Monty Norman composed a song “Bad Sign, Good Sign”, for a musical adaptation of V. S. Naipaul’s novel A House for Mr Biswas, set in the Indian community in Trinidad.
This song went on to become an inspiration for which globally recognizable piece of music associated with adventure?
Tag: India
[217]
X Fine Spinning Associates was an American textile company, founded in 1889.
Y Manufacturing Company was a producer of cotton textiles founded in 1888.
In 1955, both the companies merged together to create XY.
As of 2024, the company XY’s market capitalization has been north of $800B and has been among the most valued companies in the US.
Identify the company XY.
[216]
X is a “software” co-founded by Monty Widenius & named after his daughter My Widenius.
The software’s mascot is called “Sakila” a feminine name in the SiSwati language from Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Africa.
Can you identify this software?
[215]
X is a game in 1985 by Alexey Pajitnov, a Soviet software engineer. The word X is created from a combination of “Greek for four” and the engineer’s favorite sport.
Due to the circumstances of the Cold War, the game changed hands multiple times and even became part of the Nintendo vs Atari console wars, where it was called the “The Soviet Mind Game”.
Can you identify the game?
[214]
X was the 6th Surveyor General of India (1830-1843) & was part of the 70 year ‘Great Trigonometric Survey’ to map out of the entire Indian subcontinent. He was known for his pioneering work & detail orientation.
Such was his reputation that when his successor Andrew Scott Waugh found a remarkable (now globally known) landmark in the region, he said it had to be named after X.
Can you identify X or the landmark named after him?
[213]
MVPL was founded by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV in 1937. It became a public sector company when India gained independence in 1947.
The company is the sole manufacturer of an iconic product in India & has a fairly cyclical business. The company also exports the product to countries like Thailand, Singapore, Nigeria, Malaysia and South Africa.
Can you identify the product made by the company?
[212]
About 50% of this fruit’s production comes from India, which is also seen from its scientific name Mangifera indica. It was especially famous with the Mughal emperors, Akbar commissioned an orchid of 1,00,000 trees called Lakhi Bagh near Darbhanga, Bihar.
Today companies like Reliance, Essar are some of the largest exporter of it.
Can you identify this fruit?
[211]
In 1970s, Chinni Krishnan saw an opportunity to disrupt the FMCG market in India by introducing smaller pack items targeted towards economically weaker section of the society.
In 1980s, his son C.K. Ranganathan carried the legacy forward by launching a product named after his father. The product disrupted the market, and is something which has become quite common these days.
Can you identify the product that was launched? Or what was unique about it?
[210]
Also known as Taṣawwuf, X is a religious sect associated with mysticism. The name X which is widely known, is thought to be derived from “one who wears wool”. The basic tenet of the sect is to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God.
Can you identify X?
[209]
X is a type of deciduous tree native to Madagascar, Africa & Australia. The tree is also referred to as ‘upside down tree’, due to a local myth, or ‘Tree of Life’ due to many uses of its bark & fruit.
It is also one of the longest living trees on Earth, with an estimated age of 2000-3000 years.
Can you identify this iconic tree?
[208]
The following is a tweet from the FIFA, noting the retirement of a player. The player is the third-highest international goal scorer among active players, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Can you identify him?
Show AnswerSunil Chhetri, the current captain of both Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team.
He will play his last match on 6-Jun in India's second-round World Cup Qualifier match against Kuwait at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata.
Watch Sunil's Message to all his fans on his retirement.
[207]
While the idea behind the portrait was to show a larger than life character & traditions in the 21st century.
However, its striking red colour was immediately linked to symbolism of blood & hell fire. Perhaps due to the history of the subject & his family.
Whose portrait are we discussing?
Show AnswerKing Charles III
The bold portrait, painted by British artist Jonathan Yeo, is the first official portrait of the 75-year-old king since his May 2023 coronation. It was unveiled inside Buckingham Palace on May 14.
Read More about the artist's interpretation of the work.
[206]
X is the South Eastern tip of Luxembourg, and is adjacent to Germany & France. The area mostly comprises of small wine-making villages.
In 1985, an agreement was signed here which made the word X globally famous, and is today considered a symbol of unity of Europe.
Can you identify X?
[205]
Originally called Der Schrei der Natur, this iconic painting was completed in 1893.
There have been many speculations about the inspiration behind the painting, ranging from: the powerful volcanic eruption at Karkatoa, Stratospheric clouds, to admission of the painter’s sister to a mental asylum.
Can you guess the painting?
Show AnswerThe Scream by Edward Munch. The painting has been called an expression of anxiety of the human condition.
While there are a lot of speculations about the inspiration, there is no common consensus.
Read More about the theories.
[204]
The following simple tweet by a ‘financial analyst’ sent the stock prices of meme stocks like GameStop & AMC to shoot up by ~50-70% in a single day.
Can you identify the individual behind the tweet, or his claim to fame?
[203]
Rapidfire round. These are the original names of which famous companies?
1. Pete’s Super Submarines
2. Brand’s Drink
3. Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web
4. Cadabara
5. Backrub
[202]
This word was coined by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene (1976). It has been described as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices, that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures or rituals.
Which word am I talking about which once became one of the biggest rage on the internet?
[201]
X is a measure of protection which is found on personal care products. There is a common misconception that X represents the number of minutes or hours of protection provided.
In reality, X is a relative number for the amount of protection provided, with the product only allowing for 1/X harmful effects. Hence, higher numbers don’t necessarily mean a significant protection.
Can you identify X?
| X | %Protection |
| 2 | 50% |
| 5 | 80% |
| 15 | 93.33% |
| 30 | 96.67% |
| 50 | 98% |
[200]
The English word X comes from the Hindi word chāmpo चाँपो (more familiarly known as champi चंपी).
Which itself ultimately comes from the Sanskrit word chapati (चपति), meaning to press, knead, sooth.
X was introduced in Britain by Sake Dean Mahomed in 1815 and has now become ubiquitous the world over.
Can you identify X?
[199]
This TV show concept was first introduced in Japan in 2001, where it was called X. From it here, it was adopted in the UK in 2005 by the name Y. In 2009, the show was taken to the US under the name Z, where it became a runaway success.
The names of all the three shows contain the name of an apex predator/creature, which refers to position of the panelists on the show, and how they are at the end looking at their own interests as well.
Can you guess which show am I talking about?