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.
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