The Amazing Smita Patil

A closer look at the supremely talented and enigmatic Smita Patil. Shame that she died so young.

Mixed Bag questions from Landmark Quiz, Bangalore

Great set of questions. Answer by Wednesday.

1.A cat or dog’s hair stands on end, and a porcupine’s quills rise when they are cold, frightened, angry, or in awe. What is the common term used to describe a similar skin response to these stimuli in humans?

2.In his book The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman presents a theory of conflict prevention thus: “The ______ Theory stipulates: No two countries that are both part of a major global supply chain, like _____, will ever fight a war against each other as long as they are both part of the same global supply chain.” Which company’s name fills the blank?

3.It is called "Montezuma's Revenge", "Turistas" or "Aztec Two-Step" in Mexico, "Pharaoh's Revenge" or "Cairo Two-Step" in Egypt, "Kurtz Hurtz" in Uzbekistan, and "Kabulitis" in Afghanistan. The Canadians call it "Beaver Fever". A recent local term in Thailand is "Thai-dal Wave”. It was in the news recently with reference to CWG 2010. What is the local rhyming phrase for this?

4.What unusual achievement do these cricketers share and whose name is the latest?: Hansie Cronje, Ujesh Ranchod, Ruwan Kalpage, Mark Ealham, Neil Johnson, Jacob Oram, Monty Panesar, Cameron White, Peter Siddel

5.Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2010 has just 3 Indian women: Indra Nooyi of Pepsi no 6, Shikha Sharma of Axis Bank no 89, Chanda Kochar no 92. Which notable Indian name consistently in the list each year since 2006 (2004: #3 ; 2005: -) has dropped out?

6.Which children’s classic was given free with the launch of the iBook store for the Apple iPad?

7.As of April 2010, the Top 10 List with most Twitter followers is mostly populated by stars of the the entertainment industry. Only one politician and one sportswoman figure at #1 and #8 respectively. Who are they?

8.The Krishnarajasagar Dam's first output of electricity went to Kolar Gold Fields. The second output went to which place that started a tradition continued till today?

9.What expression is said to have had its origin from a chain of “sanitary cleaning shops” used as a front by Chicago gangster Al Capone to conceal his earnings from illegal sale of drinks during the Prohibition?

10.Which book's dedication goes thus and what is unusual about its layout: THE DEDICATION OF THIS BOOK IS SPLIT SEVEN WAYS: TO NEIL, TO DAVID, TO JESSICA, TO KENZIE, TO DI, TO ANNE, AND TO YOU, IF YOU HAVE STUCK WITH HARRY TILL THE VERY END.

Happy Deepavali !

Wishing you all a very happy Deepavali ! May the festival of lights bring joy, prosperity and peace to all.

Do Believe the hype - Thomas Friedman in NYT

It is a nice, breezy read. While I often find Friedman to be too optimistic when it comes to China, India, some of the points he makes here are very compelling. The optimism I see in India is something I haven't seen in many places - the excitement, pace of change is palpable. If I sound contradicting , here are my views in a nutshell : I am extremely optimistic about Indians - they will work wonders in the next few decades but still continue to be cautious about India, thanks to our inefficient bureaucracy and widespread corruption.