Fiona Fernandez tests your knowledge of Mumbai with this fiendish quiz you cannot Google
Collage/Uday Mohite
EASY SINGLES
(Total: 20 points)
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1. Spot the odd one out: Bombaim, Bom Bahia, Boa Vida and Boa Via. (1 mark)
2. Nearly two decades ago when the famous Amul hoardings decided to turn 'topical', which famous Bombay obsession was the first to be featured across the city? (1 mark)
3. Which billionaire techie-turned-bureaucrat finished third in the fabled IIT Mood Indigo quiz event in 1979? (1 mark)
4. The runaway success of this 1969 film and its leading actor once resulted in the Bombay University prescribing a textbook with an essay on the actor's charisma and the BBC made a film about the actor. Who was the actor and what was the film? (1/2 mark each)
5. “He just evolved out of the numerous people and the faces that I saw around me.” Which city observer uttered these famous words and who is the “he”? (1/2 mark each)
6. When a popular club opened its doors to the city's rich and famous in 1833, a new church in the neighbour-hood displaced St Thomas's (Cathedral) in Fort as the fashionable to-be-seen location for mass. What is the name of this still-standing church? (1 mark)
7. Which iconic building still standing in the Fort area was criticised by The Bombay Builder, a publication that was around in the 1800s, as 'a decayed old beau of the last century, whose wig sits awry and whose false teeth are falling out.' (1 mark)
8. Which local Mumbai community refers to its daily earnings as "kurga"? (1 mark)
9. According to food historian Colleen Taylor Sen, Queen Victoria's grandson George V was especially fond of beef curry served with a particular city favourite. What is the ingredient? (1 mark)
10. What occurrence in the late 1800s and early 1900s led to the eventual closure of Bombay's playhouses (venues to stage theatre)?
(1 mark)
11. Built 20 feet taller than its more popular neighbour, this building was inaugurated fully electrified, more than 20 years before it was introduced to the city at large. Name this landmark. (1 mark)
12. In 1975, the New York Times ran a Page 1 mention of a Hindi film that had become controversial. What was the film, and why was it in the news? (1 mark)
13. This actress had a huge crush on Shashi Kapoor, and would save all her pocket money to buy his black-and-white photographs every week from a vendor, near her school at Grant Road. He'd visit their family home, and autograph them for her. Years later, they went on to act together. Who is she? (1 mark)
14. Dilip Kumar had suggested that Mehboob Khan cast this particular actress for the role that Nargis was slated to play in Mother India. Who was she? (1 mark)
15. Where was the first theatre set up for the entertainment of the native elite and the English in 1750? (1 mark)
16. Which major Gymkhana in Mumbai does not participate in the Kanga League despite having a cricket facility? (1 mark)
17. What colonial remnant imported from Ireland will you find in an old building built in 1903 by industrialist Dorabji Tata on DN Road? (1 mark)
18. 'Cheat' and 'Victim of Circumstance' were some of the terms given for what common practice seen in Mumbai? (1 mark)
19. For which popular annual city celebration (unique to Mumbai and that continues till date) would the East India Company run special trains to the nearest station due to the rush of worshippers? (1 mark)
20. Her accented English while reading The News or hosting the 'Glaxo Bonny Baby Contest', made which famous Mumbaikar a household name in the early days of Indian television? (1 mark)
DOUBLE TROUBLE
(Questions 21 to 27 have two-part answers, each carrying a point each. Total: 14)
21. This celebrated photographer and famous celebrity, who is no more, broke a self-imposed tradition of never covering a wedding to shoot the wedding of a cousin, who is a famous face on Mumbai's social circuit. Name the two. (1 mark each)
22. 'He'd poke fun at everybody, and everything, in sight (most of all himself). He could be anything in fact, except boring.' Which adman said this to refer to which of his creations? (1 mark each)
23. This couple slipped in and out of Bombay in 1969, living in room 347 of a famous hotel and eating only brown rice and brown bread, before treating themselves to hot Indian curry when their diet regimen ended. Who are the two and where did they stay? (1 mark each)
24. “It has great significance in our culture. It is a part of every ritual. It stands for sensuality, power, colour, taste. It is also one of the oldest weapons used...; the field of ___ was discovered, not recreated.” Which director said this about a defining element in one of his films? (1 mark each)
25. This season saw Hardik and Krunal Pandya turn out for Mumbai Indians. But the Bombay team of the early 1980s went one up on them and had two sets of cricketing brothers in the same playing XI. Who were they? (1 mark to each pair.Total: 2)
26. This former Test cricketer, often considered to have been unfairly treated by the selectors, came from a well-to-do family that also owned a company that made ice cream. Who is he and what was the ice cream brand called? (1 mark each)
27. The Russians took which popular Indian movie from the 1950s on two expeditions to which location? (1 mark for film, 1 mark for location)
POWER PLAY
(Questions 28 to 33 carry two marks each. Total: 12 marks)
28. Which intoxicant was dubbed as “the shame and scandal of man” by the then Bombay Governor, who disapproved soldiers of the company from consuming it? (2 marks)
29. Which of India's Test opening pairs was born at this Hospital in Chowpatty? (1 mark each for players)
30. Known as 'The Giant Striding Motorman', this Mumbai boy was probably the only athlete to have defeated Flying Sikh Milkha Singh to second place in his favourite 400 meters at the Nationals. Who was this unsung Bombay hero? (2 marks)
31. This former Mumbai politician and one-time sitting corporator, who became the city's mayor in the 1980s, came to Mumbai from UP and started life in the metro as a doodhwallah (milkman) in the eastern suburbs. Who are we referring to? (2 marks)
32. mid-day ran a daily review of Mandira Bedi's wardrobe and dress sense during the 2003 World Cup for the first time. What was it called? (2 marks)
33. Where did Sachin Tendulkar play his solitary inter-collegiate match? (2 marks)
SLOG OVERS
(Total: 14 marks)
34. Once a port, this extended suburb of Mumbai is regarded by some scholars to be Binda, the historian Ptolemy's name for Bassein Creek. Along with two neighbouring villages, it was given on a 999-year lease to Ramchandra Lakshmanji of Bombay in 1870. Name the suburb and the two villages. (1 mark each. Total 3)
35. When they were first installed, this public utility was called Crawford Fireflies. What was this utility? And why was it so-called? (2 marks)
36. When this famous Bombay batsman played his first Test for India, one of his teammates was his college coach from St Xavier's. Who are the two? (2 marks each. Total 4)
37. What connects a Strepsils TV advertisement from the 1980s and an art deco cinema in SoBo? (4 marks)
— With inputs from Clayton Murzello
Send your answers to bombayquiz@mid-day.com or mail them to ‘mid-day Infomedia Ltd, First Floor, Peninsula Centre, Dr SS Rao Road, Parel East, Mumbai 400012’ on or before June 28. The correct answers and names of winners will be announced in mid-day’s July 4 edition. Winner will be chosen by draw of lots in case of a tie. The mid-day editorial team will be the final adjudicator. Employees of mid-day, Radio City, and the Dainik Jagran Group are not eligible to participate.
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