1. Which Indian collection of tales is also known as ‘The Fables of Bidpai’ in another form?

2. In which script of Punjabi is the ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ written?

3. In which novel do the characters ‘Railway Raju’ and ‘Rosie’ appear as the main people in the story?

4. One of his biographies is called ‘His Majesty’s Opponent’. Whose?

5. Who was the first Indian woman to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award for her work ‘Sunehe’?

6. Who is famous for translating some of Mahatma Gandhi’s work as well as writing a book ‘Day to Day with Gandhi’ (in diary form)?

7. Who wrote the book ‘Devi Chaudhurani’ which was later made into a movie starring Suchitra Sen?

8. Name the book, a collection of lectures by Rabindranath Tagore, which also includes a conversation with Albert Einstein.

9. What is the pen name of R.Krishnamurthy, the author of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’?

10. Which great Telugu author is also known as ‘Gadhya Thikkana’?

Answers:

1. Panchatantra.

2. Gurmukhi.

3. The Guide.

4. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

5. Amrita Pritam.

6. Mahadev Desai.

7. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.

8. The Religion of Man.

9. Kalki.

10. Kandukuri Veeresalingam.

1. Which diamond, believed to have originated from India, means ‘Mountain of Light’ in Persian?

2. Bahadur Shah Zafar was the last Mughal emperor. Which dynasty did he belong to?

3. Born to Moropant and Bhagirathibai Tambe, how is their child Manikarnika better known as?

4. Ulugh Khan, Fakhr Malik and Jauna Khan are all names of which Indian king?

5. Who served as the President of the Indian National Congress in 1889 and 1910?

6. Which Indian king was born in Devanahalli – a district of present-day Bangalore – in the mid 18th century?

7. A lot of history about Humayun is based on the work of his sister. Name his sister.

8. Arun Sadekar plays an Indian political leader in the movie ‘Hey Ram’. Which political leader?

9. Alauddin Khilji attacked Chittor after hearing of the beauty of Rani Padmini. Which king was she the wife of?

10. What was originally called ‘Gharapuri’ but later renamed when the Portugese arrived in the 16th century? (It is a UNESCO world heritage site)

Answers:

1. Kohinoor diamond.

2. Timurid dynasty.

3. Rani Lakshmibai.

4. Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.

5. William Wedderburn.

6. Tipu Sultan.

7. Gulbadan Begum.

8. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

9. Rawal Ratan Singh.

10. Elephanta Caves / Island.

1. Name the four wheel drive jeep manufactured by Mahindra exclusively for the Indian Army and sold by invitation.

2. Which Indian car was originally based on the Morris Oxford III model?

3. Which Indian company acquired a company from Canada – Novelis – in 2007 for US $6B?

4. Who founded the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) in 1977?

5. Coal India has one international subsidiary. Which country is it based out of?

6. In 1921, the Bank of Bengal, Bank of Bombay and Bank of Madras merged to form one bank which later became State Bank of India. What was the merged entity called?

7. Which bank was founded by Sir Ammembal Subbarao Pai in 1906?

8. Connect the following people – C.K.Prahalad, Phaneesh Murthy, Chetan Bhagat, K.V.Kamath and Sanjeev Bikhchandani.

9. Name the company launched by Jagdish Khattar, the former Managing Director of Maruti Udyog Limited.

10. Which company owns the ‘Classmate’ and ‘PaperKraft’ stationery brands?

Answers:

1. Mahindra Legend.

2. Ambassador, manufactured by Hindustan Motors.

3. Hindalco.

4. Hansmukhbai Parekh.

5. Mozambique.

6. Imperial Bank of India.

7. Canara Bank.

8. Alumni of IIM-Ahmedabad.

9. Carnation Auto.

10. ITC.

1. Which famous Indian businessman and former member of the Central Legislative Assembly (in British India) was born in Pilani in 1894?

2. Which Malaysian company holds a large stake in the Indian telecommunications company Idea Cellular?

3. Bharti Airtel has very recently awarded a contract to which company for building an internet protocol in India?

4. Which company was created in 1981 by Rajendra Pawar and Vijay Thadani?

5. In 2004, which group was supposed to provide the maximum employment to Indians after the Indian Railways, according to Time Magazine?

6. Where is the Force India Formula One team based out of?

7. Name the son of Dr. Bantwal Ganapathy who at the age of 22 became a director of a company in 1947, which today is the second largest company in its line of business.

8. “Fill It”, “Shut It”, “Forget It”. Name the company who created an advertisement with this tag line.

9. Originally set up by two brothers, this company was purchased from them by Bhai Mohan Singh in 1952. Name the company.

10. Which Indian businessman and alumni of the HBS was a member of the The Phonenix S K Club there?

Answers:

1. Ghanshyam Das Birla.

2. Axiata.

3. Alcatel-Lucent.

4. NIIT.

5. Sahara India.

6. Silverstone, UK.

7. Vittal Mallya.

8. Hero Honda (now Hero Motor Corp).

9. Ranbaxy Laboratories.

10. Anand Mahindra.

1. The name of which city in India comes from two words – hunchedback and maiden?

2. Who is considered to be the first emperor of the Rashtrakuta dynasty starting in 735 AD?

3. Which is the largest wildlife sanctuary in the Thar Desert?

4. Which city was the capital of Madhya Pradesh when it was originally created in 1950?

5. Who succeeded Shankar Dayal Sharma as the President of India in 1997?

6. The former Chief Minister of Bengal, Siddhartha Shankar Ray, was once the Governor of which state in India?

7. What can we find at 24 Akbar Road, New Delhi, India?

8. The name of the river Brahmaputra in Bangladesh shares its name with a river in India. Which one?

9. Which city was the capital of Assam before 1972?

10. How many national parties (officially recognized) are there in India as of 1st June, 2012?

Answers:

1. Kanauj.

2. Dantidurga.

3. Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuary.

4. Nagpur.

5. K.R.Narayanan.

6. Punjab.

7. Headquarters of the Indian National Congress.

8. Jamuna (Yamuna).

9. Shillong.

10. Six.

1. The first elected fellow of the Sahitya Akademi was Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Who was elected fellow in the same year as him?

2. Which Indian author wrote the English novel called ‘Untouchable’?

3. The film ‘Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa’ starring Jaya Bachchan and Anupam Kher is based on a novel by which Indian author?

4. The Kannada movie ‘Samskara’ was based on a novel by author U.R.Ananthamurthy. Which famous Indian playwright and author made his acting debut in this film?

5. Satyajit Ray’s film, ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’, is based on a novel by who?

6. Name the series of compositions which are considered to be biographies of Guru Nanak.

7. Name the earliest known work on Tamil grammar which is still in existence today.

8. What is the series of stories which talk about the previous lives of the Buddha known as?

9. Which Assamese author and winner of the Sahitya Akademi award was once the DGP of Assam?

10. Which Indian poet and musician is believed to have invented the tabla?

Answers:

1. Pandit Mange Ram Sangi.

2. Mulk Raj Anand.

3. Mahashweta Devi.

4. Girish Karnad.

5. Munshi Premchand.

6. Janamsakhis.

7. Tolkappiyam.

8. Jataka Tales.

9. Harekrishna Deka.

10. Amir Khusrau.

1. Who inaugurated Sansad Bhavan (Parliament House) building, where the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are given separate chambers to meet?

2. One of the official retreats of The President of India is Rashtrapati Nilayam in Secunderabad. Which is the other?

3. Who was the first Chief Election Commissioner of India?

4. T N Chaturvedi, who was once the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, was also the governor of an Indian state. Which one?

5. Civil service officers in India undergo training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. In which town is the training centre located?

6. As of today, the Supreme Court Of India is composed of a Chief Justice and n other judges. What is n?

7. Which “designation” or “position” is the head of all civil services in India?

8. Usually, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have equal legislative powers except for a certain kind of bill where the Rajya Sabha can only make recommendations. What kind of bill?

9. Benegal Narsing Rau, who was an advisor when the Indian Constitution was drafted, was also the first Indian judge to be part of what?

10. How many members are nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President of India?

Answers:

1. Lord Irwin.

2. The Retreat Building, Mashobra, Shimla.

3. Sukumar Sen.

4. Karnataka.

5. Mussorie.

6. 30.

7. Cabinet Secretary.

8. Money bills.

9. The International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands.

10. Twelve.

1. Which Indian religious figure is sometimes referred to as ‘Viraprabhu’ in religious texts?

2. Which dynasty of kings derive their name from the word ‘bull’ in a classical Indian language?

3. Which dynasty did the Emperor Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanagara belong to?

4. Which Mughal emperor was defeated by the East India Company in the Battle of Buxar?

5. Name the famed rifle containing greased cartridges which resulted in the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny.

6. Who was the Governor General of India at the time of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny?

7. In which Indian city were the headquarters of the All India Muslim League established when formed?

8. Who gave and popularised the title of ‘Mahatma’ to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi?

9. Which religious movement was started by Shri Hans Maharaj in 1960?

10. How is the Indian philosopher and teacher Vishnugupta better known as?

Answers:

1. Vardhaman Mahavira.

2. Pandya.

3. Tuluva.

4. Shah Alam II.

5. Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle.

6. Lord Charles Canning.

7. Lucknow.

8. Rabindranath Tagore.

9. Divya Sandesh Parishad.

10. Chanakya.

1. The Hindu goddess Saraswati is usually depicted with which musical instrument?

2. The Sanskrit equivalent of two words – “fixed” and “words” – give rise to the name of a genre in Hindustani classical music. Which one?

3. Which Indian tabla maestro’s name is Qureshi Khan?

4. Which famous Carnatic classical singer and winner of the Bharat Ratna appeared in a film called ‘Sevasadan’?

5. The poets Robert Bly, Thomas Hardy, Spencer Reece and Phyllis Web have composed this popular vocal form of Indian music in English. Name the vocal form.

6. ‘Fughri’, ‘Dhalo’, ‘Deknni’ and ‘Dulpod’ are types of songs in which Indian language?

7. In which Indian film directed by Satyajit Ray did Ustad Bismillah Khan had an onscreen role playing music?

8. Which Indian singer is known as Mallika-e-Ghazal, meaning the queen of Ghazals?

9. Name the Indian singer who has appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most recorded artist in history.

10. Name the Indian born director of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra.

Answers:

1. Veena.

2. Dhrupad.

3. Ustad Alla Rakha.

4. M S Subhalakshmi.

5. Ghazal.

6. Konkani.

7. Jalsaghar.

8. Begum Akhtar.

9. Asha Bhosle.

10. Zubin Mehta.

1. Who made the first movie in India and what was it called? It was a silent film.

2. Who played the role of Alam Ara in the movie by the same name, which was also the first Indian movie with voice?

3. Kisan Kanya is considered to be the first locally produced Indian movie in colour. Which director had earlier made a Marathi film which had scenes in color but does not qualify for the distinction as it was processed abroad?

4. Which Indian actress won a seat in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections from the Chennai (South) constituency?

5. How is Mumtaz Jahan Begum Dehlavi better known as?

6. Which well known Indian actor’s original name was Kumudlal Ganguly?

7. Which Indian actor’s first film was “Jwar Bhata”?

8. Who was the first recipient ever of the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1969?

9. Which Indian film director was also an author and wrote a collection of ‘nonsense poetry’ which had a translation of the well known Jabberwocky written by Lewis Caroll?

10. The controversial film Karma, directed by J.L.Freer-Hunt in 1933 and starring Himansu Rai, still holds the record today for what?

Answers:

1. Dadasaheb Phalke, Raja Harishchandra.

2. Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir.

3. V.Shantaram. The movie name was Sairandhri.

4. Vyjayanthimala.

5. Madhubala.

6. Ashok Kumar.

7. Dilip Kumar.

8. Devika Rani.

9. Satyajit Ray.

10. Longest kissing scene in “mainstream” Indian cinema, which was 4 minutes long.