QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 146

Two sports questions clubbed as one. What career-shaping contributions do the elder brothers of Anil Kumble and Saurav Ganguly have on them? More specifically, how come Kumble bowled and Ganguly batted the way they did, and how is it related to their elder brothers?

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No one seems to have cracked this one completely. Saurav Ganguly was originally a right-handed batsman, but changed hands so that he could use his elder brother’s kit. Snehashish was left-handed.

As for Anil Kumble, he was a fast bowler initially, but his brother Dinesh told him that India has always been more dependent on its spinners. Therefore, Kumble changed his style of bowling, and this also explains why his deliveries did not spin much, and why he bowled at a much faster pace than traditional spinners, sometimes even equalling speeds of Venkatesh Prasad’s deliveries!

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 145

In the 1970s, this gentleman published a list of various explicit definitions of a certain term. Out of that list, only one definition survives, and is considered today as the only definition of this term which continues to give world economies nightmares these days.

Identify him, the term and the definition. This should be a biz-quizzer’s ‘halua question of the day’!

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: A rather drunk rant of mine is up on the opinion blog. Take a look when you have the time.

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Yes folks, all four answers are correct! This is indeed Julius Shiskin, the gentleman who provided a whole list of definitions for recession, of which only one survives today: recession = two quarters of negative GDP. Going by that, India was never in recession! I have been saying this for the past two years now, but people NEVER seem to listen!

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 144

There are several words in the English language that are meant to denote indeterminate numbers, but actually used to mean very specific amounts. I am giving you a few words today. Without googling, tell me the exact amount they denote:

1. Gross

2. Score

3. Myriad

However, if you do google, put in a word of appreciation for this question if you like it. Because clearly, you didn’t know that these were actual quantities!

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life,folks!

PS: Take a look at my article blog. I will have uploaded a couple more of my recent articles by the time you see them!

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Only Siddharth aka life is a romance and Sunny Lyngdoh got it all correct.

1. Gross = a dozen of dozens = 12 X 12 = 144. (Yes, its the number of the post)

2. Score = 20.

3. Myriad = 10,000. (Old Greek denomination. See here)

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 143

Identify this lady.

Hint: She was the first from her country, both amongst men and women, to achieve something.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: Happy birth anniversary to Shaheed Bhagat Singh!

Check out my post on ‘forgotten’ Indian heroes on my opinion blog.

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Sorry ishan. The others are correct. This is indeed Bhanu Athaiya, the first Indian to win the Oscar Award. She won it jointly for best costume design for the Richard Attenborough film Gandhi.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 142

Simply identify these two gentlemen.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: I have a new post on my opinion blog. Take a look and tell me what you think of it. Put in your comments.

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Five answers, and all correct! These are Messrs Dubner and Levitt, the authors of Freakonomics and Super-Freakonomics.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 141

Another single pic question.

Tell me what is happening here. And you have to be very specific!

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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Good tries by zeeshan and ishan, but both incorrect! This is the first phase of the making of the idol of Lalbag-chya Raja, the biggest and the most famous Ganesh Mandal in Mumbai.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 140

What has happened to these books?

1.

2.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: Have a look at my third blog. You’ll find my take on Rahman’s music and the ‘tweaked’ Commonwealth Games anthem there. That’s the latest post.

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I had thought that this would be cracked by many! These are books that have been remaindered, or, marked because they are not selling any more.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 139

I don’t know if this is a good quiz question, but here goes!

Identify the gentleman whose face has been blanked out.

The gentleman on his left should give you a clue.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: Check out the new post at my third blog, and give me your reactions!

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I had expected more replies to this one! It’s indeed AR Rahman, and the man on his left is Abbas Tyrewala. They have collaborated for Jhootha Hi Sahi.

Here’s the original pic:

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 138

A mythology question, for a change of taste.

Duryodhan may have been deadly against the Pandavas throughout his life, but on two different occasions, two of his brothers sided with the Pandavas, or at least chose to protest against what Duryodhan and Duhshasan was doing. Who are these brothers, and on what occasions did they oppose their elder siblings?

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: I have started a third blog, where I rant about things from my heart. Pay a visit, will you, folks?

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Quite a few replies! And yes the answers are indeed Vikarna and Yuyutsu! Vikarna protested against Draupadi’s humiliation at the hands of Duhshasan, and at a time when even Bheeshma was quiet! And before the battle at Kurukshetra began, Yudhishthir asked his opposition if anyone from there would like to change sides, and Yuyutsu did!

And as a few of you have pointed out, Yuyutsu was not exactly part of the 100 Kauravas, but was the son of a slave girl and Dhritarashtra.

PS: Another less-known fact is that the Kauravas had a sister too! Her name was Duhshala, and her husband was Jayadrath.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 137

A somewhat vague question, but take a stab at it.

Connect this UNESCO World Heritage Structure to an Oscar nominated film from the country of its origin.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: Keep checking my other blog. I’ll be uploading more articles soon!

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Sorry Shirsho, this isn’t Angkor Vat, but something closer home.

The rest of you got it correct. This is the Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park in Gujarat. The film, obviously, is Lagaan, which is set in Champaner.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 136

Which Indian work of popular performing art, originating in India is ‘banned’ in Pakistan because it alludes that people in love will have the heaven at their feet?

And by ‘banned’, I mean that, for some reason that has not been officially stated or acknowledged yet, it does not find a place in most of the major broadcast media in Pakistan.

PS: Here’s a connect that leads to the same work.

A. Nilgiri Mountain Railways.

B. Clive Owen, Denzel Washington and Willem Dafoe.

C. Panjabi MC.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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An easy one here too! It’s the song Chhaiyya Chhaiyya from Dil Se. Only Srikanth seemed somewhat flummoxed by this.

PS: It isn’t exactly banned. For some reason, it’s just not played!

Meanwhile, the connect is this: The song was shot atop NMR, the three actors came together in Spike Lee’s Inside Man, which had the song playing when the opening and ending credits rolled, and Panjabi MC has made his own mix of it.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 135

A dry question. And an extremely simple one at that. So no googling please!

- “I admire your courage, Miss…”

- “Trench. Sylvia Trench. I admire your luck, Mister…”

Give me the next three words spoken in the dialogue, please.

Hint: This was the first time they were spoken on the big screen.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: After posting my last question, I have posted two new articles on my other blog. Care to take a look?

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Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Yes, the next words were the firs time when someone said the words ‘Bond! James Bond!’ on the film screen! doing the honours, of course, was Sean Connery in Dr No.

And speaking of him, here’s something I came across on the net recently. Hope you guys like it….

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 134

A straight one after the last one, which was apparently too convoluted for you folks.

Identify this gentleman, and give me his claim to fame in India.

Mind you, this is one of the rarer photographs of the gentleman.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: Two more articles will be uploaded on my other blog, and I am finding it really difficult to believe that you people have really NOTHING to say about what I write!

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Sorry zeeshan and Rajiv. Srikanth, Shivajyoti and ishan got this one correct.

This is Mokshagundam Visveswarayya. for a list of things he has achieved, look at Srikanth’s post.

As for his claim to fame, it is this: His birthday is celebrated as Engineers’ Day in India.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 132 & 133

Here’s a double connect. Please read through to the end.

First, connect these three pictures.

1.

2.

3.

Let the answer be A.

Use it to connect these two simultaneous releases.

B.

C.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: New articles will be uploaded today at my other blog, so check them out!

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Just two responses, and none of them entirely correct!

The first photo is that of Chhattisgarh, from which you were supposed to derive Raipur, it’s capital.

The second photo is that of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, from which you were supposed to derive the film Delhi 6.

The third photograph is that of Ragini Khanna, who currently stars in a serial called Sasuraal Genda Phool, just like the song in Delhi 6 that also has a mention of Raipur in it.

The connection I was looking for in these three pics is Sasuraal Genda Phool. I now keep this question open for you to connect these to the two pics in the second part of the question.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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Only Ishaan and Shivajyoti got it! Well, Rajiv got it partially correct, though…

The connection is THIS films:

Marigold is the genda flower, and it starred Salman Khan and Ali Larter, who went on to star in Dabangg and Resident Evil: Afterlife.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 131

This one is dedicated to my dad. More like a tribute to him for letting me do what I wanted, and standing by me when everyone else had deserted me.

The gentleman in the picture was a criminal lawyer for nearly two decades, and later wrote books in his own name as well as pen names such as AA Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J Kenny, Les Tillray and Robert Parr. The lawyer character he created resorted to unethical means in the initial stories to get his clients off the hook. In fact, the fictional character had a close relation with his personal secretary, just as the creator did with his!

Simply identify our author friend.

I would be highly obliged if you did not google this one, and just took guesses. Because this one’s for dad. (Kind of a ‘non sequitur’, I know. after all, what has paying a tribute to do with guessing an answer? Then again, when have emotions been logical?)

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: Keep visiting my other blog!

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Yes folks, this is indeed Erle Stanley Gardner, the creator of Perry Mason. Thanks for not googling!

Rajiv, the connection with my father here is that he introduced me to these novels when I was merely in school, and I have never stopped reading bigger and better novels ever since! Besides, Mason was one of my father’s favourite characters!

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 130

Look at this picture and then read the text, people.

This is a Swiss physicist, balloonist, aeronaut and hydronaut. He is credited to have built one of the first manned crafts that reportedly rose as high as 23 kilometres above the earth, a record at that time, and helped gather data about cosmic rays and the earth’s atmosphere.

Within a few years, he had modified this craft enough to go deep sea diving, and would have tested it had not World War II interrupted. He completed the design in 1948, and used it in several unmanned dives. It was subsequently handed over to the French Navy, who redesigned it and used it in 1954 to send a man down to as deep as 4,176 metres.

But that is not the question. This is: What did this person individually inspire in the popular media? Hint: Look carefully at the picture, and it will dawn on you…

‘Individually’ is italicised here because he and his brother together inspired something else, also in the popular media.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: Checked out the new articles at my other blog?

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Yes folks, Auguste Piccard did indeed inspire Herge to create Professor Cuthbert Calculus in Tintin comics! Meanwhile, Gene Rodenberry has said that he combined the names of Auguste Piccard and his brother to come up with Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 129

These are the first kinds of what?

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

And here’s something to get you started on a Monday:

Enjoy!

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Yes folks, these are the first bar codes! They were initially intended to be in concentric circles, when patented.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 128

Folks, your response has been one of the only things that have kept me going for the past few days.

Here’s another identification.

Why were these in the news recently?

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: My other blog has been receiving some hits recently, but no comments. Don’t you guys have anything to say about these published articles? If you do, here is the link again. Also, I’ll be uploading more of them soon.

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These 50 peso coins from Chile have the name of the country printed wrong. And this came to notice only after some coin collector called the mint that had issued the coin about the mistake! The coins had been in circulation for quite a few months by then!

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 127

Another straightforward question.

Sorry for the bad quality photograph of the document.

Just tell me what this is. It is actually something very specific. So you have to be specific too!

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

Btw, I think I made this too easy. Anyways, take a crack. And please visit my other blog too, and leave some feedback on whether you like it or not!

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Yes folks, this is indeed Kurt Cobain’s suicide note. The particularly sharp-eyed would have noticed the last sentence in the small handwriting, which has the famous sentence: “It’s better to burn out than fade away.”

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 126

Another straight one for the day.

Simple. Tell me what is happening here. Or just the phrase that is associated with this.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: Keep visiting my other blog too, folks! I have uploaded a few more articles of mine for your perusal. Please feel free to make known your feedback on the articles and columns there. I would appreciate it a lot.

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Ah yes, folks! This is indeed the Bullet Time shooting technique, which was pioneered in The Matrix. And has been used in umpteen films ever since!

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 125

A pretty easy one.

This is a video grab of sorts from the Michael Jackson video/short film Ghosts.

The story of the film or the video goes that the mayor of a very ‘normal’ town leads a bunch of people to an obviously haunted mansion where Michael Jackson leaves, and strange things start happening all around them. Like, ghosts start dancing and all.

My question is, who played the Mayor?

No googling please. This is as easy as they get!

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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Ah yes! Lotsa answers, once again! Mr Ramesh, this isn’t Christopher Reeve. As everyone else said, this is indeed played by Michael Jackson himself! This was a googly!

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 124

Two questions today, and both related to films.

In the earlier days of cinema, the film theatres in USA showed short films, around 15-20 minutes in length, for five cents per head. The amount of money they charged per film gave rise to a certain term for these theatres. That term is now associated more with a television channel for children. What term?

Once again, in the earlier days of cinema, money charged for entry into a film theatre was collected in boxes at the counter, and whenever a box was filled, it was locked up and sent to another room or office in the theatre, and an empty box placed at the counter. At the end of the day, all boxes stored in the safe room were emptied, and the collections of the day counted. This determined whether the screening of the film had been a success or not. What term originated from this back-office room where all these boxes were stored? (Note: For some strange reason, Wikipedia gives a different origin to the term we are seeking. Please do not go hard and fast by it.)

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: Many of you know that I am a senior sub editor with the After Hrs section of DNA, Jaipur edition. But that doesn’t mean that I do not write anything. If you wanna read what I have written so far, I have uploaded some of my articles and columns here. Hope you enjoy them, and please leave some feedback. I am gonna upload more articles and columns soon!

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Great job, folks! 11 answers from 10 people! And most of them correct! Yes, the first answer is Nickelodeon, and the second is Box office!

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 123

Sorry folks! Apparently, there was a problem in the last post.

Therefore, I am replacing that question with a much simpler one.

Identify the lady.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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Sorry Ishan, three others gave the correct answer. The lady in black is indeed Maria Montessori, after whom Montessori schools are named.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 122

An easy one now, after yesterday’s super difficult question!

Connect.

1.

2.

3.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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Two responses, both of which got near the answer. The connect this time was Jagjit and Chitra Singh’s son Vivek Singh.

The first photo is obviously that of Jagjit Singh.

The second picture is that of cricketer Sairaj Bahutule, with whom Vivek Singh was when their car met with an accident and Vivek died in it.

The third photo is that of Ishmeet Singh Sodhi, who was given the Vivek Singh Award by Jagjit Singh after winning Amul Voice of India.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 121

This one promises to be a real toughie.

Connect. Yet again.

1.a. The gentleman on the left is important.

1.b. The character’s Indianised name is important.

2.

3.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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Great Work, cracking this one, Shivam and Sambuddha! The connect is indeed Tere Bin Laden, the film!

The first picture is that of Bulgarian author Pencho Petkov Slaveykov, along with his father Petko Slaveykov. For those of us who have seen Tere Bin Laden, the film, there is a disclaimer at the beginning which says that the words Kukduk Pencho in the film refer to the junior Slaveykov, and is not meant to be an abuse.

The second picture is that of Alexander, called Sikander in Hindi or Urdu. This was the name of one of the other cockerels in the film.

The third photograph is that of Barry John, who acted in the film.

The fourth photo is there because there was news that Obama is to watch film on Osama!

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 120

Connect, again!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Hint: This is more than a simple literary connect. This one has another angle to it too!

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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Yes, these are all British authors, but that is obvious. The answer I have been looking for has been provided by Sambuddha. It is indeed Pierce Brosnan!

All these people mentioned here have written books that have been made into films starring Brosnan.

QR – Cure – Quizzing Realms – 119

Connect, and I hope you like this one.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Hint: These people share a connection with a nursery rhyme purportedly written by a doctor for his step-daughter, or as some others would have it, written to depict the fear or whatever that Queen Mary of Scotts had for a certain religious reformer named John Knox.

Further hint: The last picture is a double hint here.

Note: These faces are so recognisable that the changing of filenames appeared to be an exercise in futility for me.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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Yes, the nursery rhyme is indeed Little Miss Muffet, who suffered from a condition that we identify today as Arachnophobia, and THAT was the connection I was looking for!

All the people in the pictures are famously arachnophobic, and the last is a double hint not because of JK Rowling but because Rupert Grint, like the character of Ronald Weasley that he plays, is also afraid of spiders! Interestingly, Eva Mendes tried hypnotism to cure her condition!