How I knew the answer to the Five Crore Question

Q. Which colonial power ended its involvement in India by selling the rights of the Nicobar Islands to the British on October 16, 1868?
Options:
a) Belgium
b) Denmark
c) France
d) Italy.

This was the question posed by host Amitabh Bachchan to contestant Sushil Kumar which could make him the winner of the top prize in Kaun Banega Crorepati (Indian Version of the famous “Who wants to be a millionaire”). If Sushil Kumar quit, he would end up with 1 Crore (USD 200K). If he got it wrong, he would fall down to Rs. 160K (USD 3200). Well, we all know that Sushil Kumar got the answer right and made history by winning 5 crores (USD 1 Million). 

Forget Sushil Kumar, would I have got the answer right if I had been there in his spot? ….Don’t we all play this imaginary thought game at home and try to see if we deserved the 5 crore or not?

Here’s what happened yesterday (2^nd Nov 2011): I finished work early and decided to spend some time with my three year old son Aryasiddh. Just as I was thinking what to do, he brought me a copy of Tinkle comic book (dated March 2011). I opened a random picture story for him and began narrating:

Once two cranes were talking to each other that the Emerald Islands in Nicobar were so beautiful and there were plenty of Coconuts and fish there. But then one of them remarked that the conditions were so hostile that most would not survive in those islands for long.

A crow overheard them talking and thought these cranes are foolish and hence may not survive in Nicobar. But crows were much smarter and would survive in this land of Fish and coconuts. So, the crow went there with a boatful of tradable goods.

The islands were occupied by pigs at that time. The industrious crow found that the pigs had lots of fish and coconuts but needed linen and tobacco. So, he set up a profitable business and prospered. As time went by, he started inviting his friends and relatives to come settle in Nicobar and soon there was a huge colony of crows in Nicobar. Their numbers were increasing and they looked to become the new masters of the Nicobar Islands.

But after a few months, a dangerous fatal fever started spreading among the crows. The crows searched far and wide for a remedy to this fever but none could be found. Their numbers started dwindling. The crows convened an emergency meeting and decided that the cranes were right. Outsiders could not survive on this island. The locals were used to the conditions and hence were safe. With this, the crows left Nicobar, never to return again.

Well. The story is over (some of these children’s stories end abruptly and you got to leave it at that and I am fine as long as my son is not complaining). I know you are impatient and wondering how that answers the 5 crore question.

At the end of the story, there was small footnote and I happened to glance at it before I closed the book. Here’s the footnote:

“ This is a fanciful tale to explain why there are no – or very few house crows in Nicobar. But “Nicobar Fever” as it is called did deter human colonizers , especially the Danes, from occupying the islands in centuries past. The Danes made several attempts to colonise the islands, all of which failed because of the Nicobar Fever”

You can imagine my surprise that when I was watching the TV just two hours after reading the story to my son and the question was presented on the TV screen for 5 crore rupees. I shouted Denmark even before the options were put on the screen.

I think this sort of a thing happens to us all the time. There are so many times when I learn a new word which I never knew of before. Then suddenly, I see that word being mentioned everywhere.

Coming back to KBC, looking back, I can now appreciate why Slumdog Millionaire was such a great story (credit to Vikas Swarup for writing it). As for the movie, I have been critical of Boyle in the past because of the “negative portrayal of India” especially to the outside world. Again, that is a subject of a much bigger discussion not intended today.

To win the top prize in this competition, you do not have to be the most intelligent person on earth. First, you have to be lucky enough to be selected for this (remember in our country, this literally means a one in billion probability). Then you play the fastest finger first and beat 10 other contestants to it. Then, you should be lucky to get 13 questions which you know about. After that, some basic knowledge, a logical mind and a gambler’s instinct will take you to a million.


We can ofcourse extrapolate this even further. The toppers in school exams seldom make it to the top in life. Okay, kuch zyada ho gaya. No filosofizing. 


Another observation is that this is a second guy in India to have won the top prize (the first was Harshavardhan Nawathe in year 2000) and who is preparing for IAS entrance exams and hence seems to know everything.....I am curious about the syllabus of IAS entrance tests now....In any case, if you pass, you become the under-table crorepati and if you fail, you can try your luck at KBC. OK, all you honest IAS officers, don't start getting red....we only speak from our experience. 

Anyways, congratulations to Sushil Kumar for his bounty and wish him safety against the many new “friends and relatives” who will suddenly be surrounding him. And yes, I do REALLY know him from childhood and we were "langotia" friends. Only he does not remember now. :-)