Dec 4, 2007

A day in the life of an avid Quizzer :-)

[Win Rs.100 by taking part in the online Quiz... read on...]

Last weekend I took part in VENTURES–9th EDITION “REBOOT 2007” INTER-CORPORATE CULTURAL FEST held at “OLDE BANGALORE” RESORT AND CONVENTION CENTRE.

After an internal screening process conducted by Infosys Quiz Circle (IQCircle) my team (Jagat and Sukomal Ray) alongwith Aaman Lamba and Mithun Paul were selected to represent Infosys in ' INTELLECT EXPLORER ' - GENERAL QUIZ

The Sunday morning of 2nd of Dec, 2007 seemed a straight lift from some obscure horror flick… I kept my alarm at 730am so that I can travel the 40 odd kms and still be able to reach the venue in time at 11am. But a hectic week ensured that I overslept until a phone call woke me up at 850am. “This can’t happen to me @$%&!!”—I shrieked and jumped out of the bed and within 10 mins got ready to catch an auto and then a bus and finally a cab so that I can fancy reaching the venue (meeting Sukomal midway in Marathahalli was also part of the plan).
Without breakfast and still grumpy I resigned myself to the horrors that awaits me throughout the day.
9am: Caught an auto-rickshaw to Majestic
Distance: 4.5kms

915am: I reached Majestic Bus-stop and took a Volvo bus to Marathahalli
Distance: Around 12kms

1005am: Reached Marathahalli. Met Sukomal and waiting for the citi-cab he has booked (conveyance bill taken care of by Infosys)

1015-1030am: Still in Marathahalli. The Citi-cab and its call-operator lady (her behaviour was quite un-lady like though) thought of fleecing us. We refused to be fleeced.
Climax: We paid 100rupees as cancellation charges and after a heady exchange of expletives we parted ways.

1035am: Took an auto rickshaw to Yelanka (halfway to the Quiz venue) paying 20 rupees extra on meter since it was considered ‘out of city’ and hence they would get no passenger on their return journey. Tired, frustrated and out of expletives we munched hungrily on the CreamTreat biscuits and resigned to our fate.

1110am: We left our auto rickshaw and parted ways with some 200 bucks… and took another auto who charged us 150 bucks. Wow!! We are still 13kms away from our venue and if punctuality was a norm then we are royally late.

1140am: Finally we ventured into the resort (Olde Bangalore) and were greeted by the event organizer from the first floor terrace of the auditorium telling us that we are late and that another team (from Wipro) were also caught up in traffic.

“We are Late!!”—it seemed like the only logical conclusion for a day that was so pathetic that nothing went right and at the end of it we were too exhausted and hungry to even react.

We went up to the auditorium and after a few queries we were allowed to sit for the Quiz prelims written round although the other teams got a 10mins head-start. But we couldn’t complain much and just about managed to put our pen to paper and tried answering questions to the best of our abilities with a little help from the QM who gave us 7 mins extra to attempt the questions.

Arul Mani, who looks more like a younger version of Rabindranath Tagore with his flowing beard and locks, was the Quiz master and when the prelims scores were answered we were pleasantly surprised to find that Infosys (B) comprising of Jagat and Sukomal were the prelims topper with 16/25 points out of the 30-odd corporate teams.

“Whew! So far so good… maybe we can make a game out of it”- and Sukomal agreed.

After two grueling semi-finals 6 teams reached the finals and we just about managed to reach the finals with some slog batting in the final round.

After the lunch break it was ‘Showtime’—the 6 teams got ready to cross swords and laugh away to Quizzical glory.

After some keenly contested rounds the final 10 questions in the Buzzer round gave all the teams with a chance to steal the show. We managed to answer 2 rights and 1 wrong and we managed the 3rd position with 2 points separating us and the 2nd place team.

Given the cut-throat competition 3rd place was a good enough result and considering the fact that we started our day in such disastrous fashion I would settle for it… and Sukomal agreed (as always!!)

Aaman was kind enough to give a lift in his car to drop us till terra firma and cutting a long story short... I reached home at around 6pm... tired, mentally fatigued but a sense of achievement acted as a panacea nevertheless. And thinking inwardly that this win is dedicated to the li'l one who wanted me to win I fell into instant slumber.

I am looking forward to the prize distribution ceremony lined up for next Saturday and I’ have resolved to book my cab through Infosys’ Travel Agent to reach the venue and not give those day-light robbers (auto-rickshaw and cabwallahs) another chance to fleece us.

Moral of the Story: Life is like this onlie :-)


I am posting the questions asked in the prelims of REBOOT 2007 and giving all of you a chance to win a cool 100 bucks.
[The one with the highest number of correct answers will be crowned the winner and the winning amount will be transferred to the winner’s bank a/c online]

Last date: Dec 25th >> Email me ur answer at: maverick.jjs@gmail.com

REBOOT-2007: Corporate Quiz prelims
[First 10 questions are starred questions]

1.The Emperor Chandragupta Maurya came down to Karnataka during his last years to practice Sallekhana, a means of voluntarily ending one’s life. At which famous pilgrimage destination did he die?

2. This alloy owes its name to the fact that the cutlery manager of the British firm Mosley, Earnest Stuart, tested it in a vinegar solution and was very impressed by the results. Which alloy?

3. Which game/sport (played under the names of Tak-Yu and Takgu in Japan and Korea respectively) is often referred to in the English speaking world by the name under which it is played in yet other Asian nation?

4.Which water body was referred to by the name Sindhu Sagar in ancient times?

5.Which vegetable is known by its original Mexican name in English but is referred to by a name meaning ‘earth apple’ in many European languages?

6.The name of which animal is traced to one of two Arabic words meaning either ‘very tall’ or ‘many animals put together’?

7.The minimum allowed diameter for this object is 42.67 mm and its mass mayn’t exceed 45.95g. Early versions were made out of leather and feathers. Modern versions have a two, three or four layer design constructed from various synthetic materials. Identify this object.

8.Which female character in the Harry Potter series, often described as looking like a large pale toad, has a surname that resembles an English word meaning ‘to take offence’?

9.Which Indian state was referred to by the name Hill Tippera during the days of the British?

10.Which country gave up the Portuguese version of its name in 1972 and returned to using the original Sanskrit word meaning ‘shining country’?

11.A Sanskrit word meaning ‘true’ is often applied to a certain deity’s first wife. Her name is now associated with a practice banned by the British in 1829. What name are we looking for?

12.It derives its name from the Persian word for ‘fried’ or ‘roasted’. Awadh, Sindh and the capital of Andhra Pradesh have all lent their names to its variants. Identify.

13.The Russian Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote a short story titled ‘White Nights’ in 1849. Which Bollywood movie released in 2007 was inspired by this story?

14.India celebrated National Science Day on 28th Feb as a tribute to who/what?

15.He gave up a position he had held for about 10 years on 27th June, 2007 and was immediately appointed Envoy to the Middle-East on behalf of the UNO, the EU, The US and Russia. Who?

16.Which trophy is traditionally awarded to the winner of the cricketing encounters between the North, East, South, Central and West Zones in India?

17.This American anti-slavery politician founded a magazine titled True American to promote his liberal views. He helped found the Republican Party in 1854, served as US ambassador to Russia in the 1860sand helped negotiate the purchase Alaska. A sportsman born in 1942 bore this man’s name till 1964. Who?

18.The 9 Angas of Buddhist canonical writing are the Sutta (Sutras), Vyakarana, Geyya, Gatha, Udana, Itiyutaka, Abbhutadhamma and Vaipulya. The missing element takes its name from the Pali word for birth. What is the missing element?

19.This form of gambling has enjoyed periods of almost global popularity. It was the only form of gambling permitted in the British armed services during the 19th century. This is how it entered India, where it continues to be played under the two names given to it in the Royal Navy and the British Army. What are these two names?


20.Members of the Mustali’s sect in Islam are known by a name derived from the Gujarati word for trader. A schism arose in the community in the 1500s after Daud Qutub Shah and Suleyman both claimed leadership and the sect then broke into two sub-sects. What name is applied to both the sects?

21.In 1827, French mathematician Jean-Baptiste-Joseph-Fourier proposed an interesting idea in a paper titled A Material That is a Poor Conductor Of Heat Or Electricity. He said the layers of air that surround the earth protect its inhabitants against the freezing temperatures of space, functioning thus as an insulator. He used a metaphor to explain this idea, thus coining a well-known phrase. What idea/phrase?

22.This unit, used in irradiance and in photochemistry refers to one mole of photon, regardless of their frequency. It is employed in studies of photosynthesis since the light requirement for the production of a given quantity of Oxygen is a fixed number of photo-synthetically active photons. After whom is this unit named?

23.In 1977, she represented India at the International Teen Princess contest at Aruba, and won the Miss Photogenic and Miss Bikini awards. A year later, Dev Anand cast her in this film Des Pardes, which launched her film career. She bowed out of acting in the late 1980s and took up another career, so to speak, in 1991. Who?

24.This 19th century invention, still in use, is made in two basic designs known as the diamond frame and the cross frame. It came back into vogue in the West during the 1960s as a result of increased interest in health, ecology and recreation. What invention are we talking about?

25. A question from University of Florida coach Dwayne Douglas sparked researcher Robert Cade’s interest. The question was “Doctor, why don’t football players wee-wee after a game.” He and other researchers created X in 1965 to help the school’s football players replace carbohydrates and electrolytes lost through sweat while playing in swamp-like heat. What did they create?
Questions courtesy: Karnataka Quiz Association

1 comment:

Jagat Jyoti Saikia said...

Don't post ur answers here...

mail me at:

maverick.jjs@gmail.com