JANUARY 12, 2007

1. Name the great Indian spiritual leader who was born on this date in 1863 to Vishwanath Dutta and Bhuvaneswari Devi.

2. For what first, although for all the wrong reasons, will August 20, 2006, go down in the history of Test cricket?

3. In the movie "Shrek", who was the voice of Lord Farquaad?

4. Name the capital of the country where William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is set.

5. Who won the Olympic Gold when India's tennis star Leander Paes won the Bronze?

6. Which avian is part of the common name for the ailment also called "varicella"?

7. Freddie Mercury was part of which influential music group?

8. What is the name of the organisation synonymous with the 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Arvind Kejriwal?

9. Name the famous ancient city identified by many experts as the home city of Abraham, the founding patriarch of the Israelites.

10. Which is the first adventure in The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes?

11. In Harry Potter adventures, name Severus Snape's mother.

12. Which of these countries is not adjacent to Myanmar: Bhutan, Thailand or Bangladesh?

13. For her writing in which language has Indira Goswami been conferred the "Jnanpith Award"?

14. What is the Japanese name for Ash Kitchum of Pokemon fame?

15. Myrmecophobia is the fear of which common insect?

Answers
1. Swami Vivekananda (born Narendranath Datta)
2. A win because of `forfeiture'. The losing team was Pakistan against England at the Kensington Oval, London
3. John Lithgow
4. Copenhagen
5. Andre Agassi
6. Chicken (pox)
7. Queen
8. `Parivartan'
9. Ur
10. The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
11. Eileen Prince
12. Bhutan
13. Assamese
14. Satoshi
15. Ants