Quiz of the Day - 19 July 2012

A dry question for today's daily quiz.

shovon chakraborty daily quiz question answer

This Indian city got its name from its riverbank that was covered with stones. During the British rule, ships were docked at the bank of the river, flowing by the side of the city, and the riverbank was covered with stones to help dock ships and vessels. A market developed at the bank and its surrounding areas became a major place of economic activity. Colloquially, natives started to call the place by a name, which when translated, meant "a bank covered with stones". The city also hosted the first ever game of modern Polo, which was played between two teams of Britishers. Identify the place.

shovon chakraborty daily dry history quiz question answer

You can answer the question simply by posting comment below this post. You may also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The comments and the answers will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
shovon silchar barak daily dry history quiz question answer
Answer: The place is Silchar, which is situated by the banks of the river Barak in Southern Assam. It is the second largest city in the state, although the difference with the numero uno city Guwahati is quite large.
daily quiz of the day question answer city geography
Congratulations to Debayan Dhar, Md. Zameer, Pranit Kashyap & Anonymous friend for cracking this! 

Quiz of the Day - 20 June 2012

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We travel down the road of history for today's visual question of the daily quiz.
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On the right hand side, you can see the photo of two historical coins, which are approximately 2000 years old.
daily quiz answer
Straightforward question. Tell me the origin of these two coins, i.e. who minted these.
daily quiz
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
daily quiz question answer
Answer: It's answer time. Sorry, for the delay in publishing the answer.
These two coins are from the Mauryan Empire, during the reigns of Chandragupta Maurya. The coins, with symbols of wheel and elephant, are from 3rd century BCE.
Congratulations to Rakesh Shaw, Dhiraj Bora and Sunayana for getting the answer right.

Quiz of the Day - 19 June 2012

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Let's go back to some visual/pictorial quiz questions for the Daily Quiz series.
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On the right hand side, you can see the scanned copy of an old map, which was used for depicting an event that went on to define the course of history. Today's question is based on this event only.
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You'll have to identify the event, being depicted through the map and have to tell us how this went on to alter the course of history.
daily quiz answer
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
daily question answer
Answer: Its the answer time. Both Anindya and Aniruddha were pretty close to the answer, but just missed by a whisker!
The answer is Battle of Plassey. This map shows the Battle Plan and Troop Deployment Plan for the Battle of Plassey.
daily quiz question answer
This 1757 war between Siraj ud-Daulah and the forces of the British East India Company, led by Sir Robert Clive resulted in a decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in South Asia which expanded over much of the Indies for the next hundred years. The battle took place at Palashi, Bengal (Plassey is the anglicised version of Palashi), on the river banks of the Bhagirathi River (shown in the map as Cassembuzar River), about 150 km north of Calcutta, near Murshidabad, then capital of undivided Bengal.

Quiz of the Day - 2 May 2012

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I am sticking to another visual clue for today's quiz, although, I must say that it should be much easier to crack.

This painting by Francis Hayman was done to capture an event which can truly be termed as the turning point in the Indian history. Which even am I talking about? Also, can you name the two main characters in the painting?

Mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: Anonymous is almost correct.
This painting by Francis Hayman depicts the scene after the Battle of Plassey, when Mir Jafar meets a victorious Robert Clive, ostensibly to congratulate each other on a conspiracy well executed. The battle took place in the year 1757 at Plassey, near Murshidabad, the then capital of the Bengal Sultanate. Although, the British East India Company's army were hopelessly outnumbered at 3000 against 35,000, due to a secret pact between the British and Siraj's lieutenants, led by Mir Jafar, Nawab's forces were routed and Siraj had to flee from the battlefield. Mir Jafar, then ascended the throne with support from Clive. For his treachery, even today, Mir Jafar is a reviled figure. In Bengali language, the moniker "Mir Jafar" is synonymous with a treacherous person.

Quiz of the Day - 24 April 2012

They were active during the early 19th Century India

Identify both the persons. 

Their activities were interrelated and both of them had been active in India during William Bentinck's reign as the Governor General of India. One of these men was a prolific exponent in his chosen profession and if the quasi-historical statistics are to be believed, would rank at the very top among his fellow professionals in the entire world. It is argued that his exploits introduced a new word to the English vocabulary.

Please mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

The answer will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: The person on the left side of the photo is Colonel William Henry Sleeman, who had effectively neutralized the threats posed by the thuggee cult in India.
The person on the right hand side is Thug Behram, arguably the most prolific serial killer in the world with 931 murders to his credit according to various sources.

Quiz of the Day - 19 April 2012

She was born as Eve Yvonne Maday de Maros, on July 20, 1913 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, to a Hungarian father, who was a Professor of Sociology at Geneva University and Russian mother, who taught at the Institut Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Her deep and intimate knowledge of Indian mythology, Sanskrit and Vedas was the reason for her being chosen to design "something" by the Indian Government. How do we know her better and what did she design?

Mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

Answer will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answer: Sorry for the delay. Unfortunately caught a heatwave and hence the delay.
Indeed, the answer is Savitri Khanolkar, who had designed the Param Vir Chakra, the highest military award for gallantry in the presence of the enemy. It can be awarded posthumously too. Incidentally, the very first awardee, Major Somnath Sharma, was the elder brother of Mrs. Khanolkar's son-in-law Lt Gen Surinder Nath Sharma.

Quiz of the Day - 20 March 2012

Identify the two great scientists.

This Bengali gentleman, was a scholar in Physics and Biosciences. One of his works in Physics/Communication is thought to be completed earlier than the corresponding/similar ones in the Western Countries. His student, another Indian Physicist, can never be forgotten in the field of Particle Physics and is best known for his work on Quantum Mechanics in the early 1920s.

As usual, send your entries to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.

Answers along with the names of persons with the correct response will be published tomorrow.

Cheers!
Answers: Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose & his student, Prof. Satyen Bose.

Quiz of the Day - 15 March 2012

A straight question. Mr. K. G. Badlani, an Indian Administrative Service Officer, has a unique distinction to his credit. What am I talking about?

Please send your answers to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. Persons with the correct answer will have their names displayed along with the answer tomorrow.

Answer: Mr. K. G. Badlani has the unique distinction of serving as the Prime Minister of the Free State of Dadra & Nagar Haveli for one day.

Dadra & Nagar Haveli was liberated from Portuguese Rulers by people themselves on 2nd August 1954. They established Free Administration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Mr. Badlani was sent by the Govt. of India to act as the Administrator. After Goa was liberated, Mr. Badlani was accorded the status of Prime Minister for a day, so that he could sign the instrument of accession with the then Indian Prime Minister Nehru as an equal. On completion of these formalities, the territory was finally merged in to Union of India in the year 1961.

Persons, who provided the correct answer, are -

1. Sashwoto
2. Piu
3. Aniruddha Dev
4. Suresh N. and
5. T.S. Brahmapuram

Congratulations to you guys! Keep the flag high!!