Quiz-O-Sthan: The India Quiz (Finals)

INDIA QUIZ
The NSUT Quiz Club presents
FINALS
Researched and conducted by
Ishan Chourasia and Yash Sethia

RULES
● 26 Questions
● 2 dry rounds of 10 questions each
● 1 themed round of 6 questions
● Inﬁnite pounce and bounce
● +10/-5 scoring

Long Connect
1. Answers to questions 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 go into a long connect
2. The connect is an exhaustive list
3. Pounce for the connect is open throughout the quiz
4. +50/-25, +40/-20, +30/-15, +20/-10, +10 scoring

1*. Which book? FITB.
This 2018 book is like a love letter to this city, and hence the name is very apt.
To be more speciﬁc, it is a love letter to the language that became intertwined
with this city, and the stalwarts of poetry who called it their home.
Dwelling upon the linguistic heritage of this city, this book offers a window into
the life, times, and poetry of 8 of this language's greatest poets from the 18th
and 19th centuries, with witty and critical insight, in a conversational style.
An excerpt from the book tells us that when this language was still in the early
stages of developing into a language of poetry, it was called ______. Although
it was only used by a few native poets, in today’s time all of us are aware of a
certain ‘celebration of ______.

2. Id X and Y
Although the main ingredient had been growing in India since the 17th century,
thanks to a sneaky saint, the idea of such establishments as they exist today was
fairly new. Most of such establishments existing at the time were British-run which
discriminated against locals. Hence, a need was felt for a more inclusive chain of such
establishments. This led to the birth of X, with the ﬁrst outlet at Churchgate, Bombay
in 1936. Since the 50's, when X pivoted to a cooperative structure, Indians have been
visiting its 400+ outlets spread all over the country.
Shaped like a spiral and built using exposed bricks, the one located in
Thiruvananthapuram happens to be a visual treat too. It is one of the most prominent
works of British-born Indian architect Y, whose fascination with low-cost, local and
sustainable building designs and his minimalist aesthetic earned him the title of
'Gandhi of architecture'.
P.S. Y is in no way related to another famous British architect whom we all know
(iykyk)

X: Indian Coffee House
Y: Laurie Baker

3. Which environmental hazard?
In August 2015, a young rapper, Soﬁa Ashraf, released a music video on an unlikely
theme. “Unilever. Clean up your mess. Unilever. Clean up your mess,” went the rap
‘Kodaikanal Won’t’, which has been viewed over 4 million times over the last eight
years, bringing to global attention one of India’s biggest environmental disasters.
The story begins in the 1980s, when Hindustan Lever took over Chesebrough-Pond’s
thermometer factory in the town. With allegedly inadequate safety protocols in place,
scores of workers began to fall ill over the following years after being exposed to
toxicity. Even though the factory was shut down in 2001 following a campaign by the
local community, the damage had already been done as the toxicity had seeped into
the shola forests and aquatic ecosystems, even contaminating ﬁsh and lichen that
were consumed by people.
A recently published book ‘Heavy Metal: How a Global Corporation Poisoned
Kodaikanal’ is also based on this.

4. Who are these mosques named after? Where did
he die?
While he himself never stepped foot in this city, there exist two mosques in
Kolkata that carry forward his legacy.
An inscription on the mosque' plaque reads: "This Masjid was erected during the
Government of Lord Auckland, G.C.B., by the Prince Ghulam Muhammad, son of
the late ____ ______, in gratitude to God and in commemoration of the
Honorable Court of Directors granting him the arrears of his stipend in 1840."
Ghulam Muhammad was the youngest son of this exalted ruler who perished in
valour on 4th May 1799 in a different part of the country.

5*. Id X. Which state was thus created?
In 1505, Sikandar Lodhi resolved to establish a base and a seat of royalty from where
the rebels near Dholpur, Gwalior and Malwa could be kept under subjugation.
He deputed a number of men to survey and report a site that appeared suitable to
them. They started from Delhi onboard a vessel and ﬂoated downstream, surveying
until they arrived at the spot where X now stands. They selected this site and invited
the Sultan. He embarked on a boat and made a delightful journey, until he reached X
and sighted a high ground suitable for habitation. He asked the captain of the crews
which of the two areas of high ground ahead was more suited to his purpose, to
which he replied, "That one in the foreground (__ - _ - ___)”. The sultan smiled and
said "Let this town also be named __ - ___."
From the Lodhis, X passed to another empire under whose reign it prospered. Later, it
became a part of a British province whose name was shortened by the Government
of India Act of 1935. This new name was also a province of Independent India until
1950, when after merging it with neighbouring regions, a new state was created.

X: Agra (Ag-i-rah)
Uttar Pradesh

6. Which City X? Id Y.
Neither the founder of X nor Roger Anger, its architect, was satisﬁed with
Chandigarh’s urban vision as an example of a city of the future. To carry
forward the spiritual ideals of Y, radical grounding principles were emphasised
such as land cannot be individually owned, and money would no longer be ‘the
sovereign lord’. This allowed Anger’s team to radically rethink the city as a
holistic new organism. A three-year-long design process resulted in the
pedestrian-centric galaxy plan which was ﬁnally inaugurated in 1968.
Two years earlier, Anger had presented his plan at UNESCO in Paris thus: “It
will be experimental by its urbanism and architecture… The task to give a
concrete form to the vision of Y has been given to the (founder): the creation of
a new world, of a new society, expressing and incorporating a new
consciousness to the work she has initiated… X, then, appears like an attempt
to realise, through work and actions in this material world, the vision of Y.”

X was founded in the 1920s by Edward X, a Danish dairy entrepreneur and
technologist who the British Government recruited in 1889 to modernize India's dairy
industry. He moved to India in 1889, and in 1894 purchased the floundering Aligarh
Dairy. Realizing success and profitability in revitalizing the dairy, X established
another dairy farm in 1925 in Delhi, and kept on expanding nationwide.
After Edward died in 1937, industrialist Ram Krishna Dalmia, one of X’s distributor at
the time, bought the brand in 1940. Dalmia diversified the company into producing
powdered milk, condensed milk, milkshakes and ice creams. The company's expansion
expanded to 48 distribution points around the NCR before it went defunct in the
1970s.
In 2014, Agastya Dalmia, the grandson, partnered with his in attempts to revive the
brand, working in part with a few old recipes of the milkshake that Ram Krishna
Dalmia had devised. By 2021, the company had a combined total of over 200 kiosks,
cafés and brick-and-mortar restaurants in India and also has a presence in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates; Nairobi, Kenya and Nepal.
7. Identify X

Quiz-O-Sthan: The India Quiz (Finals)

Before X, became one of the country’s most recognised names, it was a small
restaurant operating in south Bangalore with a heady stream of faithful customers who
swore by its idlis. But 1976 changed everything. When India was under emergency, a
Food Control Act was introduced which mandated that food was to be sold at very low
prices.
Price of the modest idli, for instance, was clipped to 10 paise from 25 paise while a cup
of coffee had to be sold at 25p from Re.1 under President’s rule. Soon there was no
stopping the mounting losses. X ran up losses of Rs 25,000 every weekday and up to Rs
1 lakh on Sundays. Sixteen days after it was told to reduce prices, the restaurant was
forced to shut shop.
This move forced X to diversify into the instant food business, selling ready-to-eat
snacks such as chutneys and rasams. Since then, X has expanded and diversiﬁed.
Currently X represents two separate entities; the X restaurant business and X Foods, the
pre-packaged food business.
8. Identify X

9. Id X and Y. What happened after this?
When his father was busy with campaigns in the Deccan, X rose up in rebellion in the
late 16th century and established his court somewhat 470 km downstream. Hearing
this news, his father hurried to Agra and summoned Y from Deccan with a plan to
appease X and bring him back.
In his memoir, X writes -
“Toward the end of my exalted father's reign, Y, one of the shaikhzadas of Hindustan
who was outstanding in his learning and wisdom, had ostensibly adorned himself
with loyalty and sold it to my father for an exorbitant price. He was summoned from
the Deccan, and since he was suspicious of me he was always making snide remarks.
At that time, because of the corruption of mischief-makers, my exalted father's mind
was quite turned against me, and it was certain that if Y succeeded in reaching him
he would create more discord and prevent me from re-joining my father. It was
therefore absolutely necessary that he be prevented from reaching him.”

X: Salim / Jehangir
Y: Abu Fazl
Jehangir got Abu Fazl killed

10*. Id X and Y. Which institution? Where is it
located?
Much before X became famous, his father had already spent considerable part of his
career in India. An artist and a sculptor, he first moved to India in 1865 as a teacher
and served as the first dean of a prestigious institution that has produced some of
the finest figures in the field it is concerned with. X was also born in the campus of
this institution.
It’s pretty evident that X’s books are laced through with his father’s experiences and
anecdotes. For instance, the Ajaib Ghar where one of X’s most famous novel Y opens,
is none other than the Lahore museum of which his father was the curator.
Y is rather like a documentary of India. Despite the novel’s setting of imperial spies
between Britain and Russia in the territorial struggle over India, it narrates a
perception of India as a moving painting of varied people and customs. The teenage
protagonist’s travels through Northern India are continuously dotted with
momentary meetings with the native people, almost like a pageant.

X: Rudyard Kipling
Y: Kim
JJ School of Arts
Mumbai

Koduri Marakathamani Keeravani aka MM Keeravani who recently won an
Oscar for his song Nattu Nattu, was once a man hard to find. It is said that
once lyricist and poet Nida Fazli (who worked with the composer in the movie
Sur ) paid him a visit, in his Chennai studio but he could not find him. When
Keeravani later told Fazli why he could not find him in Chennai, he couldn't
believe the composer, and told him, "Do you think of yourself as God?".
Keeravani later in an interview quoting this incident explained that his guru had
told him to live like a sanyasi for a year and a half, if he were to avert a
premature death. A devotee of Shiva, Keeravani followed his guru's orders but
despite all his efforts he could not give up on his work. Inspired by Stephan
King, Keeravani's guru suggested him a remedy.
11. Give Funda / Id the remedy.

He created an alias by the name of MM Kareem and started
working in Bollywood without telling anyone in the South of
his new identity

In 2016, X bought a franchise in one of the biggest leagues in the country but
unfortunately the franchise didn’t do well in it’s debut year ﬁnishing second last
in the table. This dismissal performance of the franchise was mostly attributed
to the absence of key players due to injuries.
Still, X made multiple key changes in the squad and the management of the
franchise along with a much subtler change on the advice of a numerologist
who is often credited for the change in fortune of the team as the team
reached the ﬁnals next year.
12. Id the subtle change.

He dropped an ‘s’ from the team name “Rising Pune
Supergiants”
X = Sanjiv Goenka

While there are many stories about X and his childhood, this one unlike
others check out. Swami Atmasthananda, president of the
Belur-headquartered Ramakrishna Math had arrived in 1966 to head the
Ramakrishna Mission Ashram.
A young X, inspired by Swami Vivekananda, reached the ashram to take
sanyasa. When X expressed his desire to become a monk, after spending
some time in the ashram, Swami Atmasthananda told him that sanyas was
not for him and his work was among people and not in seclusion.
Rest as they say it, is history.
13. Identify X

X, the founder of one of the leading and oldest industrialist empires of the country, was
originally born into a very poor family in Kashi Ka Bas village, Rajasthan. In 1894 at the
age of 4, X was playing with other kids in his courtyard when Seth Bachharaj _____, a
rich Wardha businessman, and his family were going to the temple and they saw this
child. They felt that there’s something special about him. And so Seth Bachharaj walked up
to X’s house, knocked on the door and asked whose child it was.
In a manner of speaking, X’s mother said “Tharo hi hai” in marwari (it’s yours). In
response, Seth Bachharaj told the mother, "If that's the case, then I'm taking the kid with
me." When she learned this, X's mother became alarmed and called for his father, who,
surprisingly, after hearing the entire account, said that a word once given has to be
honoured. Since the women in that area had to go great distances to obtain water, the
father requested Seth Bachhraj to commission a well in exchange.
14. Identify X

Jamnalal Bajaj, founder of Bajaj group of industries

15*. In which state is Palitana located? What
unique distinction does it hold?
Palitana is the world's only mountain that has more than 900 temples and
hence is considered the world's largest temple complex. The Palitana temples
and the whole mountain are considered the most sacred pilgrimage place
(tirtha) by the Jain community. It is counted among the purest and most
revered destination for those who follow Jainism.
This city holds a unique distinction that dates back to 2014 when the state
government imposed a certain restriction after giving in to the demands of
more than 200 monks who held a fast to curb a practice that hurts their
religious sentiments.

Gujarat
World’s first Vegetarian City

Besides being in the world of politics, there is another side of X that many of us are
not aware about. He is a professional wildlife photographer and his Instagram feed
is ﬁlled with mesmersing photos including landscape and portrait shots of wildlife.
According to a report published in Financial Express, X is known for aerial and
wildlife photography. He has also been the author of two books ___________
Desh (2010) which is on the forts of the state and Pahava Vitthal (2011) which is on
the Pandharpur wari (on pilgrimage to the temple town named Pandharpur).
In 2015, he displayed his work at an exhibition in Mumbai which earned him
plaudits from the likes of Ustad Zakir Hussain. “Photography is like oxygen for me.
My hobby is my oxygen. It would be wrong to say I don’t have time,” the politician
was quoted as saying.
(picture on next slide)
16. Identify X

X is a traditional Indian system of architecture based on ancient texts that
describe principles of design, layout, measurements, ground preparation, space
arrangement, and spatial geometry. The designs aim to integrate architecture with
nature, the relative functions of various parts of the structure, and ancient beliefs
utilising geometric patterns, symmetry, and directional alignments.
Ancient X principles include those for the design of Mandir, and the principles for
the design and layout of houses, towns, cities, gardens, roads, water works, shops
and other public areas.
In contemporary India, consultants that including priests and astrologers, fueled
by greed are marketing pseudoscience and superstition in the name of X.
17. What is being talked about?

The Royal Indian Navy mutiny or revolt, also called the 1946 Naval Uprising, was a
failed insurrection of Indian naval ratings, soldiers, police personnel and civilians
against the British government in India. From the initial flashpoint in Bombay, the
revolt spread and found support throughout British India, from Karachi to Calcutta,
and ultimately came to involve over 20,000 sailors in 78 ships and shore
establishments.
Indian Naval personnel began calling themselves the "Indian National Navy" and
offered left–handed salutes to British officers. At some places, NCOs in the British
Indian Army ignored and defied orders from British superiors. In Madras and Poona
(now Pune), the British garrisons had to face some unrest within the ranks of the
Indian Army.
Widespread communally inspired rioting took place from Karachi to Calcutta.
Notably, the revolting ships did something very specific, signifying the unity and
downplaying of communal issues among the mutineers.
18. Give Funda

The revolting ships hoisted three flags tied together – those of
the Indian National Congress, the Muslim League, and the
Red Flag of the Communist Party of India (CPI).

Being way off mark from how it actually is, Jacques Chereau of Paris created
this print called ‘Vue de la Place de Dely et du Palais au Grand Mogol’ of
which famous location, and the street in front of it?
(picture on next slide)
19. Identify the location

20*. Id X. Which 1998 movie?
Comprising of men who were as brave as they were efficient, the Madras
Engineer Group (MEG) was formed in 1780 as a forerunner to the army.
It was a Scottish superintendent at the MEG, Major RL McClintock, who devised
the X in this city by using locally available resources and then taught it to the
soldiers of the Madras Sappers. It took the team about 26 hours to build the ﬁrst
three X, with the cost of the material and labour coming to all of nine rupees, ﬁve
annas and 10 paisa.
X proved themselves extremely useful during World War I, especially during
prolonged trench warfare. Later, they played a crucial role in breaking through
German defenses during D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy (as shown
in a 1998 Tom Hanks movie) and quickly became the weapon of choice to clear
obstacles for military engineers across the world.

Bangalore Torpedo, Saving Private Ryan

दल्ली जो एक शहर था…
ROUND 3
+20/-10 on Pounce
+10 on Bounce

21. Which road? What was it called earlier?
This was the ﬁrst road in Delhi to be renamed after independence. It earlier shared its
name with a Spanish town located near Spain’s Portugese border, as well as with the
largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is believed to be named after
an eminent admiral from the 16th century who played a pivotal role in India’s history.
The road’s current name is derived from a certain event that transpired in a building
located there. This building, which was acquired by the government in 1971, was
converted into a national memorial and dedicated to the nation on August 15, 1973.
Not surprisingly, the place is often confused with the Birla Mandir.
A larger than life statue of X at the entrance of this memorial welcomes everybody and
symbolizes his universal concern for the poor and the deprived, but on the other hand
one can’t help but notice the three canons outside the National Defence College
opposite to it, pointing in the direction of the memorial. The canons stand either in
total deﬁance of X’s ideologies or can even be interpreted as a salutation in ‘silence’ to
his eternal spirit.

Tees January Marg, Albuquerque Road

22. Which locality? X? Connect?
As quoted in an Indian Express piece, one can only speculate that this locality came up
during Feroz Shah Tughlaq’s time in the 14th Century. The Tughlaqs were known for the
canals they built; there is evidence that a canal was formed from the northern
extremity of the city he built called Firozabad and probably went up to where the Red
Fort stands now, and then into the Yamuna.
According to historian Sohail Hashmi, this lane got its name as it was home to rowers
who, instead of using oars, used to hit long bamboo poles on the ﬂoor of the shallow
canals to row their kashtis.
X was the most famous resident of this lane. He found refuge here during the 1857
Seige of Delhi, and went on to breathe his last breath here.
Further, the name of this locality is somehow indirectly connected to Gangs of
Wasseypur, via a project which, according to its founder, pays homage to the legacy of
X and the narrow lanes of Old Delhi.

Ballimaran, Mirza Ghalib, Piyush Mishra

23. Which community? Entity? Organisation?
Tucked away in the streets between Red Fort and Nigam Bodh Ghat, Grant Govan homes is
one of the very few retirement homes in North India for this rapidly declining community. A
slice of history is still alive here, which symbolises a vanishing culture and community in the
city. The home was started by friends of Grant Govan, after his death in 1940. Mr Govan was
quite an instrumental man himself who left his mark on India way beyond the homes founded
in his memory.
In 1922, he established a prestigious entity a little North of Shahjahanabad, which was and is
still frequented by elites from all waks of life. Sprawled over 22 acres, it has served as a lush
oasis for its members for the past 100 years. It borrows its name from a neighbouring
historical premises where a certain member of the royal Mughal family now rests.
Interestingly, the above entity is also considered the birthplace of another important
organisation, founded in 1928, of which Govan was the ﬁrst president. It is the richest
organisation of its kind in the world.

Anglo-Indians, Roshanara Club, BCCI

24. Id X, Y, A, B
“The memories of the 1857 Mutiny were fresh in their minds and they wanted the new
realigned railway line to New Delhi station to serve as an embankment for the defence of
New Delhi. The British felt that in case of a threat they could close the X bridge and the Y
bridge underpasses, the only two entry points into New Delhi and virtually seal the city,”
says AK Jain, who has written several books on Delhi. “And they kept the height of X low
to ensure an unhindered visual link between the Jama Masjid in the walled city, Central
Park in Connaught Place, and Parliament.”
Both X and Y bridges were renamed to A and B respectively.
The name of Lord X, who ruled India from Kolkata and Shimla, has lived on though, as the
X bridge, which ﬁrst started hitting the headlines in the early 1950s for water-logging, is
still popularly known by its old name only.
On the other hand, not many people know that B was called Y bridge before. However the
name Y lives on, thanks to an institution located close to both these bridges.

X: Minto, Y: Hardinge
A: Shivaji Bridge, B: Tilak Bridge

25. Id X
It is ironical that X, an architectural marvel built to celebrate Indian expertise
and the 25th year of Indian independence, has been replaced by a modernist
glass walled architectural complex built by a global ﬁrm. Inspired by the
geometric patterns of a traditional ‘jaali’, X is acknowledged all around the
world as an icon of modernity and it has found a place in the annals of
architecture and Indian cultural history.
Truly a place for the people, it was visited by thousands, and had a place in the
popular imagination. The climax of Yash Chopra’s Trishul (1978), was shot here,
in the vastness of the complex where X was located and so was a dance
sequence of Tere Naam (2000).
By demolishing the single most iconic structure in the complex, the memory of
the complex itself has been dealt a death blow, as visiting it doesn’t feel the
same anymore.

Hall of Nations / Jawahar Hall

26. Where can you ﬁnd the Misra Yantra?
Id Y. What now stands where Y once stood?
The 9th Asian Games were held in Delhi from 19 November to 4 December 1982. The
logo of the games was the image of Misra Yantra, one of the four distinct
instruments found in a heritage complex in the city.
The official live mascot of the 1982 Asian Games was celebrated in the complex of
Pragati Maidan with a large statue and later, in 1984, an even larger establishment Y
was inaugurated in the neighbourhood, which now only exists in fond memories and
old maps from the the 1980s and 90s.
Y was the ﬁrst of its kind in India. It closed down in 2008, to the disappointment of
many children and adults, after a Supreme Court ruling allocating its land for
government use.

Jantar Mantar, Appu Ghar, Pragati Maidan Metro Station / SC
New Complex

Quiz-O-Sthan: The India Quiz (Finals)

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