Quiz 30

This set was contributed by Manjith. Please send in your attempts to kmanjith at yahoo dot com or leave them as comments on this post.

1. According to an observation by the Englishman Sir Emerson Tennent, before the British cut down the "Tal" or "Palmyra" palm trees to make way for coconut estates, the whole peninsula used to get invaded by ____ that were fond of eating the ripe Tal fruits. All the ___ herd in the neighboring districts crossed over to the peninsula at a place which has been appropriately named "____ _____" (or "Ali Man kada" in native language) due to the seasonal migration of animals. At that season, the whole peninsula was infested with these animals and their export formed a part of the traditional economy of the region. The corridor also had great strategic importance as a vital link between the peninsula and the rest of the country. Name the peninsula and the popular name for "Ali Mankada".

2. This reclusive lady of Indian music was originally named Roshanara Khan. It is said that her dad, a musical maestro did not wish to educate her in music but was forced to change his mind after he came home one day to discover her teaching her brother. Within a few years she became an accomplished player of the "Surbahar". Meanwhile one of her father's students fell in love with her and asked the Guru for the daughter's hand. Thus at the age of 14, she married him and converted to Hinduism. Id the lady, her father, brother and husband.

3. On April 30, 1908, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki hurled a bomb at the horse carriage of Magistrate Kingsford, a judge known for handing down particularly harsh sentences against nationalists. However, the bomb missed its target and instead landed in another carriage and killed two British women, the wife and daughter of barrister Pringle Kennedy. The incident took place in Muzaffarnagar in Bihar. But it is more famously known by the name of the place where the conspirators were tried. Id the popular name by which this land mark trial is known.

4. Id the Boer leader and president of Transvaal who has the largest game reserve in South Africa named after him

5. For several years "The Pride of Matchingham" had been the chief rival to X for the championship. Later, the far more challenging "Queen of Matchingham" was brought in from Kent. Despite the competition, X managed several prizes in its class over the years. Id X, the victim of several hilarious kidnapping attempts in literature.

6. In 1928, the Italian aeronautical engineer and explorer Umberto Nobile crashed with the entire crew of the "Airship Italia" on ice, 20km north of the island of Spitsbergen. Which famous personality disappeared while on a rescue mission to save Nobile (with whom he had a bitter quarrel in the past) and was never seen again?

7. In Sept, 1977 Hamida Djandoubi who had tortured and murdered his former girl friend, became the last victim of this device. Which device?

8. The Knights Hospitalier (also known as The Order of St John) was an organization formed to provide care for poor and injured pilgrims to Jerusalem. After the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 1187, they returned to Europe. After serving as a military force for some time, they finally found a new base in 1530 when Charles V of Spain, as King of Sicily, gave them ____, Gozo and the North African port of Tripoli in perpetual fiefdom in exchange for an annual fee of a single _____ ______, which they were to send on All Souls Day to the King's representative, the Viceroy of Sicily.
The story of this annual tribute was fictionalized to great effect in a celebrated novel and movie of the same name.

9. Colour coded version of a message. By what name is it known in scientific circles?

10. It was originally meant to be held at New Delhi since Jawaharlal Nehru had expressed strong support for the idea. But the Suez Crisis and a shortage of finance prompted a cancellation. Cyrus Eaton, a Canadian businessman had written a letter offering financial support if it was held in his home town of ____ in Nova Scotia, Canada. This offer was taken up, thus giving international fame to a small village overlooking the Northumberland Strait. Id.

Answers:

1. Jaffna Peninsula and Elephant pass which leads from the mainland to the Jaffna peninsula

2. Annapoorna Devi. Her father was Ustad Alauddin Khan and brother was Ali Akbar Khan. Pandit Ravi Shankar was the student of Alauddin Khan.

3. Alipore Bomb Case.

4. Paul Kruger, after whom the Kruger National park is named.

5. The Empress of Blandings, the prize pig of Earl Emsworth in the Blandings novels of P.G. Wodehouse.

6. Roald Amundsen. Nobile designed the "Norge" on which Amundsen reached the North Pole and became the first person to reach both poles

7. Guillotine.

8. Maltese Falcon. Malta was one of the territories given to the knights by the Italian King. The movie “The Maltese Falcon” references this story in its plot.

9. Arecibo message, sent by the SETI project to outer space. The message was a creation of Frank Drake and Carl Sagan.

10. Pugwash where the "Pugwash conferences on science and world affairs" was held in 1957.

Scores:

Praveen V R-3.5
Shabeer Muhammed-2
Muni Darsan-2
Arjun L -7
Arun A S-5
Sreeram Iyer-5.5
Rajesh Mohan-4.5
Captain Chandrakant-7
Viswas-4.5
Hrishi-6
Rithwik-4.5
Jithin-6
Anon-0.5