A list of puzzling questions
Editor’s note: Every week, we feature three questions from our quiz master Shantanu Sharma—who is a researcher-writer, and has a side hustle as a professional quiz guru. He’d love to hear from you—so send your feedback/suggestions or just say ‘hi’ over at sharmashantanu312@gmail.com or @shantorasbox on Twitter.
How this works: Every correct answer is worth 10 points. If a question has multiple parts, each is worth 5 points. You have until Friday 12 pm to send in your answers to talktous@splainer.in or via DMs on Insta or Twitter. The correct answers will be published every Monday. The grand prize for the winner at the end of the month: a quarterly subscription for anyone of your choice—including the option of adding three months to your sub. That’s Rs 499 in value—so it’s pretty darn good:)
Rule to note: We will pick winners each month using a lucky draw.
The answers: to the previous week’s quiz are at the bottom—as are the monthly winners for the month of September.
One: Which annual event stirs peaceful waters in South India for an adrenaline-pumping spectacle for this prized possession? Also, name the arena/venue for the event. (5+5)
Two: Connect the lateral hints to work out the name of this organisation—founded in the heat of the Freedom Movement—celebrating its centenary year.
a) Bharat Ratna scholar and educational reformer
b) Herb with a cooling effect
c) Multinational Indian conglomerate
Three: Listen carefully and figure out the common name of this tactic, also the title of the latest release of a literary sensation.
About last week’s quiz…
Here are the answers to the previous edition of the splainer quiz:
One: This versatile dancer's on-screen antics—as a character with an insatiable appetite—scared the wits out of the audience. Name either: the character he portrayed, OR the record-breaking film.
Answer: Hastar in Tumbbad
Engineer-turned-dancer Ajit Singh Tanwar began his journey with bone-breaking, contortion, and popping on reality shows. Encouraged by his sister, he uploaded his first Ghoomar dance video, and soon his videos started reaching a million views. In this interview, he shares his experience of playing Hastar in the 2018 folk horror film ‘Tumbbad’. Following its re-release earlier this month, six years after its initial run, ‘Tumbbad’ broke the record, becoming the highest-grossing re-release in India since 2000. Go to your nearest theatre and experience this masterpiece, warna Hastar aa jaayega!
Two: Jam with the lateral hints to work out the talk of the town.
a) SpongeBob’s friend
b) Old school catalogue with distinctive colour
c) AI-generated album art
Answer: Coldplay
The three elements are Patrick Star (Starfish), Yellow Pages, and Music of the Spheres.
The British rock band Coldplay, earlier called Starfish, took the name Coldplay from a friend's band that had dropped it, drawing inspiration from a poetry book. The name of their 2000 breakthrough single, ‘Yellow’, came from the Yellow Pages, the telephone directory closest to Chris Martin as he finished writing the song. The ongoing Music of the Spheres tour (see Dall-E’s humble attempt here) tour promotes Coldplay's ninth and tenth studio albums, ‘Music of the Spheres’ (2021) and ‘Moon Music’ (2024).
Three: The two players in the middle are now filling the shoes of the blanked-out legend on the left. Which big dawg/stepper are they replacing?
Answer: PR Sreejesh
Double Olympic bronze medalist PR Sreejesh played his final hockey tournament at Paris 2024. Suraj Karkera (second from left) made his India debut in 2017 while Krishan Bahadur Pathak (next to him) debuted in 2018. Together, the two have been competing for the second goalkeeper spot since 2015. Earlier this month, as the Indian team won the Asian Champions Trophy, Pathak played the first and third quarters, while Karkera played the second and fourth. Looks like Indian hockey's future is in safe gloves!
And the super quizzer for September is…
Editor’s note: We didn’t use a lucky draw for the monthly winners this time as the scores had a straightforward winner.
Here is the leaderboard at the end of September. Congratulations to the lucky three for acing the splainer quiz! We will be emailing you soon with details of your prize—a quarterly splainer sub!
