Wednesday, 7 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–451

Another somewhat easy one.

Who

Identify her. Yes. Just that much.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Eleven answers—just one shy of a square dozen—and all but one of them are correct. This may certainly look like Sitara Devi, but it’s actually actor Zohra Sehgal!

In reply to someone’s query posted while answering: I’m afraid there’s no prize YET, either for guessing or answering questions bang on. But with your support, a little luck and some more elbow grease from yours truly, that can be a reality too!

Tuesday, 6 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–450

A slightly difficult one for the day.

Who

Identify the young girl from this grainy photo. Sorry for the poor image quality, but this is the best of this photo I could find.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

So seven answers came in, and all of them are bang on!! This is, as has so succinctly been put on Facebook, “Momta Di”, aka Trinamool Congress chief and West Benngal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Monday, 5 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–449

An easy one to help you tide over those Monday blues.

Which

Simply identify the film from this minimalist poster. To be honest, if ever a film deserved a minimalist poster, it was this one. And it also seems to have the most of them around. Of course, I have been known to be wrong, but this one is just my observation. So that’s it: Simply identify the film!

Happy quizzing, and have nice life, folks!

***

Six answers, and all of them are bang on! “Aap Gyaani hain, Antaryaami hain, Shaktimaan hain, Buddhimaan hain; balki main to yeh bhi kehta hoon ke aap Purush hi nahi… (awkward pause) Mahapurush hain, Mahapurush!” Am I fanboying too much about Andaz Apna Apna?

PS: I honestly do not know who created this minimalist poster, and would have no qualms about giving him/her due credit. If you come across/know this person, please direct them to me, or me to them.

Sunday, 4 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–448

A somewhat easy one for the day.

What

The photo above is a combination of the game “Adventure” (left), released by Atari in 1979-80 for its 2600 video game console. On the right is a hidden room in the game, which shows the words “Created by Warren Robinett”, a bit of code put in by Robinett himself. A probably apocryphal story goes that he thought he would not get credit for his work, and so chose to put this in.

When Atari was finally made aware of this code bya 15-year-old gamer after its release, the company, after considering other options, decided to keep it in the game, and assured customers of more such features in future products.

By and large, what word or phrase is thought to have originated from this entire incident?

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Three answers, and all correct! This incident is indeed the origin of the term “Easter Egg”, as used in the context of electronic media and software.

Saturday, 3 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–447

A somewhat easy one today, given that the year’s first weekend is starting.

What

We have the origin of something or someone in this image. Just tell me exactly what it is. That’s it.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Only one answer here. And Tauseef Warsi is correct! The soft toy is indeed the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh.

Friday, 2 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–446

Let’s continue with the habit this New Year.

What

The poem above has been written by an individual named Yuen Ren Chao in Classical Chinese, along with its English translation. What is the claim to fame of these otherwise ridiculous verses? Hint: Think pinyin or Mandarin Chinese.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Three answers, and all correct! This entire poem, in Mandarin Chinese or pinyin, consists of the syllable or sound “Shi”. As Wikipedia puts it:

« Shī Shì shí shī shǐ »


Shíshì shīshì Shī Shì, shì shī, shì shí shí shī.

Shì shíshí shì shì shì shī.

Shí shí, shì shí shī shì shì.

Shì shí, shì Shī Shì shì shì.

Shì shì shì shí shī, shì shǐ shì, shǐ shì shí shī shìshì.

Shì shí shì shí shī shī, shì shíshì.

Shíshì shī, Shì shǐ shì shì shíshì.

Shíshì shì, Shì shǐ shì shí shì shí shī.

Shí shí, shǐ shí shì shí shī shī, shí shí shí shī shī.

Shì shì shì shì.

Thursday, 1 January 2015

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–445

Let’s start off the New Year with a slightly difficult question.

Who

The photo above purportedly shows Abyssinian royals in their full regalia. Truth is, these were all British people who presented themselves as emissaries from Abyssinia and tricked the Royal Navy into showing their flagship, the battleship HMS Dreadnought, led by Irish poet and noted prankster Horace de Vere Cole. Your job is to identify the individual to the far left.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Two answers, and both correct. That individual is indeed Virginia Woolf. Yes, THE Virginia Woolf. How many else are there?

Friday, 8 August 2014

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–444

A bit of a lateral connect today.

1.

King

2.

Rani Mukerji

3.

Velocette Supercharged 500 1939

4. Look at who is highlighted.

Rocket

Connect all four photos to a naturally-formed geographical feature that is a famous tourist attraction in southern India. The names that will help the connect are very literal, and very simple. So it shouldn’t be a tough nut to crack.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Eleven replies, and eight of them have it spot on! Raja, Rani, Roarer and Rocket all come together to make the famous Jog Falls.

Friday, 25 July 2014

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–443

Ought to be interesting.

what

The photo above depicts an exhibit at Udaipur city palace. All you have to do is tell me exactly what is being highlighted, and what it was used for.

Hint: Look up painted depictions of Chetak, the trusted steed of Maharana Pratap Singh. They should give you a hint.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Four answers, and all more or less correct. This is an elephant disguise that Rajputs used when their army was fighting opponents that employed the pachyderms. The elephants would often mistake the disguised horses as babies of their own species, and would allow the Rajputs to get closer to their enemies to kill them. In case of Chetak, it is said that he would use to rest his front legs on an elephant to allow his legendary rider, Maharana Pratap Singh, aim and kill enemies riding on the elephant.

Thursday, 5 June 2014

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–442

A straightforward one, but may not be so easy for people beyond a certain demographic.

Who

Shown above is the change in hairstyle of a very specific actor, of whom many legends abound. One, which I particularly like, it is said that in one of his roles, he was required to write a letter, and the situation demanded that it be in a very specific style that was as close to a certain periodic calligraphy as possible. Apparently, the director made him practise the style so much, that it changed his handwriting forever!

Years later, when I was still a cub reporter, I got the chance to meet him, and asked him how the incident had affected him. “It improved my handwriting,” he simply said.

Identify this actor.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Thirteen answers, and all but two are correct. This is indeed Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winner thespian Soumitra Chatterjee.

To give you a better idea of the films, here’s the original image:

Soumitra