MELA quiz (finals) NITJ

MELA Quiz
Mains
QM : Sujit J Patil

• X was a merchant and philanthropist . He is more notable for
making a huge fortune in opium trade with British to China.
• He was known by his nickname – bottlewalla, as his business
interests included the manufacture and sale of bottles. His
family would sign letters and checks using the name
“Bottlewala”.
• He was awarded knighthood in 1842 and made a baronet in
1858.
• He founded an institution in India which is now the oldest of
its kind.Which institution ?
1)

• Answer
– Sir J. J. School of Art (after Jamsetji
Jejeebhoy)

• I Swear IWasThere:The GigThat Changed theWorld is a book by David Nolan. It
accounts the details about a gig at the Lesser FreeTrade Hall, Manchester on 4
June 1976.The gig was voted by Channel 4 television as one of the three most
important gigs of all time alongsideWoodstock and LiveAid.
• Despite just 35-40 people attending it, the impact this gig created was huge. It
heralded the era of punk rock movement.This was mainly due to the attendees
who inspired by the gig formed their own bands. Some of them were :
– Howard Devoto (Buzzcocks/Magazine)
– Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks)
– Morrissey (The Smiths)
– Tony Wilson (Factory Records/The Haçienda)
– Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order)
– Mark E Smith (The Fall)
• Which band performed at this gig ?
2)

• John Smith was a British soldier who was a founder of the American colony
of Jamestown in the early 1600s.
• Legend has it that one day while on search for food, he was captured and
taken to meet the chief of the Powhatans (a Native Indian tribe). Although
he feared for his life, Smith was eventually released without harm and later
attributed this in part to the chief's daughter, X, who according to Smith,
threw herself across his body to save him.
• In 1995, an animated movie titled, X was released telling this story in a
musical setting.This film is the first Disney animated film to be based on a
real historic character.
• Identify the movie, X.
3)
Image :

• This song boasts one of the most recognizable guitar riffs of all time (the
"greatest guitar riff ever," as voted by readers ofTotal Guitar magazine).
The song’s origins were serendipitous :
• “During a jam session at the band's house, drummer Steven Adler and
Slash were warming up and Slash began to play a "circus" melody while
making faces at Adler. Rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin asked Slash to play it
again. Stradlin came up with some chords, Duff McKagan created a
bassline and Adler planned a beat.
• Their producer listened to what they'd put together so far and told them
that they should add a dramatic breakdown in place of the last verse. After
thinking for a moment about what that could be, Axl asked "Where do we
go now?" As in, “Where do we go with this song?” – which was ultimately
used in the song.”
• Which song ?
4)

• Some thirty years after this symphony was written, the rhythm of
the opening phrase – "dit-dit-dit-dah" – was used for the letter "V"
in Morse Code.
• Since the Second WorldWar it has sometimes been referred to as
the "Victory Symphony".The phrase "V forVictory" became well
known as a campaign of the Allies of World War II.
• The symphony, and the four-note opening motif in particular, are
known worldwide, with the motif appearing frequently in popular
culture, from disco to rock and roll, to appearances in film and
television.
• Identify this symphony and its composer.
5)

• Sara Akash (1969) is an award winning film by Basu
Chatterjee that launched parallel cinema in India. It is based
on a novel by X.
• Rajnigandha (1974) is also a film by Basu Chatterjee, which
won the Best Picture at the Filmfare Awards in 1975. It is
based on the novel by X’s wifeY.
• Both X andY together wrote the book Ek Inch Muskan which
is a love tragedy about schizophrenic individuals.
• Identify both.
6)
Image :

• X - RajendraYadav
• Y- Mannu Bhandari

7)
• X was a prominent and prolific composer of the Classical period. He was
instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio
and his contributions to musical form have earned him the epithets "Father
of the Symphony" and “Father of the String Quartet”.
• He had his head stolen by Karl Rosenbaum and Johann Nepomuk Peter.
Their motivation for stealing the skull was, it is believed, 'scientific': there
was at the time a great interest in phrenology, a now-discredited scientific
movement that attempted to associate mental capacities with aspects of
cranial anatomy.
• Eighteen years later, a similar attempt was made on the body of Y (X’s
student), possibly for similar reasons.
• X was also responsible for composing Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser which is
now the national anthem of Germany. Identify X andY.

• X - Joseph Haydn
• Y – Ludwig van Beethoven

• In August 1892 while at Baroda, X met with the renowned painter
Raja RaviVarma at his studio.
• When X pointed out certain flaws in his paintings, the painter
responded that none had detected them until then adding “You
must have been an artist at some point in your life.”The response
was –“By the grace of God and my Guru, Saraswati (the Goddess
of Knowledge) has been generous towards me.”
• Later X wrote in his book East andWest that Ravi Varma’s
paintings had traces of imitation of western art. He urged Indian
artists to develop their own indigenous art traditions in the
modern context.
• Identify X.
8)

• This city has been called the “Jazz capital of theWorld”.The jazz
legend Louis Armstrong was born here. Its Jazz Fest is one of the
largest music festivals in the US. Other fests include Mardi Gras
and the Voodoo Experience.
• One example of its influence can be seen on NBA. Utah Jazz was a
team which originated in this city and hence named accordingly.
But due to poor performances in initial years the team shifted its
base to Utah.
• It is home to the unique “jazz funerals” which feature sad music
(mostly dirges and hymns) on the way to the cemetery and
happier music (hot jazz) on the way back.
• Identify the city.
9)

• Vikram Gokhale is a well known Indian film, television and stage
actor, notable for his roles in Marathi theatre and Hindi films and
television.
• Vikram Gokhale has a long family lineage active in Indian film
industry. His great grandmother was Durgabai Kamat was while
his grandmother was Kamlabai Kamat .
• Way back in 1913, Durgabai acted as Parvati and Kamlabai as
Mohini in a film called Mohini Bhasmasur, produced and directed
by Dadasaheb Phalke.
• In doing so, what unique distinction did Durgabai and Kamlabai
achieve ?
10)

• They were the first female actresses, as
in earlier film the female roles were
done by males

• In printing, X was the sound a printing plate cast from movable
type made when it was used.This printing plate is also called aY.
• In other words,Y is a mass-produced printing plate made by
duplicating a typesetting or engraving so that multiple copies
could be sent to other printers and newspapers, enabling larger
numbers of identical images to be reproduced.
• The termY derives from two Greek words (one for "solid, firm"
and other for “blow, impression, engraved mark”).
• Later, X andY both found its use outside the printing world also.
1)

• X – Cliché
• Y - Stereotype

• This is the screenshot of the movie Capote(2005) starring
Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the authorTruman Capote.The
movie tells the story of how Capote researched the material
for his novel – In Cold Blood which was adapted into a film in
1967.
• Seen in the pic also is Catherine Keener playing the role of an
author, X. X helped Capote in researching the material for his
novel. X published only one book in her lifetime which also
won her the 1960 Pulitzer Prize (a second book is set to be
published in July, 2015). Identify X.
2)
Image :

• Harper Lee
– author of To kill a Mockingbird

• Marcel Duchamp was a French, naturalized American painter,
sculptor, chess player and writer whose work is associated with
Dadaism.
• He is known to have coined the name of a movement closely
associated with Dadaism.
• This movement tries to break the conventional definition of art. It
sometimes involves depiction of ordinary objects as piece of art
(ready-mades or “found-objects”). Examples ahead :
• Name of the movement ?
3)
Image :

4)
• In 1817, British Museum's acquired a large fragment of a statue of
Ramesses II from thirteenth-century BCE.The 7.25-ton fragment
of the statue's head and torso had been removed in 1816 from the
mortuary temple of Ramesses atThebes by the Italian adventurer
Giovanni Battista Belzoni.
• Motivated by the above incident P. B. Shelley and Horace Smith,
in friendly competition with each other, wrote separate sonnets
with the same title.The title refers to the greek name of
Ramesses II. Both poems explore the fate of history and the
ravages of time—that all prominent men and the empires they
build are impermanent and their legacies fated to decay and
oblivion.
• What is the title of the sonnets ?
Image :

Bust of Ramesses II at the British Museum, London.

• Charles Manson, the American criminal who killed 7 people including the
actress SharonTate is also a songwriter.
• Various musicians, including Guns N' Roses,White Zombie and Marilyn
Manson, have covered some of his songs. Manson has even influenced the
names of musical performers such as Kasabian, Spahn Ranch, and Marilyn
Manson.
• Manson believed in what he called "Helter Skelter", a term he took from
the song of the same name by _______. Manson believed Helter Skelter to
be an impending apocalyptic race war.The term "helter skelter" was later
used by Manson prosecutorVincent Bugliosi as the title of his book about
the Manson murders.
• Fill the blank.
5)
Image :

• This is the kanji version of the word with
each kanji’s meanings written below
them.What is this word, which relates
to the Japanese theatre?
6)

• This life-sized statue is Iustitia, "Lady Justice", the
personification of justice.The statue lies at Bern,
Switzerland and is called Gerechtigkeitsgasse
("Fountain of Justice"). It was built by Hans Gieng in
1543.
• Earlier depictions of Iustitia lacked a certain
feature, which this statue has.Which novel feature
is being talked about ?
7)
Image :

• Swami Satchidananda was an Indian religious teacher and
yoga guru, who gained fame and following in theWest.
• He was the founder of the IntegralYoga Institute and
Yogaville in America, and Spiritual Guru of major Hollywood
actors and western musicians.
• He came to public attention as the opening speaker at an
important event on August 15 1969. Due to long traffic jams,
some performers were not able to arrive on time at the
venue. Hence he was called in as an emergency measure.
• Which event ?
8)

• To be or not to be - Hamlet,Act III, Scene
I
• What dreams may come - Hamlet,Act
III, Scene I
• Fault in Our Stars - Julius Caesar, Act I,
Scene II
– All titles derived from Shakespearean
phrases

• Answer
– The only 3 indian films to be nominated for
the Best Foreign Language film category in
the Oscars

1) +50/-25
Viggo Mortensen in
The Road (2009)

2) +45/-22.5
Willem Dafoe and
Charlotte
Gainsbourg in
Antichrist (2009)

3) +40/-20
Harvey Keitel in
Bad Lieutenant
(1992)

4) +35/-17.5
Daniel Craig in Layer
Cake (2004)

5) +30/-15
Ryan Gosling in Drive
(2011)

6) +25/-12.5
Robby Benson in
Beauty &The Beast
(1991)

7) +20/-10
Marilyn Monroe in
The SevenYear Itch
(1955)

8) +15/-7.5
The Angry Men in 12
Angry Men (1957)

9) +10/-5
Edward Norton in
Fight Club (1999)

10) +5/0
Clint Eastwood inThe
Good,The Bad And
The Ugly (1966)

• All played unnamed characters in the
respective movies

MELA quiz (finals) NITJ

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MELA quiz (finals) NITJ