Derek O'Brien

No. This column isn’t about cricket. Tomorrow is Bhasha Dibas. On February 21, 1952, students of Dhaka University led a procession from their campus demanding that Bangla be made the state language. The police opened fired and killed a number of students. A few days later Shaheed Minar was built by the students as a symbol of protest against the killing and of love for their mother tongue. Fearing the monument would become a meeting ground, the police demolished it within hours of its being erected. In 1953 a replica was erected. Twelve years ago UNESCO declared February 21 International Mother Language Day in recognition of the Bengali Language Movement.

YOUR QUESTIONS

1. Which famous Indian musician was initially named Qamaruddin?

Preeta Barua, Assam

2. Who was the first woman recipient of the Sahitya Academy Award?

Nilanjana Chatterjee, Calcutta

3. Which insect communicates by dancing to mainly denote direction and distance?

Reetaj Ghosh, Calcutta

4. n which Indian classical dance form does the dancer commence with a sequence called That?

Ishika Singh, Jamshedpur

5. Two rockets captured from which Indian ruler by the British are displayed at the Royal Artillery Museum in London?

Imon Sen, Calcutta

6. Which state of India derives its name from the Sanskrit word ‘Odra Vishaya’ or ‘Odra Desa’?

Sumeli Das, Durgapur

7. Which river is called the Tsang Po or Zangbo in Tibet and the Dihang in Arunachal Pradesh?

Prantik Chakraborty, Calcutta

8. In Punjab, which festival is celebrated by the Sikhs along with the commemoration of the founding of the Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh?

Susanta Karmakar, Burdwan

9. In September 1965,which word was used in print for the first time in the San Francisco Examiner under the title A New Haven for Beatniks?

Panchali Sen Sharma, Calcutta

KNOW & GROW WITH DEREK

The main dais of the Shaheed Minar, designed by Hamidur Rahman, represents a mother with outstretched hands standing along with her martyred sons.

ANSWER & WIN

What are Queen Elizabeth, First Red and Eiffel Tower, different varieties of?

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 06.02.11

Panchali Sen Sharma, Calcutta

Which revolutionary adopted the alias Koba, David, Soso and Chiijikov to evade arrest?

The answer is: Joseph Stalin

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Name this author

POINT OF VIEW

1. Identify this dancer

 

 

 

2. Identify this fashion designer

 

 

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ANSWERS

1. Ustad Bismillah Khan

2. Amrita Pritam

3. Honey bee

4. Kathak

5. Tipu Sultan

6. Orissa

7. Brahmaputra

8. Baisakhi

9. Hippie

WHO AM I ? Malcolm Gladwell

POINT OF VIEW1 Anita Ratnam

POINT OF VIEW2 Wendell Rodricks