Yakṣapraśnāḥ

noreply@blogger.com (CyZfus On Skis) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:31:00 +0000

What feat is common to Peter Jackson, Gore Verbinski, Lee Unkrich, Tim Burton, Rob Marshall, Michael Bay, James Cameron, David Yates, George Lucas and Josh Wheddon?

noreply@blogger.com (CyZfus On Skis) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:14:00 +0000

Since the mid-90s, the Bernardo Award is given to the best artistes in this folk dance influenced by the Italian minuet and the Devadasi art. It derives its name from a Sanskrit word that means circular movement. The men use colorful handkerchiefs and the women use toy fans. Name it.

noreply@blogger.com (CyZfus On Skis) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 07:39:00 +0000

Identify the poet ( a Civil Service guy in north India, like Arvind Kejriwal) :

Sons of Ind, why sit ye idle,
Wait ye for some Deva's aid?
Buckle to, be up and doing!
Nations by themselves are made!

Are ye Serfs or are ye Freemen,
Ye that grovel in the shade?
In your own hands rest the issues!
By themselves are nations made!

noreply@blogger.com (CyZfus On Skis) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:45:00 +0000

"Rajpramukh" was a honorary title conferred by the Govt of India on which erstwhile ruler for about six years ( so that he would have a grandiose title even after the monarchy ended), then the guy retired altogether from public life.

noreply@blogger.com (CyZfus On Skis) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:42:00 +0000

Someone who voluntary engages in one-to-one with the group leader/therapist in a Gestalt group session - what do they have in common with a phrase recurringly used by Amitabh Bachhan on a television programme in India?

Clues: it's also US slang for the main equipment in capital punishment. And these days, the term refers to a multiplayer mode in gaming where players take their turns one by one.

noreply@blogger.com (CyZfus On Skis) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:39:00 +0000

A term from the 1920s that came in from life sciences into the vocabulary of social organisation, it was coined in German by a Norwegian scientist called Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe - he studied defence and aggression in fowl behaviour and the establishing of a dominance hierarchy. What two-word phrase in English is thus derived?

noreply@blogger.com (CyZfus On Skis) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 05:22:00 +0000

Andreas Pavel, an inventor from Brazil, had obtained a patent on his invention ( in entertainment electronics) in 1972 in some countries, but not in several others. About a decade ago, a Japanese manufacturer whom he sued, had to shell out over $10 m. to him and acknowledge that he was the original inventor. Name the item (launched in 1979) or the most widely used brandname under which it sold.

As another year has rolled in...

noreply@blogger.com (CyZfus On Skis) — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 08:47:00 +0000

Longacre Square near Seventh Avenue in New York City underwent a change of name in 1903. A prominent publisher prevailed upon the city's Mayor to rename it because he had opened a new office in that location. What has it been called since ?

A Riddle wrapped in an Enigma

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:52:00 +0000

This term, once applied to the USSR, is now used broadly for the analysis of public statements of any secretive organisation. What term?

From Dickens to Pratchett

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:47:00 +0000

With what literary device could you connect Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe and Terry Pratchett (in that order)?

Lost in Translation

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 08:43:00 +0000

Translating the Christian Bible into which language was once treated as heresy and punishable by death in England?

Sone pe suhaga...

noreply@blogger.com (CyZfus On Skis) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:01:00 +0000

------ ----- ------- became the first town in Asia in 1902 to get hydro electricity, when a hydro-electric power station was built at the Shivanasamudra Falls in Mandya district over the river Kaveri,the station was commissioned by Seshadri Iyer, then Diwan of Mysore. Name the place.

Reserving an Isle seat

noreply@blogger.com (CyZfus On Skis) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 12:08:00 +0000

It's hardly a square kilometer in area, and has coconut trees a-plenty and a solitary lighthouse. Maldivian culture, language etc. but India has retained possession as Ali Rajaa of Kannur (Cannanore) had seized it some centuries ago. So this small ( and its name seems to suggest smallness! ) island has a name that's well-known because it was part of a larger collective name. What's its name?

Ambisinister

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:52:00 +0000

If you met an ambisinister man, what would he be?

Donyi Polo

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:51:00 +0000

Where in the world would you find the religion of Donyi Poloism?

Hint: Rising Sun

PB55

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:18:00 +0000

Invented independently in the US (1902) and Germany (1903). The first German prototype was called the PB55, but the first batch of 3000 was lost at sea while being shipped abroad. What?

8th century scandal

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:18:00 +0000

This book might have remained on the margins of literature, were it not for its translation into Sanskrit: it went on to create a country-wide scandal for its overtly erotic content. The author remained unscathed because of his influence in the royal court. Name this 8th century book and author.

Jack, the Lady Killer

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:04:00 +0000

What is so special about this book?

Ole ! Missus Cid...

noreply@blogger.com (CyZfus On Skis) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:51:00 +0000

Which town in Spain is said to get its name from the wife of the hero El Cid? It has a soccer team too, but that's not surprising!

Brunel's legacy

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:07:00 +0000

Originally built as a steel structure by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, this railway terminus was rebuilt in red brick. Which Indian station?

1565

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:05:00 +0000

If you met the Madermaluco, the Hidalchan, the Cotalmaluco, the Melique Verido and the Ozemelluco ganged up against the Seorao of Narsymga in 1565, where would you be?

Bizenegalia

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 06:33:00 +0000

Nicolo Conti of Italy, the first recorded Eurpoean visitor to this country called it Bizen(e)galia. The Portuguese called it Bisnaga. How do we know it better?

Mae West's Parachute

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 06:04:00 +0000

Among parachuting enthusiasts, what is known as a Mae West?

Hint: A potentially embarrassing but not lethal malfunction.

Loxodontology

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 05:58:00 +0000

If an odontologist studies teeth, what does a loxodontologist study?

Cut the Vegetables

noreply@blogger.com (Ozymandias) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 05:55:00 +0000

A young Catholic priest was about to give his first sermon, but he was very nervous. To boost his confidence, his father cried out from the pews, "They are vegetables, cut them". He would go on to found a school of hypnotism, and cited his father's words as the inspiration. Who was this priest and what was his mother tongue?

Hint: He was defrocked for participating in the French Revolution.