This is an archive of past discussions about Wikipedia:WikiProject India. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current main page.
Okay, here goes: In his hey days, Kapil Dev was called the 'Haryana Hurricane'. Simple question, who gave him the nickname? gunslotsofguns17:56, 10 April 2006 (UTC)
1) It was a 3 member seat. (i.e 3 MPs were to be elected from the constituency and 2) 13.4% of the total votes were rejected due to cumulative voting, just because the voters were confused. Kishore05:52, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
I was looking for the first point, it makes it so unique. That was quick for that question. Over to you, Kishore. By the way, my source was this. What's yours? -- Sundar\talk \contribs
I'll take both the question and the 'clue' to its answer from Question 3 ;-)
Which famous place in India gets its name from the local name for "mangrove trees" -- Kishore08:38, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
And the clue was pretty good I reckon, although it would be better to give such a clue only if the question hasn't been answered for something like 12 hours. Nobleeagle (Talk)08:57, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
Bang on! Do you want to ask the next question today itself? At this rate, we'll complete this set of 25 questions in 2 days ;-) - Kishore09:02, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
I don't think the clue was actually a clue. It was just a teaser. One could have understood the clue only after knowing the answer. What do you say Dwaipayanc and Sundar? - Kishore09:05, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
Yes. The "clue", in retrospect, was very intelligent. But not exactly a nice clue when you don't have any idea of the answer. In fact, I deciphered the clue after answerimg! BTW, I'll put the question after around 3 hours, say, at 6 pm IST. Bye.--Dwaipayanc09:20, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
I think otherwise. The clue pointed me straight to Bengal, and I searched around to find out where the place in question could be. Nobleeagle (Talk)09:57, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
That's a double clue. I too was thinking about Sundar only. I didn't have Bengal in Mind. Sorry for spoiling the fun guys. - Kishore10:27, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
:) I don't know why there would be any hard feelings. So I carry no hard feelings obviously. Anyway, I didn't see the Sundar connection, but that's a really REALLY good clue then. Nobleeagle (Talk)10:39, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
'Sundar'ban was the sundar-clue. By the way, I think this is the longest discussion on a question in this game :) - Kishore11:21, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
Q5
In 1991, a fire-accident burnt down "Star Theatre"—an old theatre in Calcutta. In the same year, in a separate fire-accident, the priceless historical collection of a company was gutted in Calcutta. What is the company/institution? And what sort of collection it had?--Dwaipayanc12:26, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
Clue 1: Images of the collection/residual collection of the company has been used in some articles in Wikipedia. Articles relating to the history of India.--Dwaipayanc04:48, 13 April 2006 (UTC)
Pure guess. Was it the Victorial Memorial?? Or does it have to be some sort of commercial company? I know very little about Kolkata by the way. Nobleeagle (Talk)07:49, 13 April 2006 (UTC)
So,ultimately it's cracked. Yes. Bourne & Shepherd Photographic studio, established by Samuel Bourne and Charles Shepherd. It contained lots of Raj era photos. Most of those were gutted. The problem with the question was Google was not generating good replies. In fact, the cited article was my lone web-source. Very well done gunslotsofguns. Your turn.--Dwaipayanc11:13, 13 April 2006 (UTC)
Q6
Considered among the most influential personalities in the Bombay film industry, this gentleman's name means "new happiness" as his year of birth also saw the conclusion of a major war. Who am I referring to? gunslotsofguns11:32, 13 April 2006 (UTC)
What is the common characteristic between Drona, Dhristadyumna, Jarasandha and Sita? There may be several commonalities, however, I am looking for a particularly interesting common characteristic.--Dwaipayanc17:04, 13 April 2006 (UTC)
unnatural birth? i dont remember abt jarasandhan anything; sita was got from a furrow when ploughing a field, daughter of earth, drona article on wiki says: Drona was born a brahmin, son of sage Bharadwaja,in modern day Dehradoon(a modification of dehra-dron,a clay pot),which implies that he was not gestated in a womb,but outside the human body in a Droon(earth pot); drupada aka drishtadyumna, along with sis draupadi was got from doing a yagnam, born out of the fire, i guess. jarasandhan.. i dont know -Pournami17:57, 13 April 2006 (UTC)
Yes Pournami is correct. Unnatural birth. Jarasandha was born in two halves in 2 mothers. Each half was dead and were thrown away. A rakshasi named Jara collected the 2 pieces and joined those. That's why the name: Jarasandha (from sandhi=association/addition).
24 hour rule: Looks like we need Dwaipayanc to keep things going. Pournami still gets awarded the answer, just wont be asking the question unless they manage to get around to it before Dwaipayanc. Nobleeagle (Talk)06:46, 17 April 2006 (UTC)
So is the union territory of Lakshadweep. Both are reserved for scheduled tribes. But I'm not sure if its permanent. --hydkat17:58, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
I'm not having a go at your methods, which make sure that the same people don't keep answering questions and getting heaps of points. But could I suggest to vary the times you put the questions up, as I am an NRI and am usually sleeping when the question's put up :). Nobleeagle (Talk)07:45, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
In that case, let's fix a time when to put the question. Of course, it won't be possible to abide by the rule always. Still we can try. How about around 1630 UTC? That may be suitable in many of the countries! Bye.--Dwaipayanc08:03, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
Q10
Who is the director of the Indian film that won the award for Best Film Live Action 6 – 12 category in the 2005 Kids for Kids festival, Naples? What is the name of the film in English and in vernacular language?--Dwaipayanc17:52, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
During World War II, Country A was under the colonial rule of Country B. Country B was at war with Country C. Faced with attack from C, B had to withdraw from A. Now, in A, there was a freedom struggle going on to free the country from B. The leader of this struggle was Person D. So when C drove B out of A, D welcomed C as its deliverer and joined his forces with C’s armies. But C treated A so badly that within a couple of years, D switched sides and allied himself with B once again. The Country A got its freedom a few years after WWII. Name A, B, C and D. — Ravikiran05:34, 20 April 2006 (UTC)
hydcat has it and he gets to ask the next question. The connection to India is that we were very close to being in the samep position under Netaji. Apologies if the connection was too tenuous. —Ravikiran09:36, 20 April 2006 (UTC)
Q12
I usually get one right every round :). Here's my question: Once when a soldier said 'I'm proud be in the Forgotten Army', which army is was referring to. Remember its India related. --hydkat13:45, 20 April 2006 (UTC)
Woah! That was too easy... they took part in the Battle of the Tennis Court and the following comment was made by General William Slim- When you go home don't worry about what to tell your loved ones and friends about service in Asia. No one will know where you were, or where it is if you do. You are, and will remain "The Forgotten Army." --hydkat14:11, 20 April 2006 (UTC)
OK Tintin, you'll get lot of chances here. Continuing discussion on actor-politicians, who was probably the first actor in India to get elected as a member of LokSabha, from which place and which year? I need all the details as I need to cross-check if the answer I have in my mind is correct or not. --Gurubrahma11:58, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
de-indenting Nope, not MGR. He was probably the first actor to become an MLA, way back in 1962. He was never an MP to the best of my knowledge. The person I am thinking of, became an MP in 1967, that is, the fourth Lok Sabha, and he is from Andhra Pradesh. He gave the voice for the character of Hammond in the Telugu (dubbed) version of "Jurassic Park" essayed by Richard Attenborough in the original. I hope none of this is google-able. ;) --Gurubrahma
Time to have some limit on number of guesses? ;) It is indeed Kongara Jaggayya (also transliterated as Jaggaiah) who I had in mind. He was an MP from Ongole. As an actor, he was accomplished and starred in diverse roles such as hero, second lead and villain. He was well known for his booming voice and nicknamed "Kanchu Kantam" Jaggayya (Brass voice). Hope someone starts an article on him. Else, I'll hv to do it sometime. Over to Dwaipayanc, who seems to be destined to win this round. --Gurubrahma20:14, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
Very easy one. In Mahabharata, we get the ancient names of many regions of modern India. Which modern state of India was mentioned in Mahabharata in its present day name?--Dwaipayanc17:25, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
Manipur? though this may be different from the Mahabharat's Manipur as mentioned here. Another answer, of course, is Goa which was mentioned in the Mahabharata variously as Govarashtra, Goparashtra and Gomantak. --Gurubrahma18:04, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
An easily googlable one. Psychoanalysis is a type of psychodynamic therapy or insight-oriented therapy, a therapeutic technique for the treatment of neuroses and some psychoses. Sigmund Freud was one of the first proponents of this method/ theory. Which Indian scientist/clinician is generally believed to be the first proponent of this theory in India?--Dwaipayanc14:56, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
Well, no hurry. You can ask any time in next 24 hours. In fact, you can announce here that you will ask the question at a particular time.--Dwaipayanc16:49, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
I'm back. I'm tempted to ask how many times has it been necessary to revert edits to the Bangalore article ;-). Will come up with a question shortly. --BostonMA02:32, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
Q18
This would be too easy if I don't make the question cryptic. (I'll give clues if this is too hard. However, I won't accept answers that might be true, but are not the person of whom I'm thinking.) Ok, here goes.
Hydkat, your answer is very good! I would give you the baton if I hadn't stated that I wouldn't accept answers except for the person of whom I'm thinking. For those who don't get the significance of Hydkat's answer, I will state that if no-one solves the puzzle in 7.5 hours, then I would need to change the original clue (another cryptic clue).
Hydkat, you are off by a factor of 100, and you need to look at the beginning, not at the end. Surprisingly, if one travels due east from the birthplace of your guess, to the opposite coast, one arrives quite near the birthplace of the person of whom I'm thinking. (Now a google search will easily find this person's name if you plug in the right terms). (another clue in an hour). --BostonMA11:03, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
Suggestions for people attempting this question: Phrase your answers as "Foo wrote history by doing bar on this day". My second and last take on this question is that "Watson and Crick wrote history by publishing the structure of DNA in Nature. -Ambuj Saxena (talk) 11:07, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
I'm sorry, but it is neither Daniel Defoe with Robinson Crusoe, nor Watson and Crick. From the hints I've given, can you determine the state where you will find his birthplace? --BostonMA11:18, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
Sorry. Today *is* the 25th, so no. Also, look at my other hints. Hydkat was off by a factor of 100. What does that mean? I told him to look at the beginning and not the end. In what way did he look at the end? --BostonMA11:47, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
OK time for more hints. He wrote under a variety of pseudonyms. He wrote both fiction and non-fiction. He was a secular writer. The language in which he wrote was the language of his birthplace. --BostonMA12:13, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
Gurubrahma wins by 3 minutes. Today happens to be the centennial of Pudhumaipithan's birth! A google of "April 25, 1906 Tamil", brings up our own Wikipedia article of Pudhumaipithan in first place! Another good article, though published by a "notorious left wing" source ;-) contains some information that is currently missing from our own article. I think later today, I will do some editting. Gurubrahama, over to you. --BostonMA13:28, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
User:BostonMA, can you please clarify how your clues lead to the person. In detail, how are the answers given by me (DNA one) or the one given by hydcat(Swami Ranganathananda) are wrong. Also tell which works of his are especially remembered today. -Ambuj Saxena (talk) 14:50, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
Hi, Hydkat's answer is very good, because there was a strong relationship between the current date and person who he gave as an answer. Your answer was also strongly related to the current date, however, I am not sure I see a strong connection with India (my understanding being that the quiz items should be related to India). Under other circumstances, I may have awarded the baton to you or Hydkat. Actually, in a previous round, someone gave an answer which was not what I was looking for, and I did declare that person the winner. However, in this case, I stated that I wanted the winner to guess exactly the person of whom I was thinking, even if there may be other persons who match the clues. In this case, the centenial of the author's birthday seemed to be a strong enough connection with the date that I really wanted to award the baton to someone who got that answer. I hope that helps to clarify my thinking. --BostonMA18:54, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
Q19
Being a category junkie, I looked at Tamil writers and got the answer. It was fun to see Defoe, Cruso, Crick and Watson and I was trying to see if I missed any India connect there, but no. This quiz helps in expanding our knowledge and btw, I created an article on Jaggayya thanks to the quiz and it is on the DYK as well.
Ok, coming to the quiz, this poet wrote a sathaka (anthology of 100 or more poems, like the Bhartrihari Subhashithaas) on an eatable. Who is this writer and what is the name of the sathaka? And the story of how it came to be written, though I am not very particular about this last bit. --Gurubrahma14:23, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
Time for some clues, the eatable is Pakodi or Pakora. The writer is a 19th-20th century writer and wrote poetry on Queen Victoria as well. Who is he? --Gurubrahma09:17, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
Nope. and btw, sumati sataka was written by Baddena, a poet of older days. The fellow I am talking of is indeed a Telugu poet but he is of modern vintage. He wrote a play in which Krishna and Arjuna come close to fighting each other and the play is considered the first modern telugu work to sell a staggering one lakh copies. Enough said. --Gurubrahma13:26, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
I think it is Chilakamarthi, but I am not sure of the satakam. I will guess bhallata satakam. (If I don't guess now, someone else is sure to have it!) --BostonMA14:01, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
It is Chilakamarthi, and finally someone gets it. Apart from being a famous poet, he was also a playwright with one of the popular theater troupes in which Tanguturi Prakasam was also a member. The story goes that, one day after rehearsals, some one brought hot pakoras and when Chilakamarthi wanted to have them, some one said, one pakodi (Telugu for Pakora) for one poem! Then, Chilakamarthi said, "Gone are the days of akshara lakshalu (A lakh for each alphabet in the poem) and we have the days where we get only a pakodi for a poem." and then recited several poems on the spot on the greatness of pakodi. And ofcourse, it is titled pakodi satakam but I've used my discretion to give it to BostonMA. Go on. --Gurubrahma14:14, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
For this question, I decided to research things about which I knew nothing beforehand. I have stumbled across what seems to be a marvel worth mention. Unfortunately, I cannot attest to the accuracy of the story, but it I find it marvelous just the same. Perhaps after the question is answered, someone can say whether it is true.
OK. There is a place in India, of which it is said, that a river passes through a mountain and emerges on the other side! This is not just a river that travels underground, and emerges some time later at a lower elevation. (I am familiar with such rivers.) This river is said to pass through a mountain! Such cases, if this story is true, may not be unique, and if so, I will accept as correct any answer that satisfies the description, if you can provide a reference to that description. (Does not have to be a "reliable" by Wikipedia standards). What is the name of the mountain? Where is it located? --BostonMA21:57, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
I see references that parts of this river flow underground, but I do not see a reference to a story that it flows through a mountain (underground). If you can provide a reference to such a story, you will be declared winner.
It is indeed said that the Kaveri flows underground and then re-emerges, and this indeed on the side of a mountain, the river is not said to flow through the mountain. That is, the river doesn't disappear on one side, and re-emerge on the other.
I will give a hint. The river flows into a valley which is surrounded on all sided by mountains. According to a legend of some local inhabitants, at one time the valley was filled with water. However, a giant fish bored a hole through the mountain, allowing the valley to drain and become inhabitable. --BostonMA13:30, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
A gorge does cut "through" a mountain, but that is not what I meant. I meant that the river travels underground and then emerges on the other side. Sorry. --BostonMA15:27, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
Another hint. An alternate legend to the giant fish, is that the drainage hole was created by Siva with his trishul. --BostonMA16:40, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
yes, but does it pass thru a mountain.... your source says it starts on either side of one... --hydkat06:46, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
The source provided by Gurubrahma, in addition to stating that the river starts from a cave also states that:
At Pandoh, in Mandi district, the waters of the Beas have been diverted through a big tunnel to join the Satluj.
I had not thought of man-made tunnels. However, is this tunnel through a mountain? Probably. Is Pandoh the name of the mountain? (I did ask for a name of mountain). I will use my discretion and not accept the answer. If no-one gets the answer eventually, then I will declare Gurubrahma the winner. --BostonMA10:36, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
Do you have a reference that a river flows through this mountain? It is possible that the mountain is known by more than one name. Koubru Leikha is not the name in the stories I have read. However, I have been unable to locate a source that gives the exact location of the mountain. So aside from not knowing whether it actually exists today, it is quite possible that I cannot find it under one name, because is it is now more commonly known as another. --BostonMA12:15, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
here's one more Nagaland has place called Dzulekie where the local river appears to go underground at some places.
I apologize for allowing this to go so long. I took a short break to see if anyone would get it, but no. I will give one last clue, and if there is no answer in 15 minutes, I will give the answer. Last clue. You can easily solve in 15 minutes. The giant fish was called Hutunga. --BostonMA13:34, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
I also found the shiva story here: [4]. The river is imphal and its tributaries and it flows into chindwin river thru 3 tunnels. --hydkat13:47, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
Yes! This article describes the Meitei legend of Hutunga. This article retells the story of Shiva using his trishul to drill the hole. And this article describes them both. The question which I do not know is where Chingnunghut mountain is located if it (still) exists. I could not find on a map. Anyone know?
Over to you Hydkat! --BostonMA13:52, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
I don't mind that... I'll take some time formulating my question. If you have an interesting one that will go 40 hours, put it! --hydkat16:01, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
Its been 24 hrs, is it because everyone's busy partying this weekend or is the question too though? I'm beginning to worry here people! --hydkat17:58, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
Good! Your almost there. You got one... (I'm not telling which) get the rest of the info. good luck. --hydkat20:20, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
Ok. I cracked. Fort Arnala, Fort Alibagh and Fort Janjira.--Dwaipayan (talk) 20:31, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
Shivaji & then the Peshwas won those.(hope if I get that part wrong, you won't be cruel). It was really tough.--Dwaipayan (talk) 20:34, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
I should be cruel to you :) But I won't. I'll give it to you. But here's a history lesson Murud-Janjira was never conquered by Shivaji. The Habshis, of African Islamic descent, controlled that fort till there rulers, the siddis, submitted to the British. Shivaji, in order to curb piracy, and contain the Siddis, built Vijaydurg and Alibagh. The Portuguese ruled Arnala until a Maratha general named Shankarji Pant successfully took the fort from the Portuguese. --hydkat21:23, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
What term or phrase is often used in USA to differntiate Indians of India origin from Native Indians? The term is sometimes regarded as somewhat derogatoty.--Dwaipayan (talk) 16:57, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
American Born Confused Desi Emigrated From Gujrat Housed In Jersey Keeping Lotsa Motel Named Omkar Patel Quickly Reached Success Through Unfair Vicious Ways Xenophobic Yet Zestful. Gurubrahma beats me again. -Ambuj Saxena (talk) 17:56, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
Well, I guessed this would come. Basically, I am not looking for this. Desi or ABCD are largely used by NRI in USA itself, and also others. But the term I am looking for is mainly, if not only, used by the non-Indian Americans of USA. In fact, I am not sure if the term is also in vogue in other parts of the world (unlikely). "To differentiate from Native Americans" should be emphasised. You have not been beaten Ambuj. I should give a hint: The phrase is not as popular as Desi or ABCD.--Dwaipayan (talk) 17:58, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
Well. I admit that Indian American and Asian American are used to diffentiate from American Indian or native Indian. However, that is not what I am looking for. If I do not get the answer I am looking for, then will consider that as correct. But we should wait for more. Let's see till 24 hours of posting the question. More hint: the term/phrase is more appropriate for ladies.--Dwaipayan (talk) 18:58, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
A little bit clarification? you have got it. But not the exact term. So just a little bit elaboration will be welcome.--Dwaipayan (talk) 19:19, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
Recognising the gravity of the HIV/AIDS situation, the head honcho of this Indian Company started awareness programmes and developing a workplace policy back in 1990, before even the Government was fully aware of the problem. Which Company?
[Note: As far as my info goes this was one of the first intiatives. It's entirely possible there was more than one company dealing with the problem in or even before 1990. If you provide evidence of the same, I will give it to you even if it's not the company I am thinking of.] gunslotsofguns19:56, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
