Qriocity- 2

1. The 'Peregrine Falcon', also known as the 'Duck Hawk' in North America, is a crow-sized falcon which feeds on small mammals and birds including the Blackbird. This feeding habit of the Peregrine Falcon led to the nomenclature of an iconic product of the automotive industry. Name the iconic product.



2. In 1985, small time Hollywood producer Menachem Golam met X's agent Tim Hudson, in a bid to convince X for an audition for James Bond. Golam believed that "X has the looks, the build and the accent to be the next James Bond, and at least he looked better than Tom Selleck. X eventually declined, realizing that 6 months of acting lessons might conflict with his actual day job. He later stated in his autobiography, "The whole place seemed to be full of hustlers and bullshitters, that was not a combination that had ever appealed to me."
Identify X.


3. Identify the significance of the below picture:

4. The picture below inspired an internet meme. Explain.

5. On February 26, 2011, M Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender 'created history' by winning an all new Razzie. Which Razzie was it ??


6. American author Katherine Mayo in her 1927 book pointed to the treatment of India's women, the untouchables, the animals, the dirt, and the character of its nationalistic politicians. The book was written against the demands for self-rule and Indian independence. Mayo singled out the "rampant" and fatally weakening sexuality of its males to be at the core of all problems. The book was so widely criticized that even Gandhi called it a "report of a drain inspector sent out with the one purpose of opening and examining the drains of the country to be reported upon". 30 years later, a landmark Hindi movie borrowed its title from the title of the book. Identify the book.

7. Easy one... Identify the theme of this Time cover.

8. Wallace Hartley's funeral was attended by one thousand people, while 40,000 lined the route of his funeral procession. He is buried in Colne where a 10-foot monument, containing a carved violin at its base, was erected in his honour. Hartley's large Victorian terraced house in West Park Street, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, bears a blue plaque to remind passers-by that this was his home. As of 2001, Hartley's name was still being used when naming new streets and housing in the town of Colne. What is Hartley's claim to fame ??

9. Apart from being Kamal Hassan starrers, what is common to the following movies:

Nayagan, Thevar Magan, Kuruthipunal, Indian, Hey Ram, Swathi Muthyam, Saagar.

10. Oicho Kabu is a traditional Japanese game similar to the BlackJack. The worst hand in the Oicho Kabu, an 8-9-3 has a notorious significance. What significance are we talking about ??

Qriocity- 1

Hello folks, here's a modest attempt at tickling the ever qrious Q-bone all you guys have. Hope you enjoy the questions !!

1. "Waha nukeele patthar nikle hai, to un par to koi baith nahi sakta. To zameen ko samtal karna padega, baithne layak banana padega. "
The above lines are known to be the source of a great controversy. Identify the speaker and the alleged context.

2. On his maiden ship voyage, he made an observation that whichever way the ship's wheel was spun, one of the spokes always came in direct line with a clutch, which would eventually hold it. He turned this observation into a hugely successful invention. Identify the inventor and his invention.

3. Connect:

4. Sri Yukteshwar Giri, Sri Mahavtar Babaji, Sri Paramhansa Yogananda, Sri Lahiri Mahasaya and Goddess Lakshmi finally made it on ‘ X’. There were also talks to include ‘Y’ on ‘X’, but fearing reprecussions, the people in charge decided against it. Identify X and Y.

5. What is the significance of the following lines ??
" Chaar baans chaubees guz, angul asht pramaan,Taa oopar Sultan hai, Mat chooke Chauhan."


6. A member of the Bedfordshire Yeomantry in World War II, E.W. Swanton got captured by the Japanese in Singapore, and served 3 years as a POW. Swanton had a book with him which proved to be immensely popular amongst the prisoners. The book was badly torn due to heavy usage, but was repeatedly 'repaired' by the prisoners using 'rice paste.' The book is still preserved in a London Museum. Identify the book.


7. Connect the following pics:

8. Connect the following pics:

9. What is located at the following address: ?

1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York.

10. In the world of theater, what do we commonly refer to as the Fourth Wall and the Fifth Wall ??

Chalo Patna.....!!!!

Gurgaon, 2107 hrs, May 05, 2011

Dhruba: My father’s getting transferred to Ranchi.

Me: Great... Now please have your marriage take place at Ranchi. Probably then I shall have a chance of visiting the place again.

Dhruba: Sure dude, Ranchi it shall be, the day is not far away.

Delhi Airport, 1015 hrs, May 06, 2011

Jet Airways female: Sorry, our flight to Patna is overbooked, we don’t have any seats left.

Me and Sister: Are you out of your mind?? We ain’t here to catch a bus, we are here for a bloody aircraft.

----------Half an hour of fighting with the Jet officials and enquiries for alternatives---------

Jet female: Our two best options are, same flight for tomorrow, or an immediate flight to Ranchi and subsequent surface to Patna.

We (after few minutes of deliberations): We shall take the Ranchi flight.

Barely 4 days back, we were sitting in a theatre and treating ourselves to Lara Dutta’s miseries due to an altered journey in Chalo Dilli. Now, with us being subjected to a “Chalo Patna” situation, the next few hours did not seem to be too exciting.

However, it was Ranchi, the place where had grown up and the place which we loved. The excitement for a few minutes which we were going to spend in Ranchi, was good enough to beat the anguish over the 9 hours drive which would be following it. So after a delayed departure, we finally landed at the Birsa Munda Domestic Airport at 1330 hrs. Quite surprising that this was only the 2nd time I had landed at the Ranchi Airport, the first apparently when I was less than a year old. And why would I, almost all our journeys in 'those' days used to take place to Patna, and the good old Hatia-Patna Express was good enough for that. After an hour of chaos and confusion at the Airport, we were finally given a taxi which would take us to home...oh wait.. weren’t we already at home, at Ranchi ???

The drive started and it was after 6.5 years that I had stepped onto the Ranchi soil and it felt great. The first place of recognition was the Hinoo Golchakkar, the Temple, and the Sweet shop next to it. As we proceeded from the Golchakkar to the H.E.C. Main Gate, we realized that the renowned Chola Tailors was still holding its place while the petrol pump next to it had closed down. Birsa Chowk looked exactly the same and the entrance to the road leading to Hatia carried an arch reading “Hatia Railway Station”. We also spotted a new restaurant at the HEC Main Gate, and we just managed to convince the driver to take us for a brief round inside the HEC colony.

And thus we re-entered the cool, calm and serene world of Heavy Engineering Corporation. Much to our disappointment, the “jad se toot aped aur talaab (uprooted tree and pond)”  were nowhere to be seen. (Don’t break your heads, only me and my sisters can understand what this means !!!)

The huge football field on the left, the CD Type and E Type Quarters on the right, all seemed the same as they were 7 years back. There was a Mahindra showroom just opposite to the Russian Hostel Entrance, which itself was now converted to the Jharkhand Vidhaan Sabha. The roads too were in pretty much the same condition as I remembered them to be, and I could almost see myself cycling on them. We could spot numerous small blue coloured tents on our right as we crossed VVM, and why not, it was a Friday, the ‘Haat’ had to be there.  The driver then pointed us towards a bunch of floodlights, belonging to an International Cricket Stadium being constructed next to the Plant Hospital. Wow.... I didn’t know that!!!

We then took a round of the once-esteemed F-Type Colony and trust me, almost 7 years and you do expect some changes. The place didn’t seem to have any!!! In spite of F-29, our residence for over 5 years appearing pretty shabby, it was great to look at it after such a long time. The ruins of the broken boundary wall were still holding forte. We could also spot the Sector-3 Market and the “Rajesh Cycle Store” at its front.

For some strange reason, we did not press the driver to take us around E-3 and the Sector-2 market. Probably we were overflowing with gratitude for the guy for showing us around F-29, and requesting him for further deviations from his route would have been asking for too much. On our way back, we could also spot some yellow and brown St. Thomas buses just before the HEC Main Gate, dunno if they were the school-owned ones or HEC facilities.

The driver was also kind enough to pin-point MSD’s bungalow on the by-pass road. Other landmarks which we crossed on our way out were IIM Ranchi, BIT Mesra and Ormanjhi Zoo. It was quite pleasing to see how useful the by-pass road was, for taking people from the HEC Colony to once distant areas like Kadru, Morabadi, Bariatu etc.

An obvious change from my past visit was that majority of the vehicles on road carried the JH no. Plates, instead of the BR ones. Jharkhand was relatively a new state back in 2004, and majority of the vehicles still sported the Bihar reg. Plates. Also, for a place where the maximum spotted cars used to be Fiat, Ambassador and Maruti 800, there were quite a few SUVs to be seen. Government muscle, I suppose.

During the drive back, NH33 underwent a major transition as soon as we crossed the Jharkhand border. NH 33 in Jharkhand wasn’t terrible, but wasn’t great either. The road throughout was narrow enough to be called single-lane, and overtaking always seemed to be a dangerous option. Also, the roads were undergoing construction in a few places, making travelling not the most convenient job around. As soon as we entered Bihar, NH 33 pleasingly widened and the road condition substantially improved. It remained so for quite a while, after which it narrowed down again to a single lane mode. Whatever, Nitish Kumar definitely seems to be doing a better job in this department when compared to his Jharkhand counterparts.

We finally reached Patna at midnight, a good 9 hours after we left Ranchi. Our visit to Ranchi was restricted to barely 30 minutes, but as some say, good surprises do come in small packages.
To add to it, as much as we enjoyed the short Ranchi visit, Jet Airways.... UP YOURS !!!

Good old Ranchi definitely requires an extended visit (hope you are listening Dhruba).... ,
till then... JOHAAR !!!

a miDnigHt Of madNess & Insanity

It was Destiny. Fairy tales are just not meant to have a sad end, in fact their endings form part of several mortals' dreams. Like a king thrust with the mantle of his regime early in his life, winning battle after battle, coming close to the One he has alway dreamt of, falling and biting the dust, and finally clinching it in his own backyard, in front of his own people. From the day India bowed out from the Caribbean in 2007, there have been experts calling for the veteran's heads. Heads did fall, but Sachin Tendulkar's stayed High and Mighty. Led by a man they call Midas, India fought batting collapses, opposition bowlers, their own bowlers, the best teams of the tournament and finally became the World Champions.

A few musings from the 45 days extravaganza:
1. Absolutely loved the way Gary Kirsten erupted after Dhoni hit the winning six. For a man who is not an Indian and is not known for a vibrant nature, this reaction was hugely wonderful. Wonder what it would have looked like, had Allan Donald chosen to run better.

2. For all those who criticized Dhoni's captaincy before the finals, kindly realize that his shoes were not the easiest to fit in. For a bowling attack which always seemed to be 3 bowlers short, he did a wonderful job juggling them and making the most of his limited resources.

3. Fine we have won the World Cup, but something needs to be drastically done regarding our bowling attack. Can't see Munaf and Nehra being a permanent feature of our seam attack. Bhajji better start getting his wicket-taking knack back, or else the lone spinner slot might very well be R Ashwin's.

4. Not just a Great Gambler, but Dhoni is also the most candid speaker around. From reprimanding the batters for playing for the crowds, to calling Raina a technically more sound bat than Phus-Phus Pathan, he almost poured his heart out after the finals, revealing his apprehensions regarding the storm he would have had to face had we not won.

5. Sourav Ganguly as a commentator...good and will definitely improve. Pretty similar to Wasim Akram, the speaking skills do need some polishing, but the content is definitely impressive (the importance of having good minds in the commentary box further cemented). To add to it, the pains of being a losing finalist became more and more visible as India marched on into the knockout stages.

6. It's a wonder how performances change people's perceptions towards you. Yuvraj did lose some weight, but not so much for him to be termed 'lean and fit' by the end of the tournament.

7. As much as I hate to say this, Ricky Ponting take a bow. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Ponting played one of his finest innings at the Motera. It was good enough to deserve a victory, just like a dozen from the Master were, but sadly for him, the others weren't good enough to support him.

8. In the group stage, India's campaign seemed to be one of a bunch of spoil brats overspeeding at traffic signals and getting busted. The turning point came when Yuvraj hit a cracking boundary off Tait just after Dhoni's dismissal. What followed next was India's first real fightback of WC 2011, courtesy Yuvraj and Raina. Australia were down and a mental block had been removed. India had beaten the man and his team which had denied it glory exactly 8 years back. The World Cup 2011 has half won on that day.

9. South Africa is never going to win a World Cup.

10. Was never a huge fan of Kohli, inspite of his vastly impressive one-day exploits of late. But the cool head which stood up to score 35 in a situation which could hav....... okay fine, actually his statement regarding Sachin carrying the country for 21 years has made me his lifelong fan. Hail Kohli !!

11. Spare a thought for Gautam Gambhir. The guy has topscored in both our World Cup victories and won a MoM for neither. Never mind, Rahul Dravid never minded, and so won't Gautam Gambhir, the World Cup was eventually won !!!

12. Was there indeed a sinister angle towards Gavaskar mentioning the Pakistani liking towards Mumbai after the Ind-Aus QF ??

13. Hate saying this, but the dropped catches, the delay in taking the Power Play and the snail paced Misbah innings did raise doubts about the sanctity of the game.

14. This one was a World Cup of revenges. Sri Lanka 1996, Australia 2003, Sri Lanka 2007, all taken care of. Who the hell said that the feeling of vengeance is an empty one ??

15. The progress of India and Sri Lanka to the World Cup finals this year were pretty similar to that of Australia and India respectively from the 2003 edition. Sri Lanka except for one match were on a roll, while India had their share of bumpy rides. Fortunately, the fates too ended up being similar.

16. Anyone out there who condemns the madness associated with cricket should have seen the streets after the Final. When else have the 1.2 billion of this country been given a single reason to erupt in celebrations ??
Every success for someone is normally associated with a failure for someone else. Not this one, this country on April 02, 2011 had only winners and no losers.

17. And lastly, the Indian Freedom Fighters from upstairs must be thanking the Indian Cricket Team. The scenes they would have imagined on the Indian streets At the Stroke of the Midnight Hour after Independence never happened. They instead took place 63 years and 8 months after Independence, at the mad-night of April 02, 2011..... when India was crowned the World Champion of Cricket.
CHEERS TO THE WORLD CHAMPIONS !!!

A Few Old Men !!

4..3..2..1.. Countdown Over...!!!
It's that time which the whole cricketing fraternity waits for with bated breath. There is the IPL and there is the T20 World Cup, but now it's time for the epitome of all cricketing victories. It's time for the Fifty Overs World Cup Tournament. The World Cup over the last 36 years has brought jubilation to a few, and disappointment to many more. If the mighty Lloyd wept in 1983, Imran in 1992 had the moment which many dream of, but few achieve. His protege Inzy wasn't so forunate, and so was the case with the great Lara, both falling without a whimper in 2007.

Come 2011 and the World Cup returns to the heartland of the game. As always, we shall see some new faces and some old, braving the heat of the tournament. But more than ever earlier, this edition there seem to be A Few Old Men, whose performances will shape the way this tournament shall progress.

1. Ricky Ponting (36 years, 352 matches)
A man we all love hating. Still, there is no denying the fact that the World Cup has been his playground for quite some time now. Few men can boast of a career comprising of 4 WC finals, 3 of which won, 2 as a captain.
Ponting might have taken truckloads of criticism for his leadership, but there is one thing he does better than countless others i.e. Lead by Performance. He is the reason why "140" still pinches every Indian cricket fan. Inspite of Australia having seen some low times recently, it would take a fool to rule out their chances at the WC for one simple reason- they are Team Australia.The Aussie One-Day side surely is a pack of wolves which knows the rules of the Jungle better than many others. On form Shane Watson might be their best man today, but certainly, in the long run of the tournament, Ricky Ponting could be the one making the final difference.

2. Jacques Kallis (35 years, 307 matches)

The Grand Old Man of South African Cricket. The cricketing world has seen great all rounders like Botham, Hadlee, Imran and Kapil Dev, but none have been mentioned in the same breath as the legendary Sir Gary  Sobers..well...almost. If SRT has long been hailed as the Bradman of this era, the new generation has finally found an answer to Sobers in Jacques Kallis. Few men today play with a bigger heart and greater passion than Kallis. Kallis infact does something that even Sobers did not do...bowl ten overs of medium pace and bat as high as No. 3. From the highs and heartbreaks of the late 90s to the lows of the match fixing storm to the resurgence under Graeme Smith, Kallis has stood like a rock for South African cricket. 

Perhaps the only blemish in Kallis' impeccable record has been his failure to accelerate when required. However, his performances over the last 2 years reveal otherwise. Since Feb 2009, he has scored at an average of 52.5 and a strike rate of 86.45, and we have still not talked about his exploits in the IPL.

Ever since Allan Donald failed to run, the "Choker" tag has had a stranglehold over the Proteans. Nobody knows it better than Kallis that not just for him, but for the good of future generations of South African cricket, the "choker" tag has to be removed. For an upbeat Protean team, this might very well be their biggest and best chance to do that.

3. Sachin Tendulkar (38 years, 444 matches)
And finally the biggest of the breed. No body wants it as bad as him. India has always been a land of brilliant masters of the willow, and there is no denying the fact that he has stood tallest amongst them all. If the unbeaten 200 was the prettiest piece in his crown of jewels, his baggage of glories shall always remain incomplete without the WC trophy. From coming within sniffing distance of the elusive cup, to suffering the ignominy of a first round exit, his unsuccessful attempts at the WC have been more than my attempts at CAT (quote courtesy DJC). The wise men all called for his head 4 years back, when a lowly Bangladesh and forever-nemesis Sri Lanka kicked us out. Heads did fall, but his stayed high and mighty, fighting bowlers, age and injuries alike. Speculations were often made about his retirement from the game, but he kept doing what he does best, scoring runs. By 2010 it was clear that the Master was not going to leave without another shot at the World Cup. As they talk about wine, this man too has gotten better with age. Till Feb 2009, SRT batted with an average of 44.05 and a strike rate of 85.41. The last 24 months have seen him score 1196 runs from 22 innings; at an astonishing average of 62.94 and a strike rate of 98.35. Not forgetting that him being an opener does not give him many unbeaten innings to boost up his average, and there haven't been any Bang/Zim featuring in those innings. His hunger for the Cup has kept him running, and expectations have seldom been higher. Although he himself has not made public any retirement plans, as always, there have been others talking on his behalf. As much as I want him to play forever, a match-winning century at Wankhede on Apr 3, 2011 might just be the perfect way for the great man to sign things off.

Apart from these greats, there will be many others taking their last shots at the elusive Cup. Though the sting might have gone down a bit, the wily old fox Murali still has enough in him to bamboozle batters on subcontinent pitches. I also dare to mention the widely under-rated Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, the lone man standing in possibly the worst years of West Indian cricket. How much would I love to see the Windians come back to their maverick ways. The Windies have had too many greats to boast of, and not many in the land of Lara, Richards and Sobers would talk about Chanderpaul. Probably Pollard has garnered more attention in his short career than Chanderpaul. Still, he has been one man standing tall amongst the ruins of West Indian cricket, and at 36 years, coming back again to where it all started 17 years back, he would definitely like to make the most of this final stab.
Without doubt, there will be only one or maybe even none of these greats lifting the World Cup trophy 2 months from now. Let's all realize that as much the presence of this trophy would elevate these men's glittering careers; there would be no amount of demeaning and disrespect in case the trophy is not won.
Here's wishing them all a very good luck.. .CHEERS TO THE BEST OF OUR TIMES !!!