Kaun Banega Crorepati 6 - Manoj Kumar Raina hits 1 Crore

Indian  Railway employee – Manoj Kumar Raina, is a happy man , naturally so and he deserves to be so.   Did you care to read the news in May 2012 that RBI is to put in circulation new coins of Rs 5 denomination to commemorate 150th year of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).  The communiqué stated that the new coin will bear the logo of CAG along with year "1860-2010" on the bottom of the logo.

Quizzing is great fun – when you are on the hot seat – even simple things can slip out of mind – rather innocuous looking Qs, in reality are not so ! – they are loaded and one cannot know all trivia !!  that way Kaun Banega Crorepati [popularly KBC] has changed the way millions watch TV – moved them away from cine masala and sports to sit up and watch the Quiz.  The Quiz Master Amitabh Bachchan is a real hero, attracting people and you can understand the inner currents when persons called on ‘phone assist’ get overawed by his voice. 

In the present edition of KBC 6,  Indian Railways employee Manoj Kumar Raina, has become  the first contestant to have won Rs. 1 crore. Reports state that Raina appeared very confident from the very beginning when he aced the Fastest Fingers first round in just 5.6 seconds.  The 48 year old Manojkumar Raina is an assistant with the Railways, and  is an ardent fan of Big B. Mr. Raina lives in Jammu with his parents, wife and 10-year-old son, who accompanied him to the sets of KBC. He claimed that  meeting mega star Amitabh Bachchan was his ultimate dream and that  he will use this sum to build his house in native Kashmir.  It is stated that Raina is also the first contestant from Jammu & Kashmir to get to the hot seat on the popular game show.

On the state of affairs in Kashmir, he said, “In 1988, everything began going downhill. Everything was burnt down by militants and nothing was left. During militancy my house in Kashmir Valley was destroyed. We were forced to leave the place. Since then I have been living in Jammu. With Rs. 1 crore, I would like to build a house there and also I want to help underprivileged people in the area who are not receiving any help from any one. I would do help in whatever little way I can,” he said. KBC is extremely popular as it provides enough opportunity to the participants with its nice scheme.  The Show is lively and extremely well presented by the host Amitabh.  Since 2000, phrases like – Computerji, Lock kiya jaye – have become household words.  – compared to this ‘freeze it’ in version 3 was an abject failure.   The game show made on the lines of UK’s famous ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire?’ had Rs. 1 crore as prize money in the inaugural year but in the next year it was doubled to 2 crores; to 5 crores from the fourth season. 

Like the numerous commercial breaks, the show itself had a break and restarted in Aug 2005 after almost 4 years hiatus; again had to be stopped in 2006 when Amitabh fell ill.  Star Television recruited Shahrukh Khan to host the third season of the show. Khan was at peak of his career but the third season which began in Jan 2007 never really hit the heights that KBC had already achieved.  In Oct 2010, Amitabh was back in KBC 4  at his 68th birthday.   The fifth season started on 15 August 2011 on the Independence Day of India with the same format and  became a massive hit with audiences.

Now it time for the  Sixth season (KBC 6) again hosted by Amitabh Bachchan aired on Sony TV @ 8:30pm.  It has to be a combination of GK, common sense, luck and more to reach there and come up the ladder.  The first step is the registration calling or sending SMS to the nos. given.  During registration, a Q will be asked which has to answered correctly upon which the Name will be recorded as successful participant.

The popular show has already made some crorepatis - Harshvardhan Nawathe – was the 1st Winner Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 1   1,00,00,000 in 2000. Sushil kumar won 5 crores on Nov 2011.     Now it is  Manoj Kumar Raina who won 1 crore on 8th Sept 2012.  When you are an outsider, things will look extraordinarily simple – but actually they are not.  You sure would be stumped by some of the Questions though the Show starts with some easy pickings.  Here is how Raina opened his account and moved swiftly on.  The right answers are in brackets.

1.       Which of these beauty queens share her name with the surname of a West Indian Cricketer ?

A. Diana; B. Priyanka; C. Sushmitha; D. Lara [Lara – Brian Charles Lara]

2.       Which of these is held annually in India?

A. Lok Sabha elections; B. Presidential Elections; C, Budget Session of Parliament; D. Vidan Sabha elections [Budget session of Parliament]

3.       Kamadeva got the name ‘Ananga’ after he was burnt to ashes by the fire of which God’s third eye ?

A. Agni; B. Shiva; C. Vishnu; D. Indira [Shiva]

4.       How many bones does an Elephant’s trunk have ?

A.5; B.1;C.10;D.0 [0 – no bones]

5.       In which city is the Peer Dastageer Sahib Shrine that was damaged in a fire in June 2012 situated ?

A. Srinagar; B. Ajmer; C. Aligarh; D. Hyderabad  [Srinagar]

6.       Who succeeded General VK Singh as the Chief of Army Staff of India ?

A. Gen Tejinder Singh; B. Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag; C. Gen Deepak Kapoor; D. Gen Bikram singh [Gen Bikram Singh]

7.       According to Kalhana’s Rajatarangini, who drained out the water from Kashmir valley that was a vast Lake and made it habitable ?

A. Agasthya; B. Kahsyapa; C. Valmiki; D. Parasurama [Kashyapa]

8.       In May 2012, which Country’s PM became its President and President then became the Prime Minister ?

A. Russia; B. Poland; C. Ukraine; D. France [Russia]

9.       In 2011, India’s first airconditioned double decker train started between which two cities

A. Howrah-Darbhnaga; B.Habibganj-Indore; C. Sealdah-Delhi; D, Howrah-Dhanbad [Howrah- Dhanbad]

10.     The awarding of Gold medals of 1st; Silver for 2nd and Bronze for 3rd began in which Olympics ?

A.       1900 Paris; 1904 St. Louis; C. 1908 London; D.1912 Stockholm [1904 St. Louis]

11.     In 1860, which British Official became the first auditor General of India ?

A. Sir AF Cox; B. Sir Proby Cautley; C. Lord Salisbury; D. Sir Edmund Drummond.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is an authority, established by the Constitution of India under Chapter V, who audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. The CAG is also the external auditor of government-owned companies.   CAG has been in the limelight for exposing mega corruptions particularly, 2G, CWG and coal mining scams. 

The current CAG of India is Vinod Rai, who was appointed on 7 January 2008. He is the 11th CAG of India.  The Q was who was the first Auditor General of India – a tough one indeed !!!

The role of the CAG evolved through practice and tradition in British India. The Government of India Act 1858 introduced a system of an annual budget of Imperial Income and Expenditure in 1860. The budgeting system laid the foundation of the system of Imperial Audit. Sir Edward Drummond took charge in November 1860 as the first Auditor General. The term Comptroller and Auditor General of India was first used in 1884.

Manojkumar Raina’s ‘sahi jawab’ – Sir Edmund Drummond earned him Rs.1 crore.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.