Continuing my series of city based Quizzes, this time it is on the city of pearls, biryani, Nawabs and Charminar, India's hi tech city of Hyderabad.
Why Hyderabad?
Ok for starters, it is almost like a second home to me, with most of my relatives, cousins, friends all staying there, and where I worked and studied for some time. It is a city, I know almost like the back of my hand, whose every nook and corner I had explored. And fortunately, I will be shifting back to Hyderabad in the 3rd week of June.
Personal reasons apart, love the city for it's mixture of the old and new. While racing into the 21st century, with it's Hi Tech City, another part still has that old world charm, with all it's forts, palaces. A city that boasts of a unique heritage, culture and language. A city that is a bridge between North and South, East and West, where almost people from any corner of India, can feel at home.
1) Located close to Charminar, this place was originally called the Jilo khana or Garden square. In the center of the square is an octagonal fountain called char su ka houz, and the square is surrounded by 4 arches in each direction, which also gives it's name. Identify.
2) Real name Abul Hassan, he got his more popular name from a Sufi saint which meant a child saint. It was a nickname bestowed on him after the saint, was impressed with his singing skills. The last Qutub Shahi ruler of Golkonda, he was widely regarded as a patron of art and culture.
3) What connects the Central Bank of Iran, The Tower of London, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Louvre, American Museum of Natural History with rRajeev_Vermact to Hyderabad?
4) Her father was the first principal of Nizam College, one of her brothers was the founder of the Berlin Comittee set up to fight for India's freedom. Currently her home is a part of the University of Hyderabad campus. Who?
5) One of the Nawabs, built this palace, primarily to seek some peace from the occupying Mughal troops at Fateh Maidan, and also to give him a clear view of the Hussain Sagar lake. It's original name meant a Heavenly palace, and was later sold to the Nizam. The current name is a corrupted version of the original name, and houses the PWD office, and the colony behind this building, is named after it. Which one?
6) After being released from prison, Kasim Rizvi, the notorious leader of the Razakars, called for a party meeting, where he invited members to take up the post of President. With on one willing to take the mantle, he offered it to any Muslim male above 12 years old. Finally one man took on the responsibility, and he later became famous in his own way. Who?
7) A princess from the House of Osman, she was rated as the one of the most beautiful women in the world during her time. During World War II, she did duty as a nurse attending to the troops. Her name is famous in Hyderabad in another context, who?
8) In 2006, Discovery TLC hosted a show called Rendezvous, which was about the 6 major metros in India. Each city had a host, Vasundhara Das for Bangalore, Konkona Sen Sharma for Kolkata. Who was the host for Hyderabad?
9) He was the Jewish valet of the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan. After making a fortune, he set up a huge shop, built in Roman Style, with columns and all. The shop was named after his surname, and gradually more shops began to come up in that area. It soon turned out to be a busy center, and the entire locality now bears his name. What?
10) This palace was built for the heir apparent of Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad. Due to the beautiful view of the Hussain Sagar lake from the palace it got it's name from a word meaning "Beautiful View". It now houses the Administrative Staff College of India. Identify.
I tried putting up a mix of easy and hard questions, most of them are workable. So hoping to see a good response, as again, mail your replies to rdiganta_bkar.techie@gmail.com
