India Quiz

• This popular temple, located 105 km east of Shimla, is noted for its unique architecture, which dates back to the Gupta period. An aggregation of number of small temples on the banks of the Jabbar river, the temple was originally in the classical Shikhara style. Can you name it?
  

Ans: Hatkoti Temple

• Also known as the Parvati Valley, it is a popular pilgrimage site of Hindus and Sikhs. Located in Himachal Pradesh, its hot springs contains uranium and other radioactive ingredients that heal skin diseases. Can you guess what are we talking about?

Ans: Manikaran

• Dedicated to the Goddess Shyamala, this popular temple of Himachal Pradesh is believed to be built in 1845 AD. One of the most revered Hindu pilgrims, it remains jam packed during Navaratras and Puja holidays. Can you guess what are we talking about?
  

Ans: Kali Bari Temple

• Built to serve as the educational institution for the eastern region of Spiti, it is one of the most popular monasteries in Himachal Pradesh. Located at an altitude of 3050 m above sea level, it was founded by Rinchen Zangpo, a noted scholar. Can you name it?
  

Ans: Tabo Monastery

• One of the most beautiful destinations in Meghalaya, it is located at a distance of just 64 km from Shillong. Surrounded by river Myntdu, it is known for tourist haunts such as Thadalaskein Lake and Syndai. What are we talking about?

Ans: Jowai

• Located at a distance of only 40 km from Gangtok, this lake is perched at an altitude of 12,210 ft. above sea level. An ideal habitat of Red Panda and various species of birds, it is also home to the Brahmini ducks. Can you name this lake?
  

Ans: Tsomgo Lake

• Located on the summit of a rocky hill about 18 km from nowshera town, it is one of the largest forts in rajouri district in jammu and Kashmir. Surrounded by a river on its three sides, it has an uphill ascent on the fourth side. Can you guess what are we talking about?
  

Ans: Mangaladevi Fort

• Situated in the historic city of Hyderabad, this edifice was conceptualized and constructed by Sir Asman Jah, a noble hailing from the Paigah family. Believed to have been built in 1000 AD, this palace presently contains a museum, displaying archaeological relics. Can you name it?

Ans: Asman Garh Palace

• This landmark of Hyderabad was built in 1591 AD by Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of Hyderabad, in memory of his wife, Bhagmati. A superb example of the Cazia style of architecture, it comprises of a number of arches and domes. Can you name this monument?
  

Ans: Char Minar

• Opened to the public on July 15, 1978 with an inaugural address by M G Ramachandran, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu at that time, this museum is dedicated to one of the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu. The museum contains a photo gallery and his personal antiques. Can you guess what are we talking about?

Ans: Kamraj Memorial House

• A well-known cultural center, it shows the amazing antiquities depicting the peculiarity of South India. Inaugurated in 1996, this cultural village gives you a glimpse of art and craft, lifestyle, music and dance of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Can you name it?
  

Ans: Dakshinachitra

• Known popularly for its Friday market, it is a small town clustered around the Mount Alto. Located at a distance of 13 km from Panaji, it forms the hub of North Goa. Can you guess what are we talking about?
  

Ans: Mapusa

• One among the most visited tourist haunts, these waterfalls are located at a distance of 22 km from Panaji on Verna plateau. The name of these waterfalls has been derived from the Indian word for eagles that used to maintain a colony here. Can you guess what are we talking about?

Ans: Kesarval Waterfalls

• Situated at a distance of 12 km from Hanamkonda, it is a popular tourist spot in Andhra Pradesh. Now in ruins, it was once an impregnable fort in the state. Started in 1199 AD, the fort was completed in 1261 AD under the supervision of Rani Rudrama Devi. Can you guess what are we talking about?
  

Ans: Warangal Fort

• Located at a distance of just 50 km from the city of Kota, it is a beautiful sylvian reserve. Once the hunting grounds of the Rajput royals, it stretches over an area of about 250 km. Can you name this sanctuary?

Ans: Darrah Sanctuary

Accenture > Accent on the future.

Accenture originated as the consulting division of Arthur Anderson. Its origin goes back to 1953, when GE asked Arthur Andersen to undertake a feasibility study about payroll processing and manufacturing automation using computers. In 1989, that division split from Arthur Andersen and began using the name Andersen Consulting. On January 1, 2001, Andersen Consulting adopted its current name, "Accenture". The word "Accenture" is derived from "Accent on the future". Although a marketing consultancy was tasked with finding a new name for the company, the name "Accenture" was chosen by an employee from the Oslo office, as a result of an internal competition. Arthur Anderson was one of the member of Big 5 once upon a time until ENRON happened. The fiasco of ENRON was one of major turnarounds in the business of the accounting firms and this event actually led to the separation of Consulting business from the accounting business. Also Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 also came into force because of this financial breakdown. The greater-than sign over the 't' shows that the company is looking to the future. The mark is also an accent mark in music.Tiger Woods is the brand ambassador of the company. The campaign uses the phrase "Go On. Be a Tiger." as its advertisment baseline. Tagline for the company is High Performance. Delivered.

Etymology of cities and countries

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Here is a nice quiz on etymology of cities and countries..


1. This city is often referred as "The Square Mile"
- LONDON

2. This country's name means "Land of Silver"
- ARGENTINA

3. Pakistan in Urdu means ?
- Land of the Pure

4. This country is called the "Land of the thunder dragon".
- BHUTAN

5. Which Asian nation is known as the "Land of million Elephants"?
- LAOS

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Related trivia.

1. The City of London is a small area in Greater London. The modern conurbation of London was developed from the city of London and the nearby city of westminster, which was the centre of the royal government. The City of London is now Europe's largest "central business district" (CBD) and financial district. It is often referred to as just the City or as the Square Mile, as it is approximately one square mile (2.6 km²) in area.

2. Argentina, meaning "land of silver," is a rich and vast land—second largest (after Brazil) in South America and eighth largest in the world. Its heartland is a broad grassy plain known as the Pampas (pronounced PAHM-pahs).

3. The name "Pakistan" means "Land of the Pure" in Urdu and Persian. It was coined in 1933 by Choudhary Rahmat Ali, who published it in the pamphlet Now or Never as an acroym of the names of the "Muslim homelands" of western India — P for Punjab, A for Afghania (the Afghan (Pashtun) areas in the Northwest Frontier Province), K for Kashmir, S for Sindh and tan for Balochistan. The i was later added to the name since in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, "istan" refers to "land of" while "pak" means pure. Officially, the nation was founded as the Dominion of Pakistan in 1947, and was renamed as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1957.

4. 'Bhutan' may be derived from the Sanskrit word 'Bhu-Uttan' which means 'High Land'. In another theory of sanskritisation, 'Bhots-ant' means 'end of Tibet' or 'south of Tibet'. However some Bhutanese call their country 'Druk Yul' and its inhabitants 'Drukpa'. The Dzongkha (and Tibetan) name for the country is 'Druk Yul' (Land of the Dragon). Because of the serenity and the virginity of the country and its landscapes, Bhutan today is sometimes referred to as the Last Shangri-La. Historically, Bhutan was known by many names, such as 'Lho Mon' (Southern Land of Darkness), 'Lho Tsendenjong' (Southern Land of the Sandalwood), 'Lhomen Khazhi' (Southern Land of Four Approaches), and 'Lho Men Jong' (Southern Land of Medicinal Herbs).

5. LAOS - In the Lao language, the country's name is "Meuang Lao". The Imperial French, who made the country part of French Indochina in 1893, spelled it with a final silent "s", i.e. "Laos" (The Lao language itself has no final 's' sound, so Lao people do not pronounce the word Laos). The usual adjectival form is "Lao", e.g. "the Lao economy", not the "Laotian" economy--although "Laotian" is used to describe the people of Laos to avoid confusion with the Lao ethnic group.

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History of Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 by German Jewish immigrant Marcus Goldman. The company made a name for itself pioneering the use of commercial paper for entrepreneurs and was invited to join the New York Stock Exchange in 1896. It was during this time that Goldman's son-in-law Samuel Sachs joined the firm which prompted the name change to Goldman Sachs.

In the early 20th Century, Goldman was a major player in establishing the Initial Public Offering market. It managed one of the largest IPO's to date, that of Sears, Roebuck and Company in 1906.

In 1929, it launched the Goldman Sachs Trading Corp., a closed-end mutual fund with characteristics similar to that of a Ponzi Scheme. The fund failed as a result of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, hurting the firm's reputation for several years afterward.

In 1930, Sidney Weinberg assumed the role of Senior Partner and shifted Goldman's focus away from Trading and towards Investment Banking. On the back of Weinberg, Goldman was lead advisor on the Ford Motor Company's IPO in 1956, which at the time was a major coup on Wall Street.

Gus Levy joined the firm in the 1950s as a well known securities trader, which started a trend at Goldman where there would be two powers generally vie for supremacy, one from investment banking and one from securities trading. Due to Weinberg's heavy influence at the firm, it formed an Investment Banking Division in 1956 in an attempt to spread around influence and not focus it all on Weinberg.

In 1969, Levy took over as Senior Partner from Weinberg, and built Goldman's trading franchise once again. It is Levy who is credited with Goldman's famous philosophy of being "long term greedy," which implies that as long as money is made over the long term, trading losses in the short term are not to be worried about. That same year, Weinberg retired from the firm.

Another financial crisis for the firm occurred in 1970, when the Penn Central Railroad Company went bankrupt with over $80 million in commercial paper outstanding, most of it issued by Goldman Sachs. The bankruptcy was large, and the resulting lawsuits threatened the partnership capital and life of the firm. It was this bankruptcy that resulted in credit ratings being created for every issuer of commercial paper today by several credit rating services.[

John Weinberg (the son of Sidney Weinberg), and John C. Whitehead assumed roles of Co-Senior Partners in 1976, once again emphasizing the co-leadership at the firm. One of their most famous initiatives was the establishment of the 14 Business Principles are still used to this day.

In the 1980s, the firm made a major move by acquiring J. Aron & Company, a commodities trading firm which merged with the Fixed Income division to become known as Fixed Income, Currencies, and Commodities. J. Aron was a major player in the coffee and gold markets, and the current CEO of Goldman, Lloyd Blankfein, joined the firm as a result of this merger.

In 1986, the firm formed Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which manages the majority of its mutual funds and hedge funds today. In the same year, the firm also underwrote the IPO of Microsoft, advised General Electric on its acquisition of RCA and joined the London and Tokyo stock exchanges. 1986 also was the year when Goldman became the first United States bank to rank in the top 10 of Mergers and Acquisitions in the United Kingdom.

One of the largest events in the firm's history was its own IPO in 1999. The decision to go public was a tough one that the partners debated for decades. In the end, Goldman decided to offer only a small portion, 12% of the company to be held by the public. Henry Paulson became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the firm. Hull Trading Company, one of the world’s premier market-making firms, was acquired by Goldman in 1999 for $531 million.