Trivia Five

1. Which famous personality was a member of the United Services Club in Bangalore (now, Bangalore Club) from 1896-1899 and owed the Club Rs.13, which was written off by the Club on June 1, 1989, as an “irrevocable sum”?

Ans.: Sir Winston Churchill.

2. What would you become, if you passed a test called “The Knowledge”?

Ans.: A Cab driver in London. The test for getting a driving license in London is called “The Knowledge. According to Wiki, a London Cabbie has to know 320 standard routes, comprising a total of about 25000 streets within a six mile radius (which are all listed in the Blue Book, officially known as the “Guide to Learning the Knowledge of London”)

3. The Author wrote “___ _____ attained a certain degree of popularity, which, though pleasant in itself, brought in its wake involvements that turned out to be ludicrous and even tragic.” It was made into a film which mutilated the original storyline much to the author’s chagrin. A planned Broadway edition was as reckless in its treatment.” The Author had to withhold his permission to present it on stage, even as the adaptation was done by an old friend of his, a former literary editor of the New York Times. As an example of the outrage, The Author mentions, “For instance, his version managed to abolish the heroine. I objected to his omission and to two irrelevant characters of his own; above all I objected to the hero’s turning around and urinating on the stage.” Matters became rather acrimonious over this script and The Author had to leave New York at a very short notice to avoid being summoned for a subpoena; he found asylum in the Indian consulate before boarding a flight out of the United States. However the script was later revised and “___ _____” opened in Broadway in March 1968. It closed in less than a week.
His work did not win the Nobel Prize for Literature for this work (or as a matter of fact for any of his works). The Nobel Prize Committee, according to him has said ‘His writing is too simple, and too readable, requiring no effort on the part of the reader. …He has created a new map called _______ in which his characters live and die. Story after story is set in the same place, which is not progressive, a rather stagnant background….. We hope some day ______ will develop into a full-fledged writer deserving our serious consideration.”
Identify The Author, Book and the new Map he created?

Ans.: R.K.Narayan, The Guide, Malgudi.

4. It is believed to be created by the 13th Century poet Gyandev. It was originally called “Mokshapat”. The idea of the thing was related to Good Things and Bad Things. Its ending means Nirvana in its Tibetian form. What am I talking about?

Ans.: Snakes & Ladders.

5. What unusual gift did King Ramchandra Baghela of Rewa gift to Akbar?

Ans.: Tansen

6.Connect

Ans.: All 15th August events. Sri Aurobindo was born on 15th August in 1872, Mohun Bagan was formed on this day in 1889, Panama Canal was officially inaugurated on this day in 1914, and Macbeth was killed by Malcolm Canmore on this day in 1057. The Google Doodle was a give away, it was commemorated to the Korean Liberation Day.

7.Connect

Ans.: All three have refused Oscars. The first photo is of Dudley Nichols [awarded the Oscar for Best Screenplay for The Informer in (1935)]. He refused the award because of the then ongoing conflict between the Academy and the Writer’s Guild. The second photo is of George C. Scott for his portrayal of a WWII General in the movie Patton (1970). Scott refused the award stating that the awards ceremony was a “a two hour meat-parade”. The third photo is of Marlon Brando who refused his awards for The Godfather (1972). He said he refused the awards because of the discrimination towards Native American by the US.

8. In 1868, an Englishman names Charles Lawrence, based in Australia, put together a team of Aborigines and took them to England, which is also the first ever Australian tour of England. This team played a total of 47 matches with the local teams. What did the players do to identify themselves for the spectators? (This is probably a One time incident in the history of Cricket)

Ans.: Each player wore Caps of different colours so that the spectators could identify them.

9. Who was the first Bollywood personality to endorse a foreign cigarette brand? (Print Ad)

Ans.: Talat Mahmood did ads for 555 cigarettes.

10. Shamshad Begum first sang this song in a film made in 1941, which somehow went unnoticed. In 1972, Lata Mangeshkar sang the same song and created a history of sorts. Which song?

Ans.: “Inhi Logon Ne Le Lina Dupatta Mera”

This song was first featured in the 1941 movie Himmat, the music was composed by Govind Ram. Lata Mangeshkar sang it for “Pakeezah”, which was composed by Ghulam Mohammed & Naushad.