I present to you, the outcome of the first live-blogging attempt of a Parnab Mukherjee Quiz. It wasn't easy, mind you. Noting everything that was coming out of his mouth, which changes quite often at that.
Lack of internet led to the delay in posting this, that's all. The Quiz took place yesterday at Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management. I found my first 'Pornob' to be hugely enjoyable, but that was perhaps because I didn't qualify. :-) He surely knows how to entertain. But I shall leave the rest for you to judge.
General Quiz by Parnab Mukherjee
LBSIM, Dwarka.
Date: 26th February, 2011
Prelims:
25 Questions: A decent prelim, details are largely forgettable, barring an instance that is documented below.
During a certain question:
P(to a person who asked him to repeat a question): No, I won’t repeat the question. I won’t repeat it because you asked me to repeat. You’re a dinosaur, and you’re asking me to repeat a question as elementary as this one. I would have repeated had a young fellow doing his MBA asked me to, but you, being in the law profession, for you I won’t.
Tie Breaker:
Caveat newspaper relaunched by editor, owner – CR Irani
Non Indian wife, Bangladesh, delhi guy who died tragical. Name the cricketer. – Raman Lamba
Finals:
Work this out: Outstanding sportsman on this countries’ older currency note. Latest to join Euro: : Paul Keres, Estonia (Someone in Audience: Wah motuu!)
A famous trek as part of the guild to find the missing brother who he left to die in the Himalayas. Name the famous return: Reinhold messner. Nanga Parbat trek (Sounded like, Grand Old Miser, Barak Nagar Trek :-) )
P: “Please maintain silence. We’re doing a quiz, not antakshari”
Ram Jethmalani (co-financier), M J Akbar: Which newspaper: Sunday Guardian
It means to cleanse and strive to be pure. Second part of the word comes from the sound, fwa. Which word? Sufi (from tasawwuf) (Wiki’s origin states otherwise)
Muzaffar Ali’s famous film, titled Zooni (It never released), starring Vinod Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, life and times of which Kashmiri writer - Lady Writer – Habba Khatoon (P:One of the big 4)
2 ITC Chairmen non-bailable warrant, 15 days case was over. Wrote Bite the bullet: (To a team who added on to a previous answer, P:Part of your creativity, part of their answer..?) – P: Don’t put random people in jail –Ajit K Haksar, JN Sapru, KL Chugh
(To a person who cracked this question from the audience, P:Why didn’t you sit for the elimination? Or do you refuse to be eliminated?)
(P:Workable but on different lines) –Agumbe - Name comes from the combination of two localities: Malgudi (P:All the way on the bonus)
Question to Varun Rajiv and Samanth Subramanian: Well known writer, celebrating 100 years, took his name from a famous Buddhist saint and almost modeled his life on that.Wrote: Varun ke bete and purane Juliyon ka course : (To a team that seems to struggle to remember the full name.. P:Dwidedi? Let me help you, Hariprasad Dwidedi, at least you know one Dwiwedi now!)
Baba NagarjunaWith which international Sports great would you associate a controversial promotion, amongst other places, a disputed structure of the Lavasa City: Steven Redgrave.
You know whats Doomsday. What is bloomsday? Day on which the events of James Joyce’s Ulysses day place– Leopold Bloom
In Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and sea of Stories, what is P2C2E? Process too complicated to explain. (When someone contests the answer, P:What do you mean it’s not there? It’s in the novel. He read it. It’s not complicated that a man likes Rushdie and works in ITC!”)
Recent piece of writing is called, “I Accuse” – who wrote? (“P:If I tell you the incident, it would be too obvious) – Jarnail Singh
Supported emergency, took up ministership under Indira Gandhi, wife’s name monica, Indian legend, studied for some time in England – Habib Tanvir (P:There’s one more similarity, but that is a difficulty. Like Ravi Shankar, he has his Norah Jones.)
Gajanan Hemmady - Manoj Guha. - legendary Indian pair – Why/Who/What? (Someone guesses, Bridge. P:Bridge? India’s best in bridge: Bermuda Bowl, Fifth, Second wild card…. (Someone in Audience: Yaar itna jhooth toh mat bol!)
(“P:Don’t go complicated. Only top 5 other than hesh-bhupathi oh sorry leander-bhupathi, but in badminton, Indian doubles greats”)1st audio: Very famous trance rock band – very very seminal album “The floor’s too far away” P: You can even guess it from the album –Ozrick Tentacles
2nd Audio: Whose singing kabir? Jheeni Jheeni Jheeni - Kumar Gandharva
3rd Audio: Mozart, conducted by? That’s a very strong cello, very distinct – When one of the finalists fumbles between Zubin Mehta and Yehudi Menuhin, P:Does it take as much to be a conductor as much as it takes for you to be an engineer?” : Leonard Bernstein
4th Audio: The name of the city/town is the gharana – Very rare recording – He was not from pre-recording era but someone who hardly wanted to be recorded – Performer/Gharana? – Baba Allauddin Khan of Maihar Gharana
5th Audio: Top Gun Theme: 2 part question: Name the composer: Harold Faltermeyer. Iconic Film – Top Gun
6th Audio: Modern Talking song. Name the album. Ans acc to P: Modern Talking. Actual Answer: The 1st Album, or Back for good (remix)
Visual 1: Current Affairs: P:Absolute Current Affairs: Maria Vargas Llosa
Visual 2 – Nehru’s photo with someone. Name the Organization that was started: For Bandung Conference and NAM, P: Give them 7.5 points. For guessing Panchsheel, P:Panchsheel is something else, then it has to be Suharto.
Visual 3: P:Great guy – Max Plank
Visual 4: Writer. Namita Gokhale
Visual 5: ID: Not the lesser available stills. Photographed very less. Oscar Wilde
Visual 6: One of the greatest writers of the last century. Who? – Phil Newby (Unable to find anyone that sounds anything like Newby.Went predictably unanswered)
Visual 7: Photo of the Instrument. A Very specific answer needed. Two word name of the instrument. This version is usually not played much now: Khusrao’s Pakhawaj
Last round.Who ended his life, but after his last works – stinging political indictment of western world in King Leopold’s Soliloquy – Mark Twain
Talks about Fullbright and Rhodes Scholarships. Then asks, Which scholarship, for liberal arts and applied sciences, single largest Nordic supported scholarship for Asians – Erasmus Mundus
Winner of the Sakharov prize – temporary residency permit in India – Swedish resident - exiled voice – Taslima Nasreen
Manohar Moolgaonkar wrote a biography – Shaitani Hawa, which is a code word – whose life? Nanasaheb
P:Workable ans: Islamabad, Ahmedabad/Vikram Sarabhai - Urban Living Design Blocks – Gandhian Movement of Laurie Baker – Louis Kahn(P:Nehru was inspired because he designed Ahmedabad)
Dunlop, Esso, Aspirin, ICI, Dulux, National Geographic – All English Trailer – some of the historical trailers of: P:Satyajit Ray – All the way. (12 min short film for Esso, a movie done on Kanchenga for National Geographic – All the historical characters in normal clothes speaking in English...blah blah blah… )
Shyam Benegal’s Yatra - Central Narrative looks back at India through which train? – Himsagar Express – Kashmir to Kanyakumari.
P:I don’t know who’s first, second and third, and I’m not much bothered, but I am deeply thankful to LBSIM for inviting me here.
