – 1925. Born in Malvan, studied in Elphinstone College, one of the first graduates of Bombay University later became vice-chancellor of the University. He is famous for his easy to learn books on the Sanskrit language. Which specialised academic institution cum Govt Manuscript Library specialising in the field that he pioneered is a legacy of his work?

9.

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute which houses over 29,000 manuscripts including 17,000 government manuscripts.

10.

Badami, Vengi and Kalyani were the three capitals of which important dynasty that was founded by Pulakesin I in 543 AD and through their inscriptions gave the name Karnataka? This is a picture from what is considered to be a school founded by them for south Indian architecture and has been influencing all Hindu art and culture till date

10.

The Chalukya Dynasty

11.

ShaktiNavodeepNavyugPrabalNav JagranNav ShaktiJawahar (tribute to Nehru)BaazSukh SagarBaba Saheb (tribute to Ambedkar)GarudaTiger Face (stripes)

What is this power list? Not exhaustive

11.

Names given by Indian Railways to some of its locomotives

12.

KathiawariMarwariManipuriSpitiZanskari

What do you make of this exhaustive list of five names?

12.

The five breeds of indigenous Indian horses

Marwari Horse and the Khatiawari were used in cavalry. The Manipuri was the original horse used for polo. The Zanskari and Spiti are mountain horses

13.

For his burial, his embalmed body was put in a gold coffin. This was then put into another box made of burnished silver. This was in turn put into a giant iron coffin weighing over 1000 pounds. The gold and silver signified the wealth he had taken from different lands, the iron signified the metal with which he had subdued empires. Along with the coffin was put the entire treasures plundered over the years. To prevent desecration, soldiers dug up a riverbed and then diverted the river over it. They then committed suicide (or were killed?) so that the location would remain a secret (and it does till date). Who?

13.

Attila the Hun

14.

The name of this river possibly derives from the Ganga and in some of the six countries it passes through, like the Ganges, it is addressed as Mother _____ . Name the 12th longest river in the world passing through two capitals and whose delta has been a war zone for much of the 50’s and 60’s?

14.

The Mekong River

15.

Which publication started in 1975 by Vietnam veteran Robert Brown has this to say about themselves:

“X focuses on news and adventure based on first hand reports from all over the world. Our commitment to presenting the facts in their entirety sets us apart from mainstream news sources. Our editorial policy is pro-military, pro-strong U.S. defense, pro-police, and pro-veteran. We strongly support the right of the individual to keep and bear arms. By opposing tyranny of all kinds, we support the basic freedom of mankind”

15.

Soldier of Fortune

16.

What word of regular use in Hindi is an Arabic word which originally and technically means remembering or mentioning the name of Allah? There are two forms of it – Jali (reading aloud) and khafi (reading softly or mentally).

16.

Zikr

17.

He made his international debut for his country in 1995 at the age of 20. His speed (100m in10.8 secs) and 120 kilos frame immediately reduced commentators to gasps and had Will Carling saying “this freak, sooner he leaves the better”. But the same year he was diagnosed with a nephrotic syndrome (kidney problem) for which his career was interrupted. In 2003 he had to be put on dialysis three times a week and in 2004 had to do a kidney transplant. Name this first truly global star of this sport.

17.

Jonah Lomu

18.

The colony of New South Wales in the late 19th century was dominated by the corrupt rum trade which involved several influential settlers and government officers. In order to discipline them, the British government appointed a hero from the Battle of Copenhagen under Nelson as the Governor in 1806. Name this Royal Navy officer - Governor whose strict actions triggered a mutiny called the Rum Rebellion and whose grave is topped with a breadfruit, a product of Tahiti that he introduced in England and the West Indies.

18.

Rear Admiral William Bligh

19.

According to the CANOE (Committee to Ascribe Naval Origins to Everything) school of etymology, this phrase originates from the ropes and cables coiled around a post on the deck of the ship. When these cables or ropes are played i.e. used to fastened on to the jetty or some stationary object, they can be stretched till the last bit of the rope that is tied round the post is left on the deck. Beyond this point, the ropes can snap and the ship may lose its moorings. To maintain grip, these posts would be covered with coal tar. Name the phrase.

19.

To the bitter end

Bitts were the posts put on the deck

20.

When the crew of Apollo 13 detected a fault in the electrical system of one of the Service Module’s oxygen tanks, they called up the base control room. The crew members John Swigert Jr and James Lovell spoke with the control room. Lovell said, “_______, __’__ ___ _ _______, We’ve had a main B Bus undervolt”. What phrase, the present tense form of the blanks, derives from it?

20.

“Houston We Have A Problem”

Originally: Houston, we’ve had a problem

21. Connect

A veteran of the War of the Wrath, it survived the defeat of Morgoth and escaped to hide beneath the mountains. For five thousand years, it was forgotten till Durin’s mithril hunters disturbed it. In the resultant scuffle, Durin was killed and it was hence renamed “Durin’s Bane”. Who?

The 1916 Battle of Verdun was the biggest and most calamitous battle for France in WW1. Lasting 10 months, France lost over 500,000 people while defending this north-eastern town. During this campaign, General Robert Nivelle, French commander of the Verdun forces, symbolised the French determination with a historic four word phrase later used in French motivational posters. What phrase?

21.

The Balrog of Moria

“You Shall Not Pass” – Gandalf (JRRT was a WWI veteran)

“Ils ne passeront pas” “They Shall Not Pass”

22.

Iznik is a historic town in Turkey and is probably 2500 years old. From Greek to Roman to Christian Roman to Ottoman to modern day Turkish, this city has been an important centre of attraction for two key events in 325AD and 787AD. Name these events that form the foundation of a thought and parallel to this also provide fuel for conspiracy theorists and pulp fiction writers.

22.

The two Councils of Nicaea

23.

Give the first name of the general of the Ummayyad Caliphate who in 711 AD, took his army across the Mediterranean to invade Hispania and over the next few years laid the foundation for over 800 years of Islamic rule in Spain? It is said that when he reached the shore of Spain, he burned all the ships and told his men, “Oh my warriors! Whither will you flee? Behind you is the sea, before you the enemy.”

23.

Tariq ibn Zayid

The point where he landed Spain is now called Gibraltar

24.

In the fifth test of the 1968 Ashes at the Oval, as he scores the century, the umpire Elliot told him “Oh Christ, you’ve put the cat amongst the pigeons”. Not in the originally announced squad, on September 19th he is selected for the winter tour after bowler Tom Cartwright withdraws due to injury. What did the man (in the photograph) do in response?

24.

John Vorster, South Africa Prime Minister, said the MCC team with Basil D’Oliveira would not be allowed to enter the country.

MCC called off the tour.

25.

1927: _______ (won 18.5 / 34)1929: Efim Bogoljubow (won 15.5/25)1934: Efim Bogoljubow (won: 15.5/25)1935: Max Luwe (lost: 14.5/30)1937: Max Luwe (won: 15.5/25)

Specific record of someone who was an alleged anti-Semite (apparently anti-Jew articles were published in his name by the Nazis), anti-Bolshevik, alcoholic and many say great but not the greatest. Who and also the player in the blank?

25.

Jose Raul Capablanca Alexander Alekhine

26.

For what specific purpose in 1986 was this panel (part of a four page album) made by Uderzo?

26.

Paris’s bid for the 1992 Summer Olympics. They lost to Barcelona

27.

He is supposed to have died two deaths. His lawyer filed a petition with a magistrate in Kanpur to withdraw all 100 cases of fraud against his client because his client had died on July 25th 2009. However, the convict’s brother said that he had died in 1996. His total convictions added up to 117 years. 9 prison escapes, 50 aliases, He is to India what Victor Lustig is to France. At the age of 84 and on a wheelchair, while being taken to AIIMS from Kanpur Jail for a health checkup, he disappeared from New Delhi Railway Station. Who and what was his claim to fame (or infame)?

27.

Mithilesh Kumar Shrivastava or the original “Natwarlal” who among other things sold the Taj Mahal five times, Rashtrapati Bhavan two times and concocted hundreds of other frauds.

28.

Of the genus Leptoptilus, this bird gets its common name because of what Hobson-Jobson says “its comical resemblance to a human figure in a stiff dress pacing slowly on a parade-ground”. Found in India and parts of South East Asia, name the bird whose feathers are called Marabou from the Arabic murabit meaning quiet or a hermit, another reference to its behaviour.

28.

The Adjutant Stork, named by the British after the military officer Adjutant, usually the administrative officer in a command.

29.

In a particular story in the 1001 Arabian Nights, there is a tale of a young merchant who on his wedding night devours zir bajah a ragout of meat made with a particular spice common in India. However, he forgets to wash his hands and his new bride screams at the smell of the spice from his hands. The bride gets her concubines to cut off the young merchant’s thumbs and big toes and orders the poor man to wash his hands 120 times in water, potash and soap every time he eats it. What is this spice, the second most used spice in the world, used in cuisine from India to Tex-Mex?

29.

Cumin Seeds (Zira or Jeera)

30.

What is this?

30.

Tomb of Sir Richard Burton and his wife Isabel in Sussex shaped as a Bedouin tent

31.

If Aurora is the Roman Goddess of Dawn, what is the Latin word for “shining dawn”?

31.

Aurum (or Gold, Au)

32.

“I would often ask older people “where were you in 1967?” and then take it from there. It was stories of that sort that I found out tiny details that are important for fiction. My parents stories formed the backbone of my research”.

Name the book that came out of this research and its 33 year old author who spoke about stereotypes at TED Oxford?

32.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun set during the 1967 Biafra war

33.

In 1915, the German Ministry of War set up the Calsow’s Assault Detachment. The purpose was to raise highly trained German soldiers in the art of infiltration and assault. Small squads were ordered to raid enemy trenches under low level artillery cover. Avoiding combat, they were to be light, nimble and capable of attacking enemy posts. This included putting pockets for carrying grenades, carrying light assault rifles, soft footwear, etc. The German word for these troops was “shock troops”. What is the English word?

33.

Stormtroopers. From German Strobtruppen a.k.a Sturmmann and Sturmtruppen

34.

Technically called a Large Marine Ecosystem, this current off the coast of South America moves in an anti-clockwise direction northwards to the equator. It is the largest marine ecosystem and is the biggest fishing zone of the world. Named after an European naturalist, name this current which is heavily responsible in preventing formations of tropical cyclones (except when El Nino happens).

34.

The Humboldt Current

35.

Across the peninsula from Elephanta through the Chalukyan caves of Badami to the Pallava works of Mahabalipuram, what is this particular form of Shiva which is one of the more common sculptures that you will see?

35.

Ardhanarishwara – Half Male, Half Female, the unity of Shiva and Parvati.

The first one is in Badami, cave no 1; this one is in Mahabalipuram (the Five Rathas)

36.

With the growing menace of adulteration of gold, circa 500 BC, Theophrastus made a device using a certain material which allowed average citizens to visually check the purity of gold. Name this device, which through the pen of Shakespeare, has become a metaphor for a purity check.

36.

Touchstone

37.

Legend has it that after a grueling induction cum screening programme where at least half the original participants drop out, the last test is a 2.5 km trek through a swamp carrying a full 20 kgs load at the end of which the participant has to shoot a target at a distance of 25 metres – the target is placed next to their buddy. Only 10% of the participants make it here. Those who pass become ______. What?

37.

Marcos; Marine Commandos, India’s Navy Seals

38.

Inspired by the exploits of ______ Ali in the seventies, Basad Ali in the eighties, Feroze Ali in nineties and _____ in the last decade, Samaresh Sardar, Tutul Ali are among 40 lucky boys to be included in a special training programme partly sponsored by LN Bangar of Andhra Paper Mills and Sanjay Agarwal of Century Plywoods. Like the champions mentioned, these boys under the coaching of Inderjit Bhalotia (who also is coach of the India junior team) will have a chance to jump their earnings to 3-4 lakhs a year with a secure job. What is this program?

38.

Training program for caddies at the RCGC and the Tolly Club

39.

Read this:She left the web, she left the loom,She made three paces through the room,She saw the water-lily bloom,She saw the helmet and the plume, She look'd down to Camelot.Out flew the web and floated wide;___ ______ ______ ____ ____ __ ____;"The curse is come upon me," cried The Lady of Shalott.

The blanks were referenced in a short story called “The Second Gong” first published in 1932 in The Strand. Which is the more famous work by the same author that references this line?

39.

Read this:She left the web, she left the loom,She made three paces through the room,She saw the water-lily bloom,She saw the helmet and the plume, She look'd down to Camelot.Out flew the web and floated wide;The Mirror Crack’d from Side To Side;"The curse is come upon me," cried The Lady of Shalott.

The Mirror Crack’d from side to side

The Lady of Shalot by Tennyson. Incidentally, the short story “The Second Gong” was republished as “The Dead Man’s Mirror”

40.

The fact that we had been sent for meant that we were to be ordered out on a sortie. We had reached the last days of May 1940, a time of full retreat, of full disaster. Crew after crew was being offered up as a sacrifice. It was as if you dashed glassfuls of water into a forest fire.

This passage is from a memoir called Flight To Arras and recalls reconnaissance flights into occupied France. It was called “the most important book yet on this war” by Time in 1942. Name the author-pilot

40.

The fact that we had been sent for meant that we were to be ordered out on a sortie. We had reached the last days of May 1940, a time of full retreat, of full disaster. Crew after crew was being offered up as a sacrifice. It was as if you dashed glassfuls of water into a forest fire.

Antoine De Saint Exupery

41.

Which monumental 20th Century discovery started off with these lines and the photograph you see (The explorer put them as the frontispiece of his memoir)

“Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges— Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!” Kipling: “The Explorer”

41

Hiram Bingham’s explorations in the Highlands of Peru leading to his discovery of the lost world of the Incas.

42.

In the table given, from an exhaustive set of 14, those ranked 2 to 10 are given. What is this list and what is the first entry in this list?

Date People

<???> <???>

31-07-54 Compagnoni / Lacedelli (ITA)

25-05-55 Band / Brown (GBR)

18-05-56 Luchsinger / Reiss (SUI)

15-05-55 Couzy/Terray (FRA)

19-10-54 Joechler / Tichy / Pasang (AUT / NEP)

13-05-60 Diemberger / Diener / Nawang / Nima / Forrer / Schelbert (AUT / GER / NEP / SUI)

09-05-56 Imanishi / Gyalzen (JPN / NEP)

03-05-53 Buhl (AUT)

03-06-50 Herzog / Lachenal (FRA)

42.

29th May 1953, Hillary / Norgay

The first scaling of the eight-thousanders (there are 14 peaks above 8000m)

43.

On 29th June 1967, around 2:25 a.m. a Buick Elecra 225 carrying three adults and three children rammed into a tractor-trailer which had slowed down because of a truck in front was spraying a mosquito fogger. The car went right under the tractor killing all the three adults who were sitting in front. The three children in the rear suffered injuries. Following this accident, the DOT recommended that all tractor-trailers put an underride guard, a bar made of steel tubing. What is the common name for this bar, taken from one of the high-profile victims of the car crash?

43.

The Mansfield Bar named after Jayne Mansfield

44.

These images, from Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum, were typical of the 18th century ships used to transport slaves to the sugar plantations of Jamaica and Guyana or the cotton fields of the Southern states. What infamous name is forever stuck to these ships, derived from the West Coast of Africa?

44.

The Guinea Man. From the Guinea cost of Africa

Similarly, ships bringing slaves from the East Coast to India, Middle East were called Habshees (Abyssinians) and ships from the India / Indonesia / etc were called the East India Man

45.

Georges Nagelmacher wanted to bring Pullman cars into Europe. However, his proposal was rebuffed by the Pullman company. He instead developed the Sleeper car or Wagon-Lit. With concessions from the Belgian government, he set up the Compagnie Internationale de Wagon-Lits. This company built railway cars, ran a number of services and also built tourist hotels, one of which was a frequent holiday spot for Agatha Christie. Name the train service started by him, on an experimental basis in 1882, the inaugural run of which also had Henry Flashman traveling on his way to save Emperor Franz Josef.

45.

The Orient Express

It started from being a Paris – Vienna service and was extended to Istanbul.

Te Pera Palas Hotel in Istanbul, built by CIWL, was where Christie holidayed (and wrote Murder on the Orient Express)

46.

Name this famous road which requires signboards in three international languages?

46.

The Karakoram Highway connecting China’s Xinjiang province and the Gilgit-Baltistan area in Pakistan, the highest paved road.

47.

He liked his women to be warm, voluptuous, lush, highly coloured and exotic. Many years ago, “a folly of earlier days” as he put it, there was this Russian countess. Name this bachelor, a perfectionist, a master of order who was saddened when his housemate married a music hall girl named Dulcie Duveen and went off to live in South America.

47.

Hercule Poirot