On January 26, 1950, India celebrated its first Republic Day, embracing the Indian Constitution coming into force. Sixty-nine years later, our quiz on the Indian republic.

Nation matters

1 Which term used by the underworld in India, especially Mumbai, originates from an elaborate ceremony started by Bhim, the king of present-day Mahim, to find a candidate up for a difficult task?

2 The ‘air hostess style’ is the most common way of doing what though Nivi, Maharashtrian, Bengali, Madisar and Kodagu are also often used?

3 He translated Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat , Macbeth and Othello into Hindi and wrote his last poem, Ek November 1984 , on Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Despite getting a Padma Shri, he is still not the most well-known member of his family. Who is this?

4 In 1916, Pingali Venkayyya created 30 new designs, one of which was modified over the next few years and became an inextricable part of our history. What did Venkayya, with the backing of members of the Madras High Court, design?

5 Which Indian brigade was created in 1949 on the lines of other elite fighting units by converting the second battalion of the Punjab Regiment and the first battalions of The Grenadiers and the Rajputana Rifles?

6 Who was so confident of a Nobel Prize that he booked tickets in July to the venue where the prize would be announced in November that year?

7 The Old City or Old Delhi is in effect the seventh city of Delhi. After whom was it originally named?

8 The name of this vehicle, a staple in the Indian army since the mid-’60s, was usually attributed to it being a portmanteau of a type of Indian horse-drawn vehicle and jeep. It was actually more prosaically named after the city in Madhya Pradesh in which they were originally manufactured. Name the vehicle which served well into the 21st century though production stopped in 1999?

9 What was founded on September 20, 1878, by four law students and two teachers, then known as the Triplicane Six ?

10 Who made his debut as Farooq Sheikh’s younger brother who was vocal in the defence of his sister-in-law Rekha in the 1988 film Biwi Ho To Aisi ?

Answers

1 Supari for a hit. According to Hussain Zaidi, the king would place a betel leaf at the centre of a table after announcing the mission, and the person who agreed to perform the task would show his acceptance by picking up the leaf

2 Draping a sari. The air hostess drape is the style pleated over the right shoulder

3 Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan’s father, was the poet and translator par excellence

4 Versions of the Indian Tricolour

5 The Brigade of Guards, one of the Indian army’s elite fighting units and the most decorated unit since independence

6 CV Raman. He duly won for his work on the scattering of light

7 Shah Jahan. Shahjahanabad was the original name of Old Delhi

8 Jonga, thought to be from ‘jeep’ and ‘tonga’. It was actually the Jabalpur Ordnance and Gun Carriage Assembly

9 The Hindu newspaper. Started to originally support the campaign of T Muthuswamy Iyer for a judgeship in the Madras High Court

10 Salman Khan (this released shortly before the record-breaking Maine Pyar Kiya )

Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster;

Twitter: @joybhattacharj