 | Derek O'Brien |
When do you go at red and stop at green? When eating a watermelon. That’s exactly what I am doing right now — enjoying a bowl of this delicious fruit, chilled. Watermelon, pepo to botanists, is believed to have originated in southern Africa. In fact, seeds of this fruit were recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamun. The watermelon is not actually a melon but belongs to the genus Citrullus. You’d be interested to know that farmers in the Zentsuji region of Japan are cultivating cubic watermelons to make it easier for them to fit in refrigerators. Today, there are more than 1,200 varieties of this fruit, which is about 92 per cent water by weight. By the way, after 45 long days, finally the last of the IPL league matches will be played tonight.
YOUR QUESTIONS
1. Which prolific director does Ben Kingsley play in the Oscar winning film Hugo?
Indranil Saha, Calcutta
2. Who was presented with the Dadasaheb Phalke award at the 59th National Awards ceremony?
Kallol Chakraborty, Calcutta
3. Which Indian leader’s autobiography is called An Indian Pilgrim?
Biswaroop Mukherjee, Calcutta
4. Yellow Glassy Tiger, Andaman Crow and Malabar Tree Nymph are all Indian species of which insect?
Nilarghya Datta, Calcutta
5. Which author is known for inventing the nyctograph, an instrument used for writing in the dark?
Sujit Banerjee, Calcutta
6. Which famous fort was built as the palace fort of Shahjahanabad, Shah Jahan’s capital at one point?
Rohini Choudhury, Calcutta
7. Which Sikh festival is celebrated a day after Holi?
Rajiv Bose, Calcutta
8. Raka and Gobar Singh are the arch-enemies of which comic-strip character?
Aditya Chatterjee, Calcutta
9. Which word was inserted in the first stamp featuring Mahatma Gandhi on the suggestion of Jawaharlal Nehru?
Priyanka Sen, Calcutta
KNOW & GROW WITH DEREK
Watermelon Snow is a phenomenon that occurs in summer in the Sierra Nevada of California. Pressing the snow with your boot leaves footprints the colour of watermelon pulp. It even exudes a watermelon scent. In the 19th century, the phenomenon was finally attributed to high concentrations of microscopic algae.
ANSWER & WIN
What is the satellite mapping tool, similar to Google Earth and Wikimapia, started by ISRO called?
For Answer and Win, send a quiz question of your own along with the answer. The prize will go to the reader with the correct answer and the best question. Send in answers with your full name and address to: graphitiquiz@gmail.com'
Winner of the Answer and Win
Quiz published on 6.05.12
Priyanka Sen, Calcutta
Which nonsense poem by Lewis Caroll deals with the hunting of an ‘inconceivable creature’ by a crew of 10 whose descriptions all begin with the letter B?
The answer is: The Hunting of the Snark
For queries about Answer and Win, please contact 22804093
 | Identify this politician |  |
POINT OF VIEW
1. Identify the director
2. Identify the actor
ANSWERS
1. Georges Méliès
2. Soumitra Chatterjee
3. Subhas Chandra Bose
4. Butterfly
5. Lewis Carroll
6. Red Fort, Delhi
7. Holla Mohalla
8. Chacha Chaudhary
9. Bapu
WHO AM I ? 
Francois Hollande
POINT OF VIEW 1 Shoojit Sircar
POINT OF VIEW 2 Jeremy Renner
