QC posted on 08/29/2006

1. He was born on March 21, 1916 in Bihar. Born as the second son of his parents, Paigambar Khan and Mitthan, he was christened as Qamaruddin initially, before his grandfather uttered X after looking at the newborn. His ancestors were court musicians in the princely state of Dumraon in Bihar. He received his training under his uncle, the late Ali Baksh 'Vilayatu'. X was perhaps single handedly responsible for making the Y a famous classical instrument. His chief mode of transport was cycle rikshaw.He was a pious Shia Muslim and also, like many Indian musicians regardless of creed, a devotee of Goddess Sarawati. His concept of music was very beautiful and his vision, superb. He once said, "Even if the world ends, the music will still survive" and he often said, "Music has no caste". He died recently. Who is X and what is the instrument?
a. X is Ustad Bismillah Khan (his grandfather uttered "Bismillah") and the instrument is the Shehnai.

2. Reliance Communications has announced a tie-up with this company to provide 16 animated video shots (10 in 3-D) which are made exclusively for mobile devices. Name the company.
a. Disney.

3.
Identify this lady (refer: pic1)
a. Florence Nightingale. A previously unseen photograph of the lady is going up on display to mark the 150th anniversary of her return from the Crimean War.

4. Ranbaxy changed the name of their fin biz arm. What is it called? What was its former name?
a. Religare is the new name and Fortis is the former name.

5. Its tagline is "Now you're flying smart." and its frequent flyer program is called WorldPerks. Which airline?
a. Northwest Airlines which had recently detained 12 Indian passengers at Amsterdam.

6. Tata tea has recently ventured into the bottled water market by acquiring a stake in ______. Fill in the blank.
a. Energy Brands. Its main brand is the Glaceau brand of enhanced water beverages. Glaceau has 3 main product lines - Vitaminwater, Fruitwater and Smartwater.

7. Two institutions have entered into a pact to offer executive development programmes through virtual classrooms. Through this alliance, working executives will be able to undergo management education in the weekends. Name the two institutions.
a. IIM - Calcutta and NIIT.

8. Nix, Hydra, _________. Complete.
a. Charon. These are the 3 moons of Pluto, which was recently reclassified as a dwarf planet (i.e. lost its status as a true planet)

9. GE Money India, the consumer finance unit of the General Electric Company (GE), on recently announced that it has signed up X as its first ever brand-ambassador of India. Who is X?
a. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

10.
Connect a company or brand with the two pics (refer pic2 and pic3) and this line - Dark Just Got Fun!
a. m&m
Pic2 is of Edward Munch.
Pic3 is 'The Scream' painting done by him which was stolen from Munch museum on August 22, 2004.
'Dark just got fun!' is new print ad campaign started by M&M. In this Red (M&M character) is shown playing hopscotch in the background of the painting. m&m has announced a reward of 2 million m&m dark chocolate candies for the return of the painting.

Bonus Question (2 points)
Q. In 1887, a German physiologist Adolf Eugen Fick constructed and fitted the first successful X. Earlier ideas of X were suggested by Leonardo Da Vinci and Rene Descartes. Initially fitted on rabbits, these were made from heavy brown glass and were 18-21mm in diameter. They became much more convenient for use after Dr. William Feinbloom introduced X made from polymethyl methacrylate. What is X?
A. X - Contact lens