Myriad people. Few similarities.
Kovakkai, Kongunadu and Quizzing.

Friday, February 6, 2009

For Old Times' Sake

From our seasoned quizzer, Mr.Senthil :)

"Hello Gang,

 Here are a set of questions to break the monotony while we wait for another meeting!

 Guys who were part of “Winner buys Dinner” night would know the answers to three of the questions below, for others I hope it is a challenge.

 For guys and girls who have difficulty with Tamil, “Go get a translator or yield.”"

-Senthil


1. Funda?


2.Funda?

3.The Namboodiris of Kerala followed an ancient but cruel practice called “Prashtu” or “Brashtu.”  Curiously, long after this practice became redundant in Kerala, it was the cause of shaping the history of Tamil Nadu. How?

4. Connect


5. Connect Gundu Rao, Southern Railway, Dharapuram, and a water bubble.

6. Connect



7. Connect again. :)

 

Guess away people!

7 comments:

Umesh said...

6th one:It is vikram.His original name is Kennedy.He studied In Montford school!

Umesh said...

6th one is vikram.He studied in Montford school.His real name is Kennedy

Aravind \m/ said...

Whoa! Now i know what being clueless actually is!

dagalti said...

1) 100th movie
2)

The Women - no men
LoA - no women
Andha NaaL - no songs
Pushpak - no dialogues

3) Brashta is to excommunicate. MGR's father was excommunicated which is why he family came to TN.
4) Trichy ? : Vaali is from Srirangam, BHEL is in Trichy, Kalam did PUC in St.Joseph's,the rope...(?)
5) Nagesh - neerkkumizhi

6) Didn't know..others have guessed

7) Elihu Yale - Governor Madras who allegedly helped himself generously from the coffers and was booted out.
The the coat of arms of Yale U.
The legislative assembly connex not sure. Yale Univ. invited TN CM Annadurai on a sub-fellowship (?)

Nice one !

Jalabulajanx said...

isn't vikram's real name kenny?

SenthilSpeak said...

I saw the desperation on Darth Nazgul’s comment and hastened to post the answers 



1. Each one was the 100th movie of an actor. The movies clockwise from bottom left are
a. Navarathiri – Sivaji Ganesan’s 100th movie (Inspiration for Dasavatharam)
b. Oli Vilakku – MGR’s 100th movie (Inspiration to himself to make more movies I guess!)
c. Rosappoo Ravikkaikkari – Sivakumar’s 100th movie (This one has a great song on Hindustani base)
d. Rajapaarvai – Kamal’s 100th movie. Had great songs but was a flop on the first run, picked up slowly during the second run and considered a cult classic now.

2. Each one is a movie “Without Something” - From top left
a. Lawrence of Arabia – Movie without any credited female cast.
b. The Women (1939) – Movie without any male cast.
c. Pushpak Viman or Pesum Padam – Movie without dialogues.
d. Andha Naal – First Tamil movie without songs or stunt sequences.

3. This one is a toughie so let me explain in detail: In Kerala, Namboodiri caste women found to be involved in extramarital affairs were questioned by a committee (Smartha Sabha). They go to the extent denying food, water, beating and other means to bring out the names of males involved. If they were from upper caste, they risked banishment from their caste and exile from their land and if lower caste were beheaded. The woman is sold to the highest bidder and proceedings deposited in king’s treasury. This practice was called “Prashtu” or “Brashtu.”

In 1903, in one such incident, Melangathu Gopala Menon was exiled. He was broken-hearted as he was innocent and moved to Colombo to work in tea estates. He married another woman called Sathyavathy and was blessed with two boys. After his death, she moved to Tamil Nadu and the two sons made their names in movies. The elder one was M.G. Chakrapani and the younger one M.G. Ramachandran. The rest as they say….. is history.

References (A.M.N. Sakkiar’s autobiography, Madambu Kunjukuttan’s novel “Brashtu” (1974), and the movie by the same name in 1975 (heroine Sujatha). To understand this in depth check Wikipedia under Brastu, and if you can read Tamil http://jeyamohan.in/?p=972.

4. The connect is Tamil writer Rangarajan a.k.a Sujatha. The first picture is of poet Vaali the Tamil cinema songwriter who was a classmate of Sujatha, the second one is a nylon rope, the name of his first novel published in Kumudam, APJ was also his classmate in St. Joseph’s Trichy and MIT Chrompet, and the last one is Bharat Electronics Limited where Sujatha worked and was instrumental in inventing the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).

5. The connect is actor Nagesh who expired recently. His original name was Gundudrao, he worked in Southern Railway before getting into movies, was born in Dharapuram, and one of his most famous movie was “Neer Kumizhi” – “Water Bubble” if literally translated into English!

6. The connect is Tamil film actor Vikram. He studied in Montfort School Yercaud, and Loyola College Chennai whose emblem is shown and his original name was John Kennedy.

7. The connection is Yale University. Elihu Yale (in pic) was the major benefactor of the university and after whom the University was renamed. The insignia of Yale on its gates is displayed next, and the bottom one is of St.George Fort Chennai, the present legislative assembly building. Yale is said to have amassed a massive fortune while Governor of the St. George Fort under East India Company mainly by underhand dealings. Some of it was bestowed on Yale University!!

Regards

Senthil

SenthilSpeak said...

Most guessed Vikram and Nagesh. Hats off to Dagalti for coming through with most answers :)