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Quiz Whizz: November 22, 2023

Time for a rapid-fire round of questions to check your GK. How many can you answer correctly?

A little mid-week quiz to stir you up. How many of these questions you can answer correctly?

Where stones tell stories

The three Hoysala-era temples of Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura in Karnataka were recently designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites; the 42nd in India.

Built in the 12th century, the Channakeshava temple in Belur (Hassan district), the Hoysaleswara temple in Halebidu (Hassan district), and the Keshava temple in Somanathapura (Mysuru district) are distinct examples of Hoysala architecture, which blends the Dravidian style with the Bhumija style of central India and the Nagara style of north and western India. Read on to know more about these temples and solve the shuffle puzzle to see what artisans of yore were capable of.

BELUR, HASSAN DISTRICT


The Channakeshava temple in Belur — dedicated to Lord Vishnu — is shaped like a star and was commissioned by Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana.


Completed in 1117 CE, this is the main structure in a complex that contains many other temples and smaller shrines. This is the oldest of the three temples and the carvings on the pillars are said to have inspired temple jewellery in South India.

BELUR, HASSAN DISTRICT


The Hoysaleswara temple in Halebidu is dedicated to Lord Shiva but contains images from the Vaishnava and Jain traditions. The temple is actually a twin structure that contains two lingas representing the masculine and feminine aspects of the God.

The temple is known for its intricate sculptures, reliefs and friezes. The complex also contains Jain temples and a step well.

SOMANATHAPURA, MYSURU DISTRICT


The temple at Somanathapura, also known as Channakesava, is said to be an example of the climax of Hoysala architecture. Dedicated to Lord Krishna, this temple featured three forms of the god as Keshava, Janardhana and Venugopala.


While the first idol is missing, the other two are damaged. The walls, pillars and ceiling are covered with intricate carvings and friezes depicting stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana.

In the 14th century, the Hoysala kingdom was invaded repeatedly by the armies of Alauddin Khilji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura were plundered and destroyed. This led to the temples being damaged and falling into ruins.

DID YOU KNOW?

The origin of the word “Hoysala’ is derived from folklore. A young man Sala is said to have saved his guru by killing a lion (or a tiger, according to one version) in a forest. The word ‘strike’ in Kannada is ‘hoy’ and hence Sala became Hoysala. The emblem of the dynasty also shows Sala fighting a tiger.

The basic material of the temples and sculptures was soapstone, which is a soft stone.

Interestingly, the artisans and craftsmen who built the Hoysala temples are not anonymous. They signed their work and so historians have been able to trace not just architects and sculptors but also goldsmiths, silversmiths, ivory workers, carpenters and others who worked on these monumental structures.

Champions are crowned

Australia have lifted the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023! Try this interactive task based on the tournament.

And it’s a wrap on the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Australia defeated India in the finals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to emerge victorious and lift the trophy for a record sixth time. India had a brilliant run throughout the tournament, but it was Australia that was the better team on the day.

10 countries participated in the tournament, and they all played each other once in the league stage. At the end of 45 matches, the top four teams in the points table made it to the semi-finals and then the finals.

Do you know the order in which the countries stood in the final points table? This interactive task is for you. We’ll give you a hint: India finished at the top, so start there.

Crafting joy

Who doesn’t love playing with toys? But, have you ever wondered who makes your favourite playthings?

Have you ever wondered who makes the toys you love so much? How do they conceptualise and create them? If you love playing and have a creative bent of mind, you could explore the possibility of making a career out of toy designing.

Scroll through these slides to learn more.

Showers of delight

Did you know that the southwest monsoon is not the country’s only rainy season?

When we speak of the rainy season, it is almost always about the southwest monsoon. But did you know that there is another weather phenomenon that impacts peninsular India? Scroll through these slides to learn about the northeast monsoon, which is now in action.

All for good health

Is curd prebiotic or probiotic? What about garlic? In this interactive task, you need to sort out the probiotics and prebiotics.

There are multiple foods that give us strength and help us stay healthy. Probiotics and prebiotics are two such categories. What are they?

Probiotics are foods that contain live microorganisms that help maintain or improve the “good” bacteria in the body. Prebiotics are those, usually high in fibre that act as food for human microorganisms. They are used to improve the balance of these microorganisms.

Here is a game for you to learn more about them. Drag and drop the various foods under the correct category.

Green dialogue

Ecology refers to all life forms and their relationship with the environment. Can you unscramble these words commonly used in the study of ecology?

Ecology is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment; it seeks to understand the vital connections between plants and animals and the world around them.

The word ‘ecology’ is derived from Greek. Eco comes from the word ‘oikos’, which means ‘household’; -logy comes from logos, meaning ‘the study of’. Simply put it is learning about the life of populations. Ecology is the study of the environmental house including all the organisms in it and all the functional processes that make the house habitable with emphasis on the totality or pattern of relations between organisms and their environment.

Here are some words used exclusively when talking about ecology. How many of these words are you familiar with? Can you unscramble these words?

Kaikeyi wins two boons

Episode 48: How did King Nemi get the name Dasaratha? Read on to find out…

Illustration: Sahil Upalekar

When Manthara went to the palace to bring them food, Dasaratha and Kaikeyi continue to work in the practice arena. Dasaratha triggers a hinge in the chariot to make the vehicle do a smooth 180° flip. When he sees Manthara come out with a tray of snacks, he lands the chariot before her.

Manthara: You can continue with the story, as you eat.

Dasaratha: So, Brahma wanted to save Indra from Shambara and was looking for someone with special skills.

Kaikeyi: Didn’t anyone else have those skills?

Dasaratha: Many people have talents but you have to keep doing something to reach the right people. I kept exhibiting my skills so that others knew about it.

Manthara: But isn’t it risky to fight the asuras? You are a king. What if something had happened to you? Who would have looked after the kingdom?

Dasaratha: Manthara, to move to the next level, sometimes one has to take risks. Anyway, I took my powerful bow, hollow arrows and tons of sugar and potassium nitrate and flew up into the sky. When I reached the ozone layer, it was under attack by Shambara who was using chloroflurocarbons (CFC).

Manthara: What is CFC?

Illustration: Satheesh Vellinezhi

Dasaratha: Okay let me explain. To protect the Earth from Surya’s harmful radiation, we have the ozone layer, which is filled with O3 molecules. However, these molecules can be destroyed by CFC chemicals. So Shambara began to attack Indra from all sides with CFC and that began to weaken the king of gods.

Kaikeyi: Very smart of him!

Illustration: Satheesh Vellinezhi

Dasaratha: Not really. Shambara wanted to target only Indra but, by attacking the ozone layer with CFCs, he could have killed all life on Earth. Indra did not know how to cope. That is why Brahma called me in.

Manthara: There is one thing I don’t understand. Why did you carry sugar with you?

Dasaratha: Well, sugar is a fuel. It is used in solid propellant rockets. The potassium nitrate acts as an oxidiser. You need to mix it in a specific ratio. So, for 100gm of propellant, you need 35% sugar and 65% potassium nitrate.

Dasaratha shows Manthara and Kaikeyi how the two ingredients burn vigorously when mixed.

Manthara (astonished): I never knew that sugar could be used in warfare!

Dasaratha: I use this to propel my arrows at very high speed and also to move my chariot in all directions. So, to continue my story, I reached the ozone layer and cleared all the asuras surrounding Indra’s palace very easily. But Shambara was powerful and faster than I expected. When he began attacking me from all directions at supersonic speed, my brave and talented charioteer saved my life.

Kaikeyi blushes while Manthara looks confused.

Manthara: Who was your charioteer?

Kaikeyi: It was I. I created an iron dome as a shield and also gave him healing potions. He was very angry and destroyed Shambara with his hypersonic arrows. That is when Brahma was impressed and bestowed on him the title ‘Dasaratha’.

Manthara: Wait! You went with him to fight an asura? How come I did not know?

Kaikeyi: If you had known, you would have never allowed me to go. So, in return for my help, Dasaratha gave me two boons.

Manthara: You never told me all this. I do so much for you and you hide things from me. So, what did you ask for?

Dasaratha: She is yet to ask for them. She probably wanted to consult you about what to ask for.

Manthara smiles and hugs Kaikeyi. Suddenly, four arrows fly in towards Manthara’s legs. Kaikeyi pulls her to safety and turns angrily to see where the arrows came from.

The writer is the founder and CEO of Vaayusastra Aerospace, an IIT-Madras incubated ed-tech startup that offers Air Science workshops for children between five and 14 years.

Now that you have read all about it, try this activity. These are words related to climate change. Can you fit them all into the grid?

Which punctuation mark are you?

Punctuation marks indicate how a piece of written text should be read and, consequently, understood. Which one reflects your personality?

The English language has many punctuation marks. You might be using them regularly though you may not know the names. Here are some punctuation marks you use on a regular basis.

The Full Stop, Question Mark, Quotation Marks, Apostrophe, Comma, Hyphen, Exclamation Mark, Colon, Semicolon, Parentheses, Brackets, Ellipsis and Slash.

Now try your hand at this fun game and see what punctuation mark you are.