Q & A
Page 30
Nawathe’s 15 jackpot-winning questions:
1. Which is the largest key on a computer keyboard?
a) Enter b) Back space c) Number lock d) Space bar
Correct answer was d
2. If you visit the Tirupati temple which state would you be in?
a) Karnataka b) Andhra Pradesh c) Tamil Nadu d) Kerala
Correct answer was b
3. Who composed the bhajan ‘Pag ghungroo bandh Meera naachi re’?
a) Tukaram b) Surdas c) Meerabai d) Chaitanya
Correct answer was c
4. Which angle is formed by the hour and minute hands of a clock when it’s exactly 3 o’clock?
a) 4° b) 90°c) 360°d) 180°
Correct answer was b
5. What name is given to the zodiac sign usually represented by a lion?
a) Cancer b) Taurus c) Leo d) Pisces
Correct answer was c
6. Which Asian Games gold medallist played Bheema in the TV serial ‘Mahabharatha’?
a) Bhim Singh b) Praveen Kumar c) Dara Singh d) Pangal Singh
Correct answer was b
7. What was the first name of the wife of the last Viceroy of India?
a) Diana b) Sara c) Elizabeth d) Edwina
Correct answer was d
8. Which of these do not reproduce by laying eggs?
a) Whales b) Hens c) Crocodiles d) Snakes
Correct answer was a
9. The rivers Brahmaputra and Sutlej originate near which source in the upper Himalayas?
a) Gangothri b) Siachen c) Manasasarovar d) Yamunanatri
Correct answer was c
10. Who is the President of Pakistan?
a) Musharraf b) Ghulam Ishaq Khan c) Rafiq Tarar d) Farooq Ahmed Leghari
Correct answer was a
HERE HE USED HIS FIRST LIFELINE ‘AUDIENCE POLL’. BUT HE GOES AGAINST THE AUDIENCE POLL.
11. In one-day cricket how many fielders can stay outside the 15 yard circle for the first 15 overs?
a) 3 b) 4 c) 5 d) 2
Correct answer was d
12. Who was the world’s first woman Prime Minister?
a) Indira Gandhi b) Golda Meir c) Srimavo Bandarnaike d) Margaret Thatcher
Correct answer was c
13. In the Mahabharatha, who was Draupadi’s twin brother?
a) Parikshit b) Drupada c) Dhristadyumna d) Ikshvaku
Correct answer was c
14. Which Indian state has the highest percentage of Hindus?
a) Uttar Pradesh b) Madhya Pradesh c) Himachal Pradesh d) Orissa
Correct answer was c
HERE HE USED HIS SECOND LIFELINE ‘50:50’
HE ALSO USED HIS THIRD LIFELINE ‘PHONE A FRIEND’ – BUT THE FRIEND DIDN’T KNOW IT EITHER
15. Who among these does the Indian Constitution permit to take part in the proceedings of Parliament?
a) Solicitor General b) Attorney General c) Cabinet Secretary d) Chief Justice
Correct answer was b
Questions for Discussion
1. Ram has been described as an ‘Everyman Underdog’. Is he someone you might like to meet? What would you talk about?
2. Q & A shows a side of India we don’t often see or read about. Do you think this is true? What makes the book so atmospheric?
3. Were you able to guess any of the questions before the end of the chapter? What other question might you have asked, if you were writing it?
4. Ram is infinitely resourceful and versatile. How does he show it? What does this say about the rigid social and religious structures in India?
5. Why is the Bollywood actress so tragic? How far does she reflect the darker side of celebrity lifestyle? What is Ram’s attitude to celebrity culture?
6. Ram has also been described as a Forrest Gump figure. Do you agree?
7. What do you think the author’s underlying message is? Is it a very radical one?
8. How sweet is this story? And how sour?
9. Who is your favourite character? Which is your favourite episode?
10. Do you think this story could be set in any deprived area of the world – in London? New York? Mexico? What makes it especially Indian, and what makes it universal?
SECTION 3: READ ON
Other works set in Mumbai’s underprivileged backgrounds:
Fiction:
Love and Longing in Bombay: Stories, by Vikram Chandra (Faber, 1998)
Baumgartner’s Bombay, by Anita Desai (Heinemann, 1988)
Bombay Ice, by Leslie Forbes (Weidenfeld, 1998)
A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry (Faber, 1997)
Bombay, Meri Jaan: Writings on Mumbai, Edited by Jerry Pinto, Naresh Fernandes (Penguin Books India, 2003)
The Death of Vishnu, by Manil Suri (Bloomsbury, 2001)
Show Business, by Shashi Tharoor (Picador, 1994)
Bombay Time, by Thrity Umrigar (Picador USA, 2001)
Non-fiction:
Maximum City, by Suketu Mehta (Review, 2005)
Rediscovering Dharavi: Stories from Asia’s Largest Slum, by Kalpana Sharma (Penguin Books India, 2000)
Web Detective
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay
A comprehensive history of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), including descriptions of the city’s geography, demographic, culture and media
http://www.himalmag.com/may2001/review.html
An insightful review providing background on some of the issues tackled in Rediscovering Dharavi: Stories from Asia’s Largest Slum by author Kalpana Sharma
http://www.searchindia.com/search/bombay-pictures/dharavi.html
A photo depicting the squalid living conditions in Asia’s largest slum located within rock-throw distance of the metropolis’ downtown
http://icmr.icfai.org/casestudies/catalogue/Leadership%2Oand%2OEntrepreneurship/LDENO28.htm
A feature on the Mumbai Tiffin Carrier service, or ‘dabbawalas’ in Hindi, which was noted by Forbes magazine as one of the world’s foremost entrepreneurial successes – in the same league as multinationals Motorola and GE
http://kbc2.indya.com/index.html
The official website of Kaun Banega Crorepati (literally, ‘Who Will Become a Millionaire’), the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
http://kbc2.indya.com/kbc1/kbc1–crorepati.html
A link to the mini-biography of the only jackpot winner in the Indian Millionaire history
http://abc.go.com/primetime/millionaire/showhighlights/players.html
A list of the jackpot winners on ABC’s original Millionaire
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000821/bio
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0451321/bio
Biographies of Bollywood superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan, cited in the pages of Q & A
http://www.indialawinfo.com/bareacts/ipc.html#–Toc 496765206
Link to Indian Penal Code sections 330 & 331 cited by Ram Mohammad Thomas’ lawyer upon demanding his release from the police station