1 This Nobel-winning novelist taught philosophy and English at Bishop Wordsworth’s school in Salisbury, Wiltshire between 1939 and 1961. His first novel was released in 1954. A modest seller at start, it went on to become a perennial bestseller. Name the author and his first work. It’s difficult to believe that he wasn’t influenced by his experiences as a teacher.

2 Which actor got two master’s degrees in English, first from Lahore and then Panjab University, before joining Visva-Bharati University in the late 1930s as an English and Hindi teacher?

3 Another actor, despite managing to feature in more than 70 films and be jailed for his beliefs, managed to find time to teach at Kolkata’s South Point school for over a decade. Name him.

4 What connects cricketer and mountaineer RL Holdsworth, the man who named the Valley of Flowers, film director Chetan Anand, and novelist and poet Vikram Seth?

5 Which legendary trainer, who worked with more than a dozen world champions, including Muhammad Ali, was hired to train actor Russell Crowe for Crowe’s characterisation of boxer James Murdoch in Cinderella Man?

6 The Indian Institute of Management Shillong, established in 2007 has around 35 permanent members and close to 50 visiting faculty. Who was the most famous visiting professor, lecturing there regularly between 2012 and 2015?

7 Which multiple Oscar-winning musical of the ’60s was based on the experiences of an Anglo-Indian Lady named Anna Leonowens who claimed to have taught the children of an Asian ruler in the mid-19th century?

8 Sting and Sheryl Crow are two examples of musical legends who started off as schoolteachers. But which member of a famous duo actually went on a hiatus in 1970 in the middle of a successful music career to teach mathematics at a Litchfield school?

9 Ten of his pupils have gone on to hold ATP No 1 rankings. Andre Agassi described his academy as ‘The Lord of the Flies, with forehands’. Still teaching in his 80s, and married eight times, identify this legendary coach.

10 Which Indian actor, featuring in over 30 films, film director and twice jury member at the Cannes Film Festival taught at the Rishi Valley School after completing her postgraduation from the Delhi School of Social Work?

Answers

1. William Golding, Lord Of The Flies, about a group of schoolchildren stranded on an otherwise inhabited island

2. Balraj Sahni

3. Utpal Dutt, the institution was, between 1984 and 1992, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the school with the largest number of students

4. They all taught at the Doon School

5. Angelo Dundee, also widely known for his honesty and integrity in the murky world of professional boxing

6. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam; he collapsed while delivering a lecture on July 27, 2015 and didn’t recover

7. The King & I, starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. Leonowens taught the children of the Siamese King Mongkut

8. Art Garfunkel of Simon and Garfunkel; he returned to music when their Greatest Hits album became a bestseller

9. Nick Bollettieri; his students include Boris Becker, Agassi, Jim Courier, the Williams sisters and Sharapova

10. Nandita Das

Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster and Project Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup; Follow Joy on Twitter @joybhattacharj

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