NERVE BLAST 2015

JIST, Jorhat

27.03.2015

MAINS

-----------------------

Gautam Priyam Mahanta

Round 1

Special Round on

INNOVATIONS of various kinds

Sponsored by Renaissance Institute.

1.1. X (1867 – 1935), a scientist and

industrialist with 40 US patents to his credit,

was called the Edison of India, who was

awarded the honorary doctorate in 1927

at New York. At a time when only around

200 characters could be printed in a

minute, he succeeded in inventing a

machine capable of composing 1,200

characters in a minute, an achievement

praised by "Scientific American". He

succeeded in pharmaceutical ventures

too and formulated a soap named

“Shella”, besides developing an

automatic cycle stand with locks, and

several other innovations. Identify him,

who founded the Tata X Invention

Syndicate at London.

Answer

Shankar Abaji Bhise.

1.2. The London based bakery Peek Freans was

the first to create something in 1874 to

commemorate the wedding of Grand Duchess

_____ Alexandrova of Russia to the Duke of

Edinburgh. The special innovation in bakery

gradually spread all over the world to become a

household name. What was it?

Answer

Marie biscuits. (Maria to come in place of __)

1.3. After the discovery that quinine can treat

malaria, to fight the persistent threat the

disease poised, this cocktail was introduced to

the army of the British East India Company in

India, in which quinine was used as an

important ingredient. Sugar, lime and water

are other three ingredients that can used in

the cocktail, besides its alcohol base. What is

the cocktail?

Answer

Gin and Tonic.

1.4. Anuja Chauhan is an Indian writer

authoring three novels so far – The Zoya

Factor (2008) "Battle For Bittora" (2010) "Those

Pricey Thakur Girls" (2012). Before pursuing a

full-time literary career she worked in the

advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, India

for 17 years, eventually becoming vice-

president and executive creative director. In

1998, she created a tagline which gained mass

popularity and even became a battle cry in

Kargil War, first used by Captain Vikram Batra,

who was posthumously awarded Param Vir

Chakra. What was the tagline?

Answer

Yeh Dil Maange More!

1.5. Besides being the inspiration for the P. B.

Shelly poem “The Cloud”, British chemist and

meteorologist Luke Howard (1772 – 1864) inspired

Goethe to write –

“But Howard gives us with his clear mind

The gain of lessons new to all mankind;

That which no hand can reach, no hand can clasp

He first has gained, first held with mental grasp”.

What work of him was being appreciated in this

fashion?

Answer

Naming and classification of clouds.

1.6. A Maharashtrian mathematician named

Dattaraya Ramchandra Kaprekar (1905–1986)

developed a recreational number theory called X

Numbers, named after the Sanskrit word for

“joy”. In a given number base, X is an integer that

is divisible by the sum of its digits when written in

that base. Example – The number 18 is an X

number in base 10, because the sum of the digits

1 and 8 is 9 (1+8=9), and 18 is divisible by

9 (since 18/9=2 and 2 is a whole number). What is

this number series?

Answer

Harshad Number.

1.7. This is an innovative personal logo of a Briton.

You can see the number 77 there, because on

07.07.2013, he did something for which his country

was waiting for 77 long years. Who is he?

Answer

Andy Murray.

Round 2

General

2.1. These are lines written by the British poet John

Donne –

"And into that gate they shall enter, and in that house

they shall dwell, where there will be no cloud nor sun,

no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light, no noise

nor silence, but one equal ____, no fears nor hopes,

but one equal possession, no foes nor friends, but one

equal communion and identity, no ends nor

beginnings, but one equal eternity."

Which English novel written against the backdrop of

Venice and Vienna, published in the year 1999, got its

name from the poem?

Answer

“An Equal Music” by Vikram Seth.

2.2. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, X is a play within the play within the

play where Hamlet enacts the murder scene of his late father to

“catch the conscience of the king”, his uncle. The song you can see

here, “Bismil” from the film Haider was an adaptation of that play

within Hamlet, X. What is X?

Answer

The Mousetrap.

2.3. “VIRUS EATS THE CAT”. That was a news

headline to describe something that was

experimentally implemented for the first time

by the concerned agency / authority during

late 2009, hiring the American firm Prometric.

However, the experimentation did not go

according to the plan or expectation in the

initial year. What was the experimentation and

what happened actually.

Answer

The first computer based Common Admission

Test (CAT). There were 'Conficker' and 'W32

Nimda' virus attacks on the display system of

the test, causing severe slowdown.

2.4. The name for this series of British dynastic

wars between the House of York and House of

Lancaster that took place between 1455 to

1487 came into common use in the nineteenth

century after Sir Walter Scott coined this term

based on the name on a scene in William

Shakespeare’s play Henri VI Part 1, set in the

gardens of the Temple Church, where a

number of noblemen and lawyer showed their

loyalty to either the Yorkist or Lancastrian

faction in a certain way. What was their way of

showing loyalty? Or what is the common term

for the series or war between the factions?

Answer

The War of the Roses. They picked either white

or red rose to show their support or loyalty to

the House of York whose royal badge was a

white rose or to the House of Lancaster

sporting a badge of red rose respectively.

2.5. When India’s ambassador to the United

Nations, Asoke Mukerji, introduced a resolution in

the United Nations General Assembly on 11th of

December, 2014, the resolution was supported

and co-sponsored by 175 nations in the UN

General Assembly with a total strength of 193

members – it’s a record for highest number of co-

sponsors for any such resolution in UNGA. This is

also for the first time that such an initiative has

been proposed and implemented by any country

in the UN body in less than 90 days. What for was

the resolution, adopted under the agenda of

“Global Health and Foreign Policy”?

Answer

Declaring 21st June each year as the

“International Day of Yoga”.

2.6. This person,

Bhausaheb Babasaheb

Nimbalkar, playing for

Maharashtra in the Ranji

Trophy match against

Kathiawar at Pune on 16

December, 1948,

achieved something,

which, till now, no other

Indian player either in

domestic or international

cricket has achieved so

far. What was his

achievement?

Answer

Only Indian cricketer to go past 400 runs in an

innings. He scored 443 not out.

2.7. This structure is

named Open Hand

Monument. In which

Indian city can it be

seen to which the

designer contributed

in a certain way?

Answer

Chandigarh, designer of the monument being

architect Le Corbusier.

Round 3

General

3.1. This is a famous painting by artist Henry Holiday named X

and Y, depicting an Italian poet, X, looking at his romantic

interest Y, as she walks past with her companions in golden

dress. X, Y please.

Answer

Dante and Beatrice.

3.2. During battles, the Rajput soldiers were

provided in large quantities some kind of a

supplement which they called “Kusumba”, in

order to null their senses against any kind of

fear nervousness, and to fight with full vigour.

During several Mughal-Ahom battles in the 17th

century, a section of the Assamese forces also

learnt the practice to consume “Kusumba”

from the Rajput soldiers in the Mughal forces.

What is X, which over time started dominating

the Assamese lifestyle itself?

Answer

Opium.

3.3. It is a corporate slang that denotes a

scenario in which a company uses its own

product to validate the quality and

capabilities of the product. This measure is

adopted to build confidence of the

employees and customers alike, and use it as

testimonial advertising. What is the slang /

term?

Answer

Dogfooding / Eating Your Own Dog Food.

3.4. Identify the other

two persons with

Jawaharlal Nehru.

Answer

Sheikh Abdulla and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan.

3.5. Battle of Anzio or Operation Shingle that

took place on 22 January, 1944 on Italian shore

was part of the WWII. Eric Fletcher ___ fought

for the Allied forces in the Battle and sacrificed

his life there. In 1979, in the memory of Eric

Fletcher ___, something was done by a small

group of people, thus immortalising him in a

way. How?

Answer

Pink Floyd recorded the song “When the Tigers

Broke Free”. Eric Fletcher Waters was the father

of Roger Waters.

3.6. She is Latife

Ussakizade who was

the first woman to

become something

in 1923 in respect of

her country. What is

that? Identify the

country too.

Answer

The first ever First Lady of Turkey.

3.7. Vincenzo was the name of both his father

and son and both were musicians. His two

daughters, Maria and Livia both were nuns.

The unit of acceleration is named after him.

Who is he?

Answer

Galileo Galilei. Gal is the unit.

Round 4

General

4.1. This costume, X, is named after a 1956 film of same name

where the lead actress, Carroll Baker, extensively worn it. The

name, X, suddenly became very popular around this time last

year owing to a Bollywood song. What is X?

Answer

Baby Doll.

4.2. To fulfil his family wish, Rabindranath Tagore went to

Britain in 1878 to study law there. However, he was more

interested in Scottish, Irish and English folk music and culture

and returned home degree-less in 1880. This musical

exposure contributed to the composition of several Tagore

songs inspired by Scottish-Irish folk tunes. Here we can listen

to the Tagore song “Purano Shei Diner Kotha” inspired by

the Scottish song (written by Robert Burns) “Auld Long

Syne”.

The question is, what term did Rabindranath light-heartedly

give to these songs with western influences?

Answer

Scotch Bhupali.

4.3. The year 1974

saw two tennis

players who were

in a romantic

relationship

winning the

Wimbledon

Men’s and

Ladies’ Singles

titles respectively,

making it a rare

moment in sports

history. Just

identify them.

Answer

Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors.

4.4. This term is given to a legal procedural

defence that forbids a defendant / accused

from being tried and punished again for the

same charges following a legitimate acquittal

or conviction. What is the term?

Answer

Double Jeopardy.

4.5. This Arabic word literally means “The

Helpers”. Originally the term denoted the

citizens of Medina from the two main tribes of

Banu Khazraj and the Banu Aus, who helped

Muhammad and the first Muslim in settling

down in Medina after migrating from Mecca in

622 AD. They also helped Muhammad in the

Invasion of Buwat (623). What is the term given

to them?

Answer

Ansar / Ansari.

4.6. Her name was

Bettina von Arnim (1785-

1859) – a writer,

composer, singer,

illustrator and activist.

She is said to be either

friend, companion or

romantic interest of three

famous German men of

that time. Name any

two.

Answer

Goethe, Beethoven and Karl Marx.

4.7. When Mangalyaan was put into Mars orbit

on 24th September, 2014, ISRO became only

the fourth space agency in the world to do so,

after the Soviet Space Program, NASA and a

certain third agency. What is that, or it serve

which nation?

Answer

The European Space Agency – the

intergovernmental organisation dedicated to

the exploration of space, with 21 member

states.

Round 5

General

5.1. A Hindu lunar calendar is comprised of

354.372 days, whereas a solar year that of

365.2422 days. Thus we get a difference of

10.87 between a solar year and a lunar year.

To bridge the gap, every third year an extra

month is added to the Hindu lunar calendar.

What is that month called?

Answer

“Purshottam Maas” or “Adhik Maas”.

5.2. Where would you find these books?

Answer

In Wes Anderson’s film Moonrise Kingdom.

5.3. Members of the British Royal Family walking past a

commemorative ceramic poppy installation in the moat of

Tower of London in 2014. The Paul Cummins artwork, named

“Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red”, consisted of 888,246

ceramic red poppies. What did it commemorate?

Answer

Each British and Commonwealth death in the WWI.

5.4. Just like the concept of Mehdi in Islam, who is

believed to incarnate as a future prophet,

Buddhism also has the concept of X, revered as

the future Buddha. Many people like the Chinese

Monk Budai, Empress Wu, Korean warlord Gung

Ye, poet L. Ron Hubbard, Samuel Aun Weor etc.

at different points of time have claimed

themselves to be X, the Future Buddha. What is

X?

Answer

Maitreya.

5.5. X was the Governor of Bengal from 1648 to

1661. But owing to series of defeats, and losing

the helms of Bengal to warring Mughal

commander Mir Jumla, he had to flee to

Manipur via Arakan and Tripura, losing his

resources and family along the way. He took

shelter at Haigang in Kairang with the help of

local Muslims there, inside a cave, which is still

known as X-Lok or X-Cave. Who was X?

Answer

Shah Shuja. Aurangzeb’s brother.

5.6. This kind of shirts

were in vogue

between the

decades of 1960s to

1980, which was said

to be inspired by the

costume styles of

Lord Byron in

particular and

Literary Romanticism

in general. Name

the style.

Answer

Poet Shirts.

5.7. This is an M. F. Hussain painting. Identify the three

persons depicted.

Answer

Urdu poets Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and

Muhammad Iqbal.

Round 6

General

6.1. X was a tactical methodology adopted by

the German forces in the first half of the WWII. It

involves a series of quick and decisive short

battles to deliver a knockout blow to an enemy

forces even before it could fully mobilize, through

a coordinated military effort by tanks, mobilized

infantry, artillery and aircraft, to overwhelm an

enemy and break through its lines. What is X, the

German military tactic that was specially

employed in the Invasion of Poland, Battle of

Belgium, Battle of France etc.

Answer

Blitzkrieg

6.2. This is photo of WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan

Koum signing the famous business deal with Facebook, on

the door of out-of-use North County Social Services office in

Mountain View, California. What was the symbolic reason

behind choosing the closed down office for the deal?

Answer

Jan Koum, an Ukrainian Jew, after migrating to

USA with his mother and grandmother in 1992,

at the age of 16, used to draw food coupons

from this government social welfare services

office, as his family had very little income then.

6.3. Which iconic 1984 music video was

inspired by the British TV Series Coronation

Street and its Character Bet Lynch. However,

although Lynch was a blond, the lead singer of

the band who appeared in the video chose a

black hair wig, as he was of Indian origin. What

was the music video?

Answer

I Want to Break Free (Queen).

6.4. Manus Island Regional Processing Centre is

an immigration detention and offshore asylum

processing centre located on Manus Island

in Papua New Guinea, operated by Transfield

Services on behalf of the Australian government.

On 1st of February, 2015, it came to be a

worldwide news. How?

Answer

Protests staged by immigrants during the Australian

Open Men’s Singles Final 2015 and resultant play

interruptions.

6.5. This is a cocktail of Indian origin first sailed to

England in the early seventeenth century by the

East India Company sailors, with lower alcohol

count. It got its name from the Sanskrit word

meaning “Five”, since the drink was originally

made with five ingredients: alcohol, sugar, lemon,

water, and tea or spices. What is the drink

called?

Answer

Punch. From Sanskrit Panch (Five).

6.6. X People’s Republic declared its independence

from Ukraine on 07.04.2014 and it was ratified by

referendum dated 11.05.2014.

Y People’s Republic also declared its independence

from Ukraine on 27.04.2014 and ratified by referendum

dated 11.05.2014.

Both the “Republics” decided to form a confederation

named Novorossiya and signed an agreement on

24.05.2014 in this regard.

Now, what is X and Y?

Answer

X = Donetsk and Y = Luhansk.

6.7. For the period of 1929 to 1940, the legendary

actress and the recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke

Award in its inaugural year, Devika Rani, was married to

X. He was from an aristocratic Bengali family and went

to London to become a barrister after obtaining a law

degree from Kolkata. However, his association with

screenwriter / playwright Niranjan Pal drew him to films

and he produced or co-directed and acted in films like

“The Light of Asia”, “A Throw of Dice”, “Shiraz” etc. –

coming out the Berlin based film industry. When

Jyotiprasad Agarwalla went to Berlin to study the craft

of filmmaking in the late 1920s, X facilitated him. On his

return to India, X co-founded the Bombay Talkies in

1934, along with Devika Rani and Rajnarayan Dube.

Identify X.

Answer

Himanshu Rai.

Round 7

Musical

7.1. The songs you can listen here are from Bobby and

Saawariya – the debut films of Rishi Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor

respectively. The films were Bollywood debuts for two playback

singers too, who voice will be playing now. Who are they?

Answer

Shailendra Singh (Bobby) and Shailendra Singh

Hada, styled as Shail Hada (Saawariya).

7.2. This is a number from the film “Yeh Saali

Zindagi”. A renowned Sitar player composed

music for the film. Who is he?

Answer

Nishat Khan.

7.3. This is a number from an album which got the Award for

Best New Age Album in this year’s Grammy. This is a

collaborative music album by Indian-American Ricky Kej and

the US flautist Wouter Kellerman. Name of the album please.

Answer

Winds of Samsara.

7.4. This is from the film “Wake up Sid”. Even

though Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composed the

soundtrack (songs) there, this one was

composed by someone else, who cored the

background music for the film. Who?

Answer

Amit Trivedi.

7.5. This is a song from the Anoushka Shankar

album Traveller (2011), sung by Subha Mudgal.

Who wrote the lyrics?

Answer

Pandit Ravi Shankar.

7.6. More Jibanare Sakha Krishna. Who wrote it

and who composed it?

Answer

Lyricist – Jyotiprasad Agarwala,

Composer – Bishnu Prasad Rabha.

7.7. This song by English Progressive rock band

Porcupine Tree is named after an Italian

filmmaker. Who is he?

Answer

Tinto Brass.

Tiebreakers – Sudden Death

TB.1. The Barcarole is a style of music

composed in the style of folk songs sung by

Venetian boatmen. It became a popular form

in opera, throughout the Romantic Period of

Western Classical. The term, however, is better

known to the Assamese readers because a

legendary Assamese writer wrote a short story

by that name. Identify the writer.

Answer

Saurabh Kumar Chaliha.

TB.2. What form of music evolved when African

slaves, forbidden to talk among themselves,

began to use songs to communicate among

themselves, when taken to the Caribbean

islands?

Answer

Calypso.

TB.3. If Rajendra Prasad was the first Indian

President, then who was the first Pakistani

President?

Answer

Iskander Mirza.

TB.4. This is a brand of Indian drinks. With description of

different flavours on the drink’s sachet. Identify the

drink, whose tagline is “drinks and memories”.

Answer

Paper Boat.

TB.5. He was a South

Indian social activist

who was the pioneer

of the Self-Respect

Movement or

Dravidian Movement.

He was the founder of

the Political Party

Dravidar Kazhagam in

1944. Identify him?

Answer

Periyar E. V. Ramasamy.

TB.6. Still from a movie that was inspired by a western

philosophical concept or thought experiment discussed by

several thinkers like Plutarch, Heraclitus, Socrates,

Plato, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke etc. What should

come in place of the blanked out word?

Answer

Theseus.

THE END.