Trivia May 22, 2013

by Idéfix Thu May 23, 2013 1:19 am

Here is this week's trivia... better late than never. As always, no googling!

1. The picture below shows a silver coin minted on the orders of an influential ruler in Indian history. These coins were minted between the years 1540 and 1545 CE. These coins represent an important milestone in the history of Indian money. What is the milestone, and who issued the coin?
Trivia May 22, 2013 Coin11

2. Before Partition, the Grand Trunk Road ran from Kabul (or Peshawar) to Chittagong. But in Mauryan times, the road was known as the uttarapatha ("the northern high road"). It ran from Balhika (modern Balkh in northern Afghanistan) to Gandhara (modern Kandahar in southern Afghanistan), on to Takshashila and Purushapura (modern Peshawar), and then to the modern route on the Sindhu-Ganga plain. Its eastern terminus was at Tamralipti at one of the several mouths of the Ganga river. Where is Tamralipti located now?

3. This English word for independent contractors who perform a specific type of work originated from the name of a minor character in a 1960 film directed by Federico Fellini. What is the word, and what is the movie?

4. Jesus, the founder of Christianity, is believed to have been buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. In which city was Mohammad, the founder of Islam, buried?

5. The Latin word for bread is panis, and it is the source of words like companion (“someone you share bread with”). It is also the indirect source of the word for bread in at least one major Indian language. What is the language, and what is the word?

6. Apart from being rulers of parts of northern India at different times, what is common to the following people? The Pandavas, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Qutbuddin Aibak, Allauddin Khilji, the Tughlaq kings Ghiyasuddin and Ferozeshah, the Pathan king Shershah Suri, and the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan?

7. This ruler has no known tomb; according to legend, he wanted to be buried without any markings. After his death, his body was returned to his homeland for burial. The group that escorted the body is supposed to have killed anyone or anything across their path, in order to conceal the place of burial. Centuries later, the People’s Republic of China built him a mausoleum. Name him.

8. Four of India’s thirteen prime ministers attended at least one of the two “Oxbridge” universities, and Manmohan Singh has degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge. In the same period (1947-2013), Britain has also had thirteen prime ministers. How many of those thirteen British PMs did not attend either Oxford or Cambridge?

9. The Lok Sabha has 543 constituencies. Several of these constituencies have attained prominence because of their prominent representatives: Rae Bareli (Indira Gandhi), Amethi (Rajiv Gandhi), Lucknow (AB Vajpayee), Allahabad (Amitabh Bachhan, LB Shastri, VP Singh), New Delhi (LK Advani, Rajesh Khanna). Name the prominent MP who represented the Phulpur constituency.

10. It is known that this monument was built in the year 1591 CE in an Indian city, but historians do not agree on the reason for its construction. Possible reasons include celebrating the first millennium of the Muslim Al Hijri calendar, giving thanks to god for ending a plague epidemic, and marking the spot where the king first saw his future wife. The structure was originally designed to serve as a madrassa and a mosque, but a larger mosque was constructed nearby in later years eclipsing the original purpose of the building. A small replica of the structure was built in in the Bahadurabad neighborhood of Karachi, Pakistan in 2007 by people who moved there from the Indian city. Name the structure.

by Guest Thu May 23, 2013 1:34 am

Idéfix wrote:

2. Before Partition, the Grand Trunk Road ran from Kabul (or Peshawar) to Chittagong. But in Mauryan times, the road was known as the uttarapatha ("the northern high road"). It ran from Balhika (modern Balkh in northern Afghanistan) to Gandhara (modern Kandahar in southern Afghanistan), on to Takshashila and Purushapura (modern Peshawar), and then to the modern route on the Sindhu-Ganga plain. Its eastern terminus was at Tamralipti at one of the several mouths of the Ganga river. Where is Tamralipti located now?

medinipur, west bengal. the bodhi tree sapling was dispatched by ashoka to sri lanka through this port.

by yogi Thu May 23, 2013 2:27 am

Idéfix wrote:Here is this week's trivia... better late than never. As always, no googling!

1. The picture below shows a silver coin minted on the orders of an influential ruler in Indian history. These coins were minted between the years 1540 and 1545 CE. These coins represent an important milestone in the history of Indian money. What is the milestone, and who issued the coin?

-->sher shah suri issued the 1st rupya, the present rupee, being used in many S.Asian countries.

4. Jesus, the founder of Christianity, is believed to have been buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. In which city was Mohammad, the founder of Islam, buried?
-->medina.

5. The Latin word for bread is panis, and it is the source of words like companion (“someone you share bread with”). It is also the indirect source of the word for bread in at least one major Indian language. What is the language, and what is the word?
-->puri?parota?pulka?

6. Apart from being rulers of parts of northern India at different times, what is common to the following people? The Pandavas, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Qutbuddin Aibak, Allauddin Khilji, the Tughlaq kings Ghiyasuddin and Ferozeshah, the Pathan king Shershah Suri, and the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan?
-->all ruled from delhi.

7. This ruler has no known tomb; according to legend, he wanted to be buried without any markings. After his death, his body was returned to his homeland for burial. The group that escorted the body is supposed to have killed anyone or anything across their path, in order to conceal the place of burial. Centuries later, the People’s Republic of China built him a mausoleum. Name him.
-->Genghis khan?

10. It is known that this monument was built in the year 1591 CE in an Indian city, but historians do not agree on the reason for its construction. Possible reasons include celebrating the first millennium of the Muslim Al Hijri calendar, giving thanks to god for ending a plague epidemic, and marking the spot where the king first saw his future wife. The structure was originally designed to serve as a madrassa and a mosque, but a larger mosque was constructed nearby in later years eclipsing the original purpose of the building. A small replica of the structure was built in in the Bahadurabad neighborhood of Karachi, Pakistan in 2007 by people who moved there from the Indian city. Name the structure.
-->charminar?

by Kris Thu May 23, 2013 4:16 am

[quote="Idéfix"]Here is this week's trivia... better late than never. As always, no googling!

1. The picture below shows a silver coin minted on the orders of an influential ruler in Indian history. These coins were minted between the years 1540 and 1545 CE. These coins represent an important milestone in the history of Indian money. What is the milestone, and who issued the coin?
Trivia May 22, 2013 Coin11

>>>>Akbar. Milestone is standardization of currency throughout the kingdom?

2. Before Partition, the Grand Trunk Road ran from Kabul (or Peshawar) to Chittagong. But in Mauryan times, the road was known as the uttarapatha ("the northern high road"). It ran from Balhika (modern Balkh in northern Afghanistan) to Gandhara (modern Kandahar in southern Afghanistan), on to Takshashila and Purushapura (modern Peshawar), and then to the modern route on the Sindhu-Ganga plain. Its eastern terminus was at Tamralipti at one of the several mouths of the Ganga river. Where is Tamralipti located now?
>>AP?

3. This English word for independent contractors who perform a specific type of work originated from the name of a minor character in a 1960 film directed by Federico Fellini. What is the word, and what is the movie?
>>>Journeyman. Don't know the name of the movie.

4. Jesus, the founder of Christianity, is believed to have been buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. In which city was Mohammad, the founder of Islam, buried?
>>>Jerusalem

5. The Latin word for bread is panis, and it is the source of words like companion (“someone you share bread with”). It is also the indirect source of the word for bread in at least one major Indian language. What is the language, and what is the word?

>>>Hindi, Pav as in pao bhaji- suspect it came thru Portuguese Pao

6. Apart from being rulers of parts of northern India at different times, what is common to the following people? The Pandavas, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Qutbuddin Aibak, Allauddin Khilji, the Tughlaq kings Ghiyasuddin and Ferozeshah, the Pathan king Shershah Suri, and the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan?
>>>>All had their seat of power in what is now which modern day Delhi

7. This ruler has no known tomb; according to legend, he wanted to be buried without any markings. After his death, his body was returned to his homeland for burial. The group that escorted the body is supposed to have killed anyone or anything across their path, in order to conceal the place of burial. Centuries later, the People’s Republic of China built him a mausoleum. Name him.

>>>Ghengis Khan

8. Four of India’s thirteen prime ministers attended at least one of the two “Oxbridge” universities, and Manmohan Singh has degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge. In the same period (1947-2013), Britain has also had thirteen prime ministers. How many of those thirteen British PMs did not attend either Oxford or Cambridge?
>>One. I am guessing Maggie Thatcher

10. It is known that this monument was built in the year 1591 CE in an Indian city, but historians do not agree on the reason for its construction. Possible reasons include celebrating the first millennium of the Muslim Al Hijri calendar, giving thanks to god for ending a plague epidemic, and marking the spot where the king first saw his future wife. The structure was originally designed to serve as a madrassa and a mosque, but a larger mosque was constructed nearby in later years eclipsing the original purpose of the building. A small replica of the structure was built in in the Bahadurabad neighborhood of Karachi, Pakistan in 2007 by people who moved there from the Indian city. Name the structure.
>>>Red Fort?

by Guest Thu May 23, 2013 4:47 am

Idéfix wrote:

6. Apart from being rulers of parts of northern India at different times, what is common to the following people? The Pandavas, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Qutbuddin Aibak, Allauddin Khilji, the Tughlaq kings Ghiyasuddin and Ferozeshah, the Pathan king Shershah Suri, and the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan?

they all contributed, in one way or the other, to the purana qila or "old fort" in delhi.

btw, many of the above did not rule from delhi.

by indophile Thu May 23, 2013 8:37 am

1. Humayun or Akbar
2. Somewhere close to Kaharagpur
3. Franchise
4. Medina
5. Naan, Hindi
6. Delhi as capital
7. Chengiz Khan
8. All
9. Nehru
10. Charminar

by Hellsangel Thu May 23, 2013 8:53 am

3.Paparajan, sorry, Paparazzo.

by Hellsangel Thu May 23, 2013 9:05 am

Hellsangel wrote:3.Paparajan, sorry, Paparazzo.

Movie - La Dolce Vita.

by Jeremiah Mburuburu Thu May 23, 2013 9:17 am

Idéfix wrote:Here is this week's trivia... better late than never. As always, no googling!

1. The picture below shows a silver coin minted on the orders of an influential ruler in Indian history. These coins were minted between the years 1540 and 1545 CE. These coins represent an important milestone in the history of Indian money. What is the milestone, and who issued the coin?

milestone: the frst time a currency was created that, by itself, was not valuable, but was backed by a stock of gold.

by MaxEntropy_Man Thu May 23, 2013 9:24 am

Idéfix wrote:
5. The Latin word for bread is panis, and it is the source of words like companion (“someone you share bread with”). It is also the indirect source of the word for bread in at least one major Indian language. What is the language, and what is the word?

pAv is a word used in many indian languages including marathi and konkani i think. it comes from the portugese pao.

by Jeremiah Mburuburu Thu May 23, 2013 9:26 am

Idéfix wrote:8. Four of India’s thirteen prime ministers attended at least one of the two “Oxbridge” universities, and Manmohan Singh has degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge. In the same period (1947-2013), Britain has also had thirteen prime ministers. How many of those thirteen British PMs did not attend either Oxford or Cambridge?

** one.

by Guest Thu May 23, 2013 9:35 am

Jeremiah Mburuburu wrote:
Idéfix wrote:Here is this week's trivia... better late than never. As always, no googling!

1. The picture below shows a silver coin minted on the orders of an influential ruler in Indian history. These coins were minted between the years 1540 and 1545 CE. These coins represent an important milestone in the history of Indian money. What is the milestone, and who issued the coin?

milestone: the frst time a currency was created that, by itself, was not valuable, but was backed by a stock of gold.

you are hilarious. btw, it is fIrst not "frst."

by Seva Lamberdar Thu May 23, 2013 9:37 am

indophile wrote:1. Humayun or Akbar
2. Somewhere close to Kaharagpur
3. Franchise
4. Medina
5. Naan, Hindi
6. Delhi as capital
7. Chengiz Khan
8. All
9. Nehru
10. Charminar

9. Didn't Nehru also run from Allahabad parliamentary constituency during 1950s?
I remember some of the "important" political leaders (including the prime minister, chief ministers, central ministers, state ministers) during 1950s-60s running in elections from several constituencies (sometimes even 3 or more) for a seat as MP or MLA and winning in more than one constituency and later resigning in all but one (thus becoming the official reperesentative of only one constituency in the parliament or state assembly).

by Jeremiah Mburuburu Thu May 23, 2013 10:27 am

Jeremiah Mburuburu wrote:
Idéfix wrote:Here is this week's trivia... better late than never. As always, no googling!

1. The picture below shows a silver coin minted on the orders of an influential ruler in Indian history. These coins were minted between the years 1540 and 1545 CE. These coins represent an important milestone in the history of Indian money. What is the milestone, and who issued the coin?

milestone: the frst time a currency was created that, by itself, was not valuable, but was backed by a stock of gold.

i withdraw that answer; i had not noted that it was a silver coin.

by indophile Thu May 23, 2013 11:47 am

Seva Lamberdar wrote:
9. Nehru

9. Didn't Nehru also run from Allahabad parliamentary constituency during 1950s?
I remember some of the "important" political leaders (including the prime minister, chief ministers, central ministers, state ministers) during 1950s-60s running in elections from several constituencies (sometimes even 3 or more) for a seat as MP or MLA and winning in more than one constituency and later resigning in all but one (thus becoming the official reperesentative of only one constituency in the parliament or state assembly).[/quote]
I think Nehru ran from Phulpur and only Phulpur.

by Idéfix Tue May 28, 2013 1:59 pm

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Idéfix wrote:

2. Before Partition, the Grand Trunk Road ran from Kabul (or Peshawar) to Chittagong. But in Mauryan times, the road was known as the uttarapatha ("the northern high road"). It ran from Balhika (modern Balkh in northern Afghanistan) to Gandhara (modern Kandahar in southern Afghanistan), on to Takshashila and Purushapura (modern Peshawar), and then to the modern route on the Sindhu-Ganga plain. Its eastern terminus was at Tamralipti at one of the several mouths of the Ganga river. Where is Tamralipti located now?
medinipur, west bengal. the bodhi tree sapling was dispatched by ashoka to sri lanka through this port.

Correct!

by Idéfix Tue May 28, 2013 2:02 pm

yogi wrote:1. sher shah suri issued the 1st rupya, the present rupee, being used in many S.Asian countries.

Correct!

yogi wrote:4. medina.

Correct.

yogi wrote:5. puri?parota?pulka?

No.

yogi wrote:6. all ruled from delhi.

Yes, they did. But that is not the answer. The rulers I listed shared something in common that they did not share with their own fathers or sons who also ruled from Delhi.

yogi wrote:7. Genghis khan?

Correct.

yogi wrote:10. charminar?

Correct.

by Idéfix Tue May 28, 2013 2:09 pm

Kris wrote:1. Akbar. Milestone is standardization of currency throughout the kingdom?

No, Sher Shah Suri, from whom Akbar borrowed many innovations. This was the first silver rupee issued by Suri.

Kris wrote:2. AP?

No, it is Tamluk town of Medinipur district, West Bengal.

Kris wrote:3. Journeyman. Don't know the name of the movie.

Good guess, but no.

Kris wrote:4. Jerusalem

No, Medina.

Kris wrote:5. Hindi, Pav as in pao bhaji- suspect it came thru Portuguese Pao

Correct. Pao in Portuguese is pronounced like pan, with an incomplete / nasal n sound at the end. (Sao in Sao Paolo is pronounced like San in San Pablo).

Kris wrote:6. All had their seat of power in what is now which modern day Delhi

Yes they did. But so did the fathers/sons of many of the rulers I listed. But the guys I listed all did something that their fathers/sons didn't.

Kris wrote:7. Ghengis Khan

Correct.

Kris wrote:8. One. I am guessing Maggie Thatcher

No, and Thatcher she went to Oxford.

Kris wrote:10. Red Fort?

No, it is Charminar in Hyderabad.

by Idéfix Tue May 28, 2013 2:10 pm

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Idéfix wrote:

6. Apart from being rulers of parts of northern India at different times, what is common to the following people? The Pandavas, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Qutbuddin Aibak, Allauddin Khilji, the Tughlaq kings Ghiyasuddin and Ferozeshah, the Pathan king Shershah Suri, and the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan?
they all contributed, in one way or the other, to the purana qila or "old fort" in delhi.

btw, many of the above did not rule from delhi.

Great guess, and you are quite close to the correct answer. But many of these rulers (e.g. Shah Jahan) did not contribute to the Purana Qila.

by Idéfix Tue May 28, 2013 2:13 pm

indophile wrote:1. Humayun or Akbar

No, but the guy just before them: Sher Shah Suri. He standardized the silver rupee by issuing this series of coins.

indophile wrote:2. Somewhere close to Kaharagpur

Correct, the modern town is called Tamluk and it is on the Rupanarayan river, a distributary of the Ganga.

indophile wrote:3. Franchise

No.

indophile wrote:4. Medina

Correct.

indophile wrote:5. Naan, Hindi

No, pao (Marathi, Hindi) is the correct word.

indophile wrote:6. Delhi as capital

Not quite.

indophile wrote:7. Chengiz Khan

Correct.

indophile wrote:8. All

No.

indophile wrote:9. Nehru

Correct!

indophile wrote:10. Charminar

Correct.

by Idéfix Tue May 28, 2013 2:13 pm

Hellsangel wrote:
Hellsangel wrote:3.Paparajan, sorry, Paparazzo.

Movie - La Dolce Vita.

Correct!

by Idéfix Tue May 28, 2013 2:19 pm

Jeremiah Mburuburu wrote:milestone: the frst time a currency was created that, by itself, was not valuable, but was backed by a stock of gold.

No, the value of this currency was dependent on the weight of silver it contained. The milestone was the standardization of the rupee as a silver coin weighing 178 grains (~12g).

by Idéfix Tue May 28, 2013 2:22 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Idéfix wrote:
5. The Latin word for bread is panis, and it is the source of words like companion (“someone you share bread with”). It is also the indirect source of the word for bread in at least one major Indian language. What is the language, and what is the word?

pAv is a word used in many indian languages including marathi and konkani i think. it comes from the portugese pao.

Correct. In Portuguese, the word is pronounced pAn where the n is a nasal sound. Curiously, the Marathi/Konkani/Hindi pronunciation sounds like an English reading of a Portuguese spelling. I wonder why!

by Idéfix Tue May 28, 2013 2:22 pm

Jeremiah Mburuburu wrote:
Idéfix wrote:8. Four of India’s thirteen prime ministers attended at least one of the two “Oxbridge” universities, and Manmohan Singh has degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge. In the same period (1947-2013), Britain has also had thirteen prime ministers. How many of those thirteen British PMs did not attend either Oxford or Cambridge?
** one.

No.

by Idéfix Tue May 28, 2013 2:25 pm

Here is an update.

6. Apart from being rulers of parts of northern India at different times, what is common to the following people? The Pandavas, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Qutbuddin Aibak, Allauddin Khilji, the Tughlaq kings Ghiyasuddin and Ferozeshah, the Pathan king Shershah Suri, and the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan?

Hint: Each of these rulers ruled from Delhi for at least part of his reign. But they have something else in common -- something that their own fathers / sons did not accomplish.

8. Four of India’s thirteen prime ministers attended at least one of the two “Oxbridge” universities, and Manmohan Singh has degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge. In the same period (1947-2013), Britain has also had thirteen prime ministers. How many of those thirteen British PMs did not attend either Oxford or Cambridge?

Hint: It is not Margaret Thatcher (Oxford). And there was more than one.

by Hellsangel Tue May 28, 2013 2:26 pm

6. Were they all exiled one time or another and then came back to rule?

by Hellsangel Tue May 28, 2013 2:32 pm

8. I think, John Major who succeeded Thatcher never went to any University.
Perhaps Churchill did not go to 'Oxbridge'.

by Idéfix Tue May 28, 2013 2:40 pm

Hellsangel wrote:6. Were they all exiled one time or another and then came back to rule?

No.

by Idéfix Tue May 28, 2013 2:42 pm

Hellsangel wrote:8. I think, John Major who succeeded Thatcher never went to any University.
Perhaps Churchill did not go to 'Oxbridge'.

Yes, Major did not go to university, and Churchill went to the military academy, not to Oxbridge.

by Guest Thu May 30, 2013 12:30 pm

Idéfix wrote:
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Idéfix wrote:

2. Before Partition, the Grand Trunk Road ran from Kabul (or Peshawar) to Chittagong. But in Mauryan times, the road was known as the uttarapatha ("the northern high road"). It ran from Balhika (modern Balkh in northern Afghanistan) to Gandhara (modern Kandahar in southern Afghanistan), on to Takshashila and Purushapura (modern Peshawar), and then to the modern route on the Sindhu-Ganga plain. Its eastern terminus was at Tamralipti at one of the several mouths of the Ganga river. Where is Tamralipti located now?
medinipur, west bengal. the bodhi tree sapling was dispatched by ashoka to sri lanka through this port.
Correct!

actually i read up on the net and found that the location of tamralipti could be jajpur in orissa. if this is true, it is indeed fortuitous for tata steel for they are setting up a steel plant in jajpur from where they intend to access south and south east asia. personally, i believe tamralipti was in medinpur for a few years ago i had read about archaelogical remains being discovered in medinpur that conformed to the location of tamralipti.

this trivia thread is still open. Shocked

by Idéfix Thu May 30, 2013 12:32 pm

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Idéfix wrote:
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Idéfix wrote:

2. Before Partition, the Grand Trunk Road ran from Kabul (or Peshawar) to Chittagong. But in Mauryan times, the road was known as the uttarapatha ("the northern high road"). It ran from Balhika (modern Balkh in northern Afghanistan) to Gandhara (modern Kandahar in southern Afghanistan), on to Takshashila and Purushapura (modern Peshawar), and then to the modern route on the Sindhu-Ganga plain. Its eastern terminus was at Tamralipti at one of the several mouths of the Ganga river. Where is Tamralipti located now?
medinipur, west bengal. the bodhi tree sapling was dispatched by ashoka to sri lanka through this port.
Correct!
actually i read up on the net and found that the location of tamralipti could be jajpur in orissa. if this is true, it is indeed fortuitous for tata steel for they are setting up a steel plant in jajpur from where they intend to access south and south east asia. personally, i believe tamralipti was in medinpur for a few years ago i had read about archaelogical remains being discovered in medinpur that conformed to the location of tamralipti.

this trivia thread is still open.

The most likely location is Tamluk near Medinipur. Jajpur is unlikely, because the Ganga does not reach there. Tamralipti was on one of the distributaries of the Ganga.

by Idéfix Thu May 30, 2013 12:34 pm

Here are the answers...

6. Apart from being rulers of parts of northern India at different times, what is common to the following people? The Pandavas, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Qutbuddin Aibak, Allauddin Khilji, the Tughlaq kings Ghiyasuddin and Ferozeshah, the Pathan king Shershah Suri, and the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan?

Hint: Each of these rulers ruled from Delhi for at least part of his reign. But they have something else in common -- something that their own fathers / sons did not accomplish.

Answer: Each of the listed rulers built a new city in Delhi.

8. Four of India’s thirteen prime ministers attended at least one of the two “Oxbridge” universities, and Manmohan Singh has degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge. In the same period (1947-2013), Britain has also had thirteen prime ministers. How many of those thirteen British PMs did not attend either Oxford or Cambridge?

Hint: It is not Margaret Thatcher (Oxford). And there was more than one.

Answer: Just three of Britain's 13 prime ministers since WWII did not go to Oxbridge; the other ten did.

by Hellsangel Thu May 30, 2013 12:35 pm

Idéfix wrote:

Answer: Just three of Britain's 13 prime ministers since WWII did not go to Oxbridge; the other ten did.

Who is the 3rd?

by Idéfix Thu May 30, 2013 12:37 pm

Hellsangel wrote:
Idéfix wrote:

Answer: Just three of Britain's 13 prime ministers since WWII did not go to Oxbridge; the other ten did.

Who is the 3rd?

Gordon Brown.

by Guest Thu May 30, 2013 12:38 pm

Idéfix wrote:
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Idéfix wrote:
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Idéfix wrote:

2. Before Partition, the Grand Trunk Road ran from Kabul (or Peshawar) to Chittagong. But in Mauryan times, the road was known as the uttarapatha ("the northern high road"). It ran from Balhika (modern Balkh in northern Afghanistan) to Gandhara (modern Kandahar in southern Afghanistan), on to Takshashila and Purushapura (modern Peshawar), and then to the modern route on the Sindhu-Ganga plain. Its eastern terminus was at Tamralipti at one of the several mouths of the Ganga river. Where is Tamralipti located now?
medinipur, west bengal. the bodhi tree sapling was dispatched by ashoka to sri lanka through this port.
Correct!
actually i read up on the net and found that the location of tamralipti could be jajpur in orissa. if this is true, it is indeed fortuitous for tata steel for they are setting up a steel plant in jajpur from where they intend to access south and south east asia. personally, i believe tamralipti was in medinpur for a few years ago i had read about archaelogical remains being discovered in medinpur that conformed to the location of tamralipti.

this trivia thread is still open.
The most likely location is Tamluk near Medinipur. Jajpur is unlikely, because the Ganga does not reach there. Tamralipti was on one of the distributaries of the Ganga.

oh yes! good point.

by Hellsangel Thu May 30, 2013 12:38 pm

Idéfix wrote:
Hellsangel wrote:
Idéfix wrote:

Answer: Just three of Britain's 13 prime ministers since WWII did not go to Oxbridge; the other ten did.

Who is the 3rd?
Gordon Brown.

Ah! "Beam me up, Scotty!"

by Guest Thu May 30, 2013 12:39 pm

Idéfix wrote:Here are the answers...

6. Apart from being rulers of parts of northern India at different times, what is common to the following people? The Pandavas, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Qutbuddin Aibak, Allauddin Khilji, the Tughlaq kings Ghiyasuddin and Ferozeshah, the Pathan king Shershah Suri, and the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan?

Hint: Each of these rulers ruled from Delhi for at least part of his reign. But they have something else in common -- something that their own fathers / sons did not accomplish.

Answer: Each of the listed rulers built a new city in Delhi.

wow! that is why delhi is notorious for having been built several times!

by Idéfix Thu May 30, 2013 12:46 pm

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Idéfix wrote:Here are the answers...

6. Apart from being rulers of parts of northern India at different times, what is common to the following people? The Pandavas, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Qutbuddin Aibak, Allauddin Khilji, the Tughlaq kings Ghiyasuddin and Ferozeshah, the Pathan king Shershah Suri, and the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan?

Hint: Each of these rulers ruled from Delhi for at least part of his reign. But they have something else in common -- something that their own fathers / sons did not accomplish.

Answer: Each of the listed rulers built a new city in Delhi.
wow! that is why delhi is notorious for having been built several times!

Yes, and the Purana Qila is said to be the location of the first city, built by the Pandavas.

by Guest Thu May 30, 2013 12:49 pm

Idéfix wrote:
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Idéfix wrote:Here are the answers...

6. Apart from being rulers of parts of northern India at different times, what is common to the following people? The Pandavas, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Qutbuddin Aibak, Allauddin Khilji, the Tughlaq kings Ghiyasuddin and Ferozeshah, the Pathan king Shershah Suri, and the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan?

Hint: Each of these rulers ruled from Delhi for at least part of his reign. But they have something else in common -- something that their own fathers / sons did not accomplish.

Answer: Each of the listed rulers built a new city in Delhi.
wow! that is why delhi is notorious for having been built several times!
Yes, and the Purana Qila is said to be the location of the first city, built by the Pandavas.

yes, that is how it was described to me by my guide.

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