1. Some 75,000-odd people (and some were very odd indeed!) rendezvoused at ‘Maximum City’ in January to see if "another world is possible". What event are we referring to?
2. At a rather less well-organised event than the above, some 50,000 people crashed a birthday bash in the hopes of receiving free saris. Around 25 died in the inevitable stampede. Do you remember the birthday boy's name?
3. Elderly women in Manipur registered their protest at army atrocities in a most dramatic fashion in July. Whose death were they protesting?
4. This battle pits Khaitan & co versus Fox Mandal. What is at stake?
5. This grand project was conceived in 1860 by A.D. Taylor. In 2004, it created tension between India and one of her neighbours. What is the project?
6. Dr Baburam Bhattarai is recognised as the leader of which movement?
7. The voting in the 2004 US elections was split along the Mason-Dixon Line. What is the Mason-Dixon Line and how did the votes split?
8. The Mahamudra Lineage Prayer, Receiving Blessings and Dedicating Merit to World Peace and Harmony don't sound like hit singles. Yet an album containing these pieces won a Grammy in 2004. Who recorded it?
9. Norman Gilbert Pritchard was the first. Who emulated him in 2004?
10. S. Deepesh gets the credit but the grunt work for this project was done by the Indian Academy of Arts and Animation. What was the project?
11. This legendary artiste, who passed away on March 13, 2004, refused the Padmashree and the Padma Vibhusan on the grounds that the committees were incompetent to judge creativity. Who was he?
12. Why did St Joseph Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, make the news after the death of Veerappan?
13. Her entrepreneurial skills and scientific expertise have made her the richest Indian woman with a net worth of over Rs 2,000 crores. Who is she?
14. What political buzzword did Arjun Singh coin in his current avatar as Union hrd minister?
15. On December 3, ‘Jude (= the patron saint of lost causes) Finisterra (= End of the World)’ caused consternation when he committed $12 billion for a certain cause. Who is ‘Finisterra’ and what was the cause?
16. His followers called him Abu Ammar— how did the rest of the world know him?
17. Jeremy Sivits was involved in which widely publicised incident?
18. ‘Do No Evil’ is the motto of a Delaware-incorporated entity that was in the news. Which company does no evil?
19. Which celebrity columnist reported on the Republican convention in August for USA Today?
20. The $10 million Ansari X prize was awarded this year for which feat?
