FUNDAMENTALS
As many parts of the country prepare to celebrate the Goddess of Knowledge on 22 January, Somen Sengupta of Kolkata contributes this week’s theme quiz on Saraswati. Write in with your suggestions, questions (with answers) to senjam@gmail.com
THE GODDESS OF KNOWLEDGE
1. Saraswati literally means ‘The lady of light’. The Rig Veda also calls her by two other names — one when she is in the sky and the other when she is in heaven. Identify. 2. The students of Jagannath Hall of a particular university traditionally celebrate Saraswati Puja setting up 35-40 mandaps every year. Which university? 3. One of the top awards of India is presented to the recipient in the form of a Saraswati statue. Which award is this ? 4. The great battle of Mahabharat (Kurukshetra) was fought between the banks of two rivers. One was Saraswati. Name the other. 5. Ganga, Lakshmi and Saraswati were all cursed to born on earth as rivers. As per Vamana Purana what additional curse was given by Rishi Vishwamitra to Saraswati? 6. Saraswati played a vital role in Ramayana that changed the stream of the story to a different direction. What was her role in Ramayana? 7. In 1928, the City college of Calcutta expelled few students from the college for performing a Saraswati puja inside the college campus. Two personalities took up opposing sides — one for the students and the other supported the college management. Identify the two personalities. 8. In 1996, a little known Hindi magazine from MP titled Vichar Mimangsha, published an article “Yeh chitrakar hain ya kasai” (Is he a painter or a butcher?). What controversy started from here?
ANYTHING GOES
1. What term connects the IATA code for Indira Gandhi International Airport, a unit of pain measurement and an abbreviated form of constellation Delphinus? (Partha Sarkar, Kolkata) 2. Nanan For a long of West time, Rangy Indies who was the played only in Test the cricketer 1970s with a palindromic surname. Who recently joined him in the list and has the longest palindromic surname among Test cricketers? (Praveen, Mysuru) 3. There are only two UNESCO World Heritage Sites connected to the Indian Railways. One is the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. What is the other one? (Dee Surendranath, Hyderabad) 4. Which country has the longest total coastline among all of the countries of the world? (Jonathan Francis, Secunderabad) 5. With which liquor brand would you associate these lines: ‘Live with Chivalry’ and ‘Win the right way’? (Aadisht Grover, Kolkata) 6. Who is the only captain in ODI history to carry his bat through in a completed innings of 50 overs in an ODI match? (B.K. Harinath, Mysuru) 7. Boxer Floyd Mayweather has a brand called TMT that is plastered on hats, T-shirt, fitness training equipment and other product categories. What does TMT stand for? (Rajeev Lochan, Kolkata) 8. Nirupama Vasant was India’s top ranked tennis player between 1965 and 1978. She partnered Anand Amritraj in mixed doubles at the Wimbledon and was awarded the Arjuna award in 1980. Her son played Davis Cup for India. Her husband was a Test cricketer. Name her husband and son.