By Siddhartha Basu
of Kaun Banega Crorepati
Popular T.V. Show
Competition
Success Review had been serialising selected questions from the book BBC :
The Complete Mastermind. Now we are proud to present different sets of
questions every month from
another book—BBC Mastermind India, edited and compiled by India’s Ace Quiz
Master Siddhartha Basu
and published by Teksons Bookshop, New Delhi, in association with BBC. CSR
hopes that its readers
from all over India will find the series useful not only for various
competitive examinations
but also in widening knowledge base of India and the World, so that
they are able to participate creditably in various Quiz Contests.
1. Which trusted general of Nadir Shah became the ruler of Afghanistan under the title of Durrani in 1747 ?
2. Which form of verse, originally rendered in thirteenth century AD Sicily, always has a fourteen line rhyme scheme ?
3. What is the name of the artificial lake in Bundi fort, renowned for its half-submerged temple to Varuna ?
4. After which legendary member of parliament does the London policeman get the nickname ‘bobby’ ?
5. What discovery was figured out by German chemist Friedrich Kekule while in a dream on a bus in 1865 ?
6. What name did Kerala-born poet K. Narayana Menon assume in 1898, before commencing a prolific literary career, and also leading the revival of Kathakali ?
7. What term is used to describe a person who has retired from an official position but retains that title on an honorary basis ?
8. The United Arab Republic was formed in 1958 with the political union of Egypt and which other Asian country ?
9. Which king, who in the form of a python captured Bhima, was destined to be released from his curse if Yudhistira answered his questions ?
10. Which central Asian capital city literally means ‘Red Hero’ in the native language ?
11. What is the musical term for the interval between any given note and another that is exactly twice or half the frequency of the first note ?
12. Which sixteenth century Belgian cartographer popularised the name ‘Atlas’, by prefacing his collection of maps with an illustration of Titan carrying a globe ?
13. Which popular system of therapeutics was introduced by Samuel Hahnemann in 1796 ?
14. Which German Social Democrat politician of 1960s instituted Ostpolitik, the policy of reconciliation between East Europe and West Europe ?
15. Which American actress was the first foreign star to act in Indian films when she starred in the 1920 film Shakuntala ?
16. Which term, literally meaning ‘sand’ in Latin, was used for the sand-strewn central area of a Roman amphitheatre ?
17. What was the name of the first book published by Gerald Durrell in 1953 ?
18. The space probes Vega 1, Vega 2, Sakigake, Planet A and Giotto were all launched to study which celestial object ?
19. Under what title did Aurobindo Ghosh publish a series of articles in 1907, outlining the methods of Moderate and Extremist opposition to the British ?
20. Which protein-rich legume, known as ‘lucerne’ in Europe, South Africa and Australia, was the principal fodder of Roman cavalry and chariot horses ?
Answers
1. Alfalfa
2. Sonnet
3. Nawal Sagar
4. Sir Robert Peel
5. Benzene rings
6. Vallathol
7. Emeritus
8. Syria
9. Nahusha
10. Ulan Bator
11. Octave
12. Gerhardus Mercator
13. Homeopathy
14. Willy Brandt
15. Dorothy Kingdom
16. Arena
17. The Overloaded Ark
18. Halley’s Comet
19. Doctrine of Passive Resistance
20. Ahmed ShahAbdali