Heroes : The TV Series -- Part I

Infosys conducts a company wide quiz along the format of the BBC Mastermind every year. I hosted the quiz for the second time in 2009 and these are some of the questions from the specialization topics chosen.

For the questions from other specialization topics click here

Heroes: The TV Series


1. Which American Comic Book Writer and former Chairman of Marvel Comics makes a cameo appearance as the driver of the Bus that Hiro Nakamura gets into?


a. Stan Lee 


2. What is the name of the diner in which Monica Dawson performs a 619 to stop a burglary after having seen Ray Mysterio do it on TV?


a. Burger Bonanza


3. The name of which order in Greek and Roman Architecture is printed on Lieberman's apron , when he explains about .07% rule to Nathan Petrelli?


a. Corinthian


4. Once the people at NBC had greenlit the project , in which city was the first 73-minute version of the pilot screened?


a. San Diego


5. Which colorblind artist created the metafictional comic Book series 9th Wonder and Isaac Mendez's paintings in the series?


a. Tim Sale

The Oscars - Part I

Infosys conducts a company wide quiz along the format of the BBC Mastermind every year. I hosted the quiz for the second time in 2009 and these are some of the questions from the specialization topics chosen.

For the questions from other specialization topics click here.

The Oscars part I


1. For which movie did Barry Fitzgerald become the first actor to be nominated for the same performance in two different Categories in 1944?

a. Going My Way

2. In 1929 , who became the first actress to be nominated posthumously for Best Actress for her Role in the movie - The Letter?

a. Jeanne Eagels

3. In 2004 , who became the first actress to win an Oscar for portraying a real-Life Oscar winner?

a. Cate Blanchett Portrayed Katherine Hepburn in Aviator

4. Which Foundry located in Batavia, Illinois , provided the mold for the Original Oscar Statuette in 1928?

a. C.W.Shumway & Sons.

5. Which actor hosted the first Academy awards at Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood along with director William C deMille?

a. Douglas Fairbanks

The Indian Navy - Part I

Infosys conducts a company wide quiz along the format of the BBC Mastermind every year. I hosted the quiz for the second time in 2009 and these are some of the questions from the specialization topics chosen.

For the questions from other specialization topics click here 

The Indian Navy

1. Which Ship , which served as the flagship of the Royal Navy task force during the Falkland Wars has as its motto -- Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprdhah meaning I completely defeat those who dare fight me.

a. INS VIRAAT ( earlier known as HMS Hermes)

2. In the Hierarchy of Indian Navy Personnel -- What rank would a person hold , if he had been promoted from the position of Captain?

a. Commodore

3. The Far Eastern Command -- a joint Navy, Army and Air Force Command was setup in 2001 with its headquarters at which location?

a. Port Blair 

4. Which Indian Naval captain , a co-founder of the Himalayan Environment Trust , led a 1965 expedition  which put 9 men on the summit of Mount Everest

a. Captain Mohan Singh Kohli

5. The double headed eagle used on the crest of INS Mysore , comes from the sigil of which Royal House?

a. Wodeyor House of Mysore.

Chennai Corporate Quizzing Circuit -- Business Quiz

The Chennai Corporate Quizzing Circuit
Business Quiz – July 2010

Quizmaster: Gopal Kidao

Date: 10th July 2010, Saturday
Time: 9:30 am

Venue: Aricent
Espee IT Park,
Plot #5, Jawaharlal Nehru Salai,
Ekkattundhangal, Guindy,
Chennai 600032

Details:
1) The quiz consists of a written preliminary round followed by a final round.
2) Teams of 2 members are allowed for the quiz.
3) Both team members have to be from the same company.
4) There is no cap on the number of teams from a company.
5) There will be an entry fee of Rs. 200/- per team.
6) You can pre-register for the event before 5:00 pm on Thursday, 8th July.
Please send an email to qfichennai@gmail.com with
• Name of the team
• Name of the team members
• Name of the company


Contact Us: Gopal - +91-9840126727
JK - +91-9444443347
Rohit - +91-9003020855


The quiz is being organized by the Quiz Foundation of India (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiz_Foundation_of_India)
QFI blogs at http://qfichennai.wordpress.com

QFI India Quiz 2010 : Finals

Posting a few questions from the finals of the QFI Open India Quiz 2010.


Q1: In this 3 letter acronym, M stands for Michel Mol, and J stands for Jan Mol. What is the missing letter , what does it stand for and what are we talking about?

A1:  Missing letter in V, stands for Vijay Mallaya and we are talking about the naming convention followed for the Force India F1 car.

Q2:Naresh Chandra Rajkhowa was a sub-editor with The Assam Tribune at Shillong. In 1959, a person mistook him for an Indian Government official and handed him a letter written in English. Mr. Rajkhowa, first copied the whole letter before sealing it and dispatching it to the concerned official. What was the content of this letter?

A2:Naresh Chandra Rajkhowa got Dalai Lama’s letter seeking asylum in India. He broke the news about the Dalai Lama’s flight from Tibet through Tawang in March 1959.

Q3: The Complex containing this structure initially housed 27 ancient Hindu and Jain temple which were destroyed and the debris was used to build the present structure. One engraving on the structure reads “ Shri Vishwakarma Prasadhe rachita” ( Conceived with the grace of Vishwakarma). What structure?

A3: The Qutb Minar

Q4: A telecom and electronics graduate at McGill University in Montreal , Ashish Kapoor toyed with the idea of starting his own business after reading Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. Looking at the Indian landscape in early 2000's he felt that three cuisines in India were scalable into the form of a chain of restaurants. What did he go on to create?

A4: Yo! China chain of Restaurants

Q5:Stucco is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water, that is used as a coating for walls and ceilings.

De-stucco is a process that removes a layer of coating from the walls. The Archeological Survey of India was the first organization to use the De-stucco process in 1980. Where did they use the de-stucco process and for what reason did they have to use it?

A5:The Destucco process was used for remove the Nayak paintings that were painted over the original Chola paintings in The Thanjavur Big Temple. The Nayak paintings were removed and mounted on fiberglass boards after the destucco process so that both the Nayak paintings as well as the original Chola paintings could be seen.

Q6:In early 1977,Judah Reuben a former finger print analyst for the Bombay Police found a piece of gauze in Chennai , that was later sent to the Tamilnadu Forensic Science and Chemical Laboratory for examination. Why did the forensic department investigate the gauze despite it not being a part of any crime?

A6:The strip of gauze had been used by John Lever and the forensic department investigated for traces of Vaseline.

Q7:This town houses prominent pilgrimage destinations for 2 different religions and a famous college named after a viceroy of India. It gets its name from the fort built by the ruling Chauhan kings. This town’s name when translated means “Invincible Hill”.Which city and what are the 2 pilgrimage sites?

A7: Ajmer , Pushkar -- Temple of Brahma and Tomb of Moinuddin Chisti

Q8:In 1940 , the organizers of the Thiruvayaru  Thyagaraja Aradhana celebration decided that the Pancharatna Keerthis of Thyagaraja  would be rendered as part of the festival every year. However , this song in the Keerthis posed a problem. What was the problem? ( song played was Kanakanaka ruchira)

A8:KanaKanaruchira, is a piece set in tune in Vaarali Raaga. Many people did not know the song or the raga due to the belief that relations would thaw between the student and the teacher after this was taught. So no one knew how to sing this song during the aradhana.

Q:9 Chitra Duella is a co-founder of the Swiss watch company BorgeauD that manufactures the famous La Collection Gravitas watches that incorporate Rahu Kaalam. She lives in Geneva with her husband and two children. For what reason is she remembered in India?

A9:She is the Journalist who broke the Bofors Scandal when she was working for The Hindu from Switzerland.

Q10: While his family name  is derived from the number of Yonis of Gods in the Universe, his immediate family were wrestlers. His father wanted him to be a wrestler too, but his interests lay elsewhere. However he credits his wrestling practice to the immense stamina and lung power that he has now developed, which serves him well in his chosen profession. Who are we  talking about?

A10: Hariprasad Chaurasia

QFI India Quiz 2010

Arun , Rohit and I did the India quiz yesterday as a curtain raiser to the QFI Open quiz. Matii , Goach and Shubham although weren't there contributed immensely to the framing of questions as well as the base material. Posting the prelims of the quiz:

1.What is the inspiration for this logo?

2.Which river is common to the 5 holy prayags?

• VishnuPrayag
• NandaPrayag 
• KarnaPrayag
• Rudraprayag
• Devprayag

3. Legend has it that in a place named Sasalam , Aryadevi, a widow fainted on her way to a river. Her helpless son prayed to Krishna who blessed him thus “the river will flow where your little feet marks”. The name of the place was thus renamed. Which place and who was the little child?

4.The Guardian newspaper called him “the Damien Hirst of Delhi” in 2007.  Best known for incorporating objects that are ubiquitous throughout India like tiffin boxes , steel plates etc in his art , these paintings are from a series named “Still Steal Steel”. Identify this person who is one of India’s foremost contemporary artists.

5.Which school with the motto Labore Et Constantia ( meaning By Labor and Constancy) is the only school in the world to have been awarded royal battle honors by the British Army for its role in the defense of a city?

6.Literally meaning 'horse's smell', which herb has also been given names like Indian Ginseng and Winter Cherry?

7. The picture is that of a scanner used by narcotics teams in US and by airport authorities to find drugs. The scanners work by detecting the molecular structure of the object they are scanning. Light is scattered in a pattern unique to that particular molecule. Whom are these scanners named after?

8.The person who tweeted this and the blank together form the name of a movie. Name the Movie.

“I hv 2 bear with my flops nd then also wth everyones flops becos whenevr whoevers flop cmes thy invariably cmpre it wth ------------.For tashan thy sd its aditya-------.fr chandni chowk thy sd akshay ----- .fr kites thy sd Hritik -------  nd nw its mani -------.”

9. Who wrote this song and who directed this video?

10. To whose work does this stamp pay homage

11.The Japanese invaded this area in World War II and put it under the Arzi Hukumate Azad Hind. Subhas Chandra Bose renamed the area as ‘Shaheed and Swaraj’. Which place are we talking about?

12.In 2009 , the self styled commander-in-chief of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom(ULFA) ,Paresh Baruah was sacked by his employer for not attending office for close to three decades. Who was his magnanimous employer?

13.What is obtained when the following percentage of metals are mixed together?

• 4 Portions of Silver
• 1 portion of Gold
• 8 Portions of Brass
• 8 Portions of Copper and a small quantity of iron

14.The picture shows the character of Azazel from the comic book  Nephilim created by Danny Wilson. Who was the character modeled on?

15.One of India’s largest National Park gets its name from this monastery. Name the  National Park and the endangered feline species that it houses?

16.What were these images shortlisted to represent?

17.Which Indian political party uses the whistle as their election Symbol?

18.In 2000 , this product was sold under three brands, one of which had Tamil Devi Mooligai as part of its name. The CBI Joint Director found that the product did not conform to standards. What was the common name by which this product was known?

19.Known as the small Kashi of India , this city came into limelight in 2008 due to the protégés of an organization co-founded by Captain Hawa Singh. Which city are we talking about?

20.If the Americans have Astronauts and the Russians have Cosmonauts, what do the Indians have?

21.Radiant Info systems a BPO firm in Hyderabad has chosen a very unlikely place for setting up its latest call centre to service clients. Which unusual place have they chosen? 

22.Many Photographs of Rashtrapati Bhavan feature a massive sandstone shaft of 145 ft tall, holding a bronze lotus raising a six-pointed crystal star on its top. The column carries an inscription on its base 

In thought faith, 

In word wisdom, 

In deed courage, 

In life service, 

So may India be great.

What is the name of this column and who conceived the inscription along with Lord Irwin?

23.Created in 1928, this diamond necklace was created by Cartier, had five rows of diamond encrusted platinum chains, and 2,930 diamonds embedded in it, including the world's seventh largest DeBeers diamond. For whom was the necklace made?

24. Jan-Fishan Khan, born Sayyid Muhammed, was a 19th century Afghan warlord who participated in the First Anglo-Afghan War and the subsequent Indian Rebellion of 1857.His descendants ruled over Afghan provinces during the British Raj. 

His descendants include a famous Indian actor and an English cricketer. Identify them both

25.Which family derives its name from the profession of their ancestors which was to make and fix palanquins, to be fitted to horse carriages? 

26.The picture shows Vamana planting his foot to take hold of all the three worlds. What is this form of Vamana known as ?

27.Gandhi told him to refrain from using big words and write in a simple language and transliterate what the `harijans' say. He rewrote the novel at Gandhi's ashram. Nineteen publishers in London rejected the script, but with E.M. Forster's preface, it was accepted by a publisher.. Identify the Novel that went on to become a classic and the Author

28.Since its inception ,there has been a single distinct  winner for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ category in the Star Screen Awards, except in 2008. Who won it in 2008?

29.On 14th November 1980, 8 year old Elaine D Lima stood first in a story telling competition involving about 80 schools in Mumbai. The finals were held at the Birla Sabhagar in Mumbai. What honour was bestowed upon Elaine D Lima for winning this story telling competition?

30.Who is the midget and how is he associated to Indian sports and entertainment?

31.The high officials of the Vishva Bharathi university include the Paridarshaka (Visitor), Acharya (Chancellor). Who are the current Paridarshaka and Acharya in the university?

32.What is the  musical instrument played by Rajkumar and who played the original instrument ?

33. Who is the young lady playing the piano?

34.Where was this song shot?

35.Literally meaning “The Splendor of Truth” ,what is the name of the English monthly magazine on Hindu religion published by Sri Sharada Peetham?

Answers

1. The Ashoka Chakra

2. Alaknanda River

3. Kalady and Adi Shankara

4. Subodh Gupta --- IPL Painting

5. La Martiniere, Lucknow

6. Ashwagandha

7. Sir C.V.Raman

8. RGV ki Aag

9. M.Karunanidhi and Gautam Vasudev Menon

10. Amrita Shergill

11. Andaman and Nicobar Islands

12. Indian Railways

13. Panchaloha

14. Gulshan Grover

15. Hemis National Reserve , Snow Leopard

16. The Symbol for Rupee

17. Lok Satta

18. Ramar Petrol or herbal petrol

19. Bhiwani -- Vijender Singh, Akhil Kumar

20. Vyomonauts

21. Charlapally Central Jail

22. Jaipur Column, Edwin Lutyens

23. Maharaja of Patiala

24. Naseerudin Shah and Owais Shah

25. Phalkivala

26. Trivikrama

27. Mulk Raj Anand, The Untouchable

28. The Chak De Girls

29. She released the first published version of Tinkle.

30. Vindhu Dara singh, Winner of Big Boss 3 and son of Dara Singh

31. Pratibha Patil and Manmohan Singh

32. Shenai , Ustad Bismillah Khan

33. Minnisha Lamba

34. Rann of Kutch

35. Tattvaloka

QFI Open 2010 -- India and General

The Quiz Foundation of India (Chennai Chapter) is proud to announce ‘The QFI Open Quiz 2010’, the sixth edition of the annual open quiz, which has become a fixture on the Chennai quizzing calendar.

The earlier editions of the QFI Opens have been resounding successes, attracting more than 120 teams each time, including some from Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai. This time, the quiz promises to be both bigger and better. Apart from being original, well researched and immensely entertaining, the QFI Open also aims at making quizzing a fun experience for everyone involved. It will try and bring to a wider audience the same mix of light-hearted fun and serious high-standard quizzing that is seen at QFI’s fortnightly meetings.

It is an open quiz with no conditions whatsoever for participation. All are welcome to participate. Prizes include Landmark gift vouchers. Do come and have fun. There will a INDIA quiz in the morning at 10:00 a.m at the same venue. Plenty of audience prizes are also on offer. The details are as follows:

Date: 26th of June, 2010 (Saturday)

Venue: Tatvaloka Auditorium, Eldams Road, Teynampet, Chennai

Schedule of Events

I. Quizzicus Indica: The India Quiz

Quizmaster: Yagnyesh (Yaggy)

Research Team: Arun Ramanath, Venkatesh (Matti) & Rohit

Timings: Prelims – 10:00 a.m. and Finals – 11:00 a.m.

Team size: Maximum of 3 members

II. General Quiz

Quizmaster: Samanth Subramanian

Research Team: G. Swaminathan & R. Jayakanthan

Timings: Prelims – 03:00 p.m. and Finals – 04:30 p.m.

Team size: Maximum of 3 members

Infy Brand Equity Quiz elims 2010

Its been a long time since I posted anything on the blog -- posting sets of 5 questions from the Infosys Brand Equity quiz eliminations that I had conducted for them..

It was a pan-India event with the best three teams in the eliminations being sponsored for the Brand Equity quiz. Its a mini brand equity in itself. Brand Equity also happens to be the first quiz that I got sponsorship for from Infosys in 2004 and the first corporate quiz that I had attended.

Question 1

Which Brand gets its name from the fact that it neutralizes acid using alkalis and produces Carbon dioxide gas?

Question 2

FISSME is a Indian Formula for Single Seater Engines that has brought people like narain Karthikeyan into the limelight. First Suggested by Karivaradhan , the engine model and the car design was done by him. Which company engines were used in these Formula races?

Question 3

What was created when the Two Ice Cream shops -- Burt's Ice cream shop and Snowbird Ice Cream merged?

Question 4

Who about what ?

“My sister told me about this competition. I read through their concept notes and knew that I had to create something which is easily recognisable. Any rural person would be able to easily recognise the sun and the fingerprint.”

Question 5

Who is the only cricketer to be chosen as an ambassador for Luxury watch maker Audemars Piguet?

Answers in a couple of days...

The Brand Equity Quiz 2010 schedule , just in case anyone still hasn't seen it

Quizmaster: Derek O'Brien

Bangalore: 5 May 2010
Calcutta: 6 May 2010
Delhi: 8 May 2010
Ahmedabad: 10 May 2010
Chandigarh: 12 May 2010
Pune: 14 May 2010
Hyderabad: 15 May 2010
Mumbai: 17 May 2010
Chennai: 18 May 2010

The Ad Club Hindu Business Line Quiz 2010

The Hindu Business Line quiz is back again and will be conducted by Mitesh Agarwal like last year..

For a review of the blockbuster quiz from last year .. check this link

Teams of 2: Open to All

Corporates can form mixed teams (Entry Fee – 2500/-)

Students can form mixed teams (Entry Fee – 500/-)

Date: April 10, 2010, Saturday

Venue: Hotel Savera, Chennai

Prelims: 1:00PM followed by Finals


On the Spot Entries Allowed but recommend registering in advance


For Further Details, Registration etc please visit:
http://www.adclubmadras.com/bl_quiz10.html

The Obligatory questions: --- Following are a few questions from the Eliminations that I had done for my previous company -- Infosys. Answers will be posted in a couple of days

1. Born in Chicago , Robert Watson , has been described in the book – Hot Flat and Crowded , as one of the best environmental minds in America. A pioneer in the Green Building movement , he founded a rating system that is used across the world. What rating system did he create?

2. The Kuwait Investment Authority was founded in 1953 to manage the financial surplus that arose after the discovery of Oil in Kuwait. What was this – the first of its kind?

3.What is the Arabic word for investment, that recently had an Indian connotation?

4.The original one , taken in 1877 , featuring Occident was lost , which led the person to repeat the experiment. Sallie Gardner was chosen this time and he used 24 cameras which were 27 inches apart and had shutters controlled by trip wires. Who is he, what is happening and who authorized it?

5.It was first used in reference to the refined substance in 1892 ,and was registered as a trade name by British wholesaler Carless, Capel & Leonard at the suggestion of Frederick Richard Simms. The American version of this product was never trademark and eventually became a generic name. What product?

Tata Crucible 2010 Campus

For all those who are preparing for the Tata Crucible Campus edition this year, the following videos should give a fair idea of how the questions might be. njoi...

Tata Crucible Campus quiz 2009 --- Hyderabad Quiz part 1



Tata Crucible Campus quiz 2009 --- Hyderabad Quiz part 2



Tata Crucible Campus quiz 2009 --- Hyderabad Quiz part 3











Tata Crucible Campus quiz 2008 --- Chennai Quiz part 1




Tata Crucible Campus quiz 2008 --- Chennai Quiz part 2




Tata Crucible Campus quiz 2008 --- Chennai Quiz part 3