UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT

SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

II Semester B .A/ B.Com/BBA Common Paper
Readings on Kerala
Multiple Choice Questions

1. Malabar Manual was published in …………

A. 1887
B. 1889
C. 1879
D. 1880
2. Vasco da Gama landed at near…………… Kozhikode in 1498.
A. Koyilandi
B. Kollam
C. Pantalayani
D. Maradu.
3. Vasco Da Gama set sail ……………..from Belem near Lisbon.
A. 26th of March 1497
B. 25th of March 1497
C. 20th of July 1497
D. 21th of July 1497
4. What was the name of Gama's fleet?
A. San Gabriel
B. San Raphael
C. San Miguel
D. San Maria
5. Which mountain range is mentioned as the 'great mountain"?
A. Elamala
B. Sahya
C. Ezhimala
D. Kanakamala
6. Which city was named Capocate?
A. Calicut
B. Kollam
C. Kannur
D. Alapuzha
7. The chapter "Tribal Tale of Kerala" is in the book ………..by Prof.Achutha Warrier
 School of Distance Education

A. Kerala Society
B. Kerala Culture
C. Tribes in Kerala
D. None of the above
8. The historians assumed that the human started inhibiting Kerala around
A. 4000BC.
B. 3000BC
C. 4500BC
D. 5000BC
9. Among the tribes, ………. are the most backward community
A. Irular
B. Kurichyar
C. Malayar
D. Paniyar
10. Muthuvanmar from Devikulam, Peerumedu, and Udumbanchila are believed to have
come from the state, Tamilnadu
A. Karnataka
B. Maharashtra
C. Tamilnadu
D. Andrapradesh
11. …………….. tribes are unique among the tribes because they dwell in caves and tree
houses till the last century
A. Malavedar
B. Paniyar
C. Irular
D. Kanikkar
12. What is the name of the community of tribes?
A. Ganam
B. Gothram
C. Kootam
D. Sangham
13. The Goddess of war is called………..who is appeased before and after the war or
disputes between two communities.
A. Kotavai
B. Rudra
C. Kali
D. Amman
14. . Memory stones are left at the burial site by the tribes like ………as widely seen
among the Australoids.
A. Irular
B. Paniyar
C. Malayarayar
D. Vedar

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15. Where can we see the largest Adivasi settlements in Kerala?

A. Attappadi
B. Palakkad
C. Wayanad
D. Kollam
16. What is the figure of speech in the line "Of the benevolent foe of inferno"?
A. Oxymoron
B. Alliteration
C. Antithesis
D. Hyperbole
17. Name of the forest where the Pandavas were living during their exile
A. Mangal woods
B. Dwaitha woods
C. Maha woods
D. Aranya woods
18. The story of the “Ghoshayathra” is taken from ………. which is the third book of the
18 parvas of Mahabharata.
A. Adi Parva
B. Sabha Parva
C. Vana Parva
D. Virata Parva
19. Who is the originator of the dance art form of Thullal?
A. Asan
B. Cherussery
C. Vallathol
D. Kunchan Nambiar
20. In Ghoshayathra, ……………...is depicted as a local king in Kerala with an army of
Nair soldiers who are anything but courageous.
A. Arjunan
B. Duryodhanan
C. Bheeman
D. Dharmaputhrar
21. Who is the author of the poem “Athmopadesa Sathakam”?
A. Kumaran Asan
B. Vallathol
C. Sreenarayana Guru
D. Ulloor
22. Sreenarayana Guru established the Advaita Ashram in Aluva in
A. 1913
B. 1914
C. 1910
D. 1920
23. The………………. metre is used to set Athmopadesa Sathakam.
A. Keka

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B. Muktha Chandsssu
C. Nathonnatha
D. Mrugendramukham
24. Atmopadesasatakam was published in the year-
A. 1897
B. 1910
C. 1900
D. 1896
25. The first major novel in Malayalam
A. Sharada
B. Indulekha
C. Nellu
D. Chemmeen
26. Indulekha", was published in the year
A. 1889
B. 1887
C. 1880
D. 1890
27. Indulekha is the granddaughter of ……………, the Karanvar of the family
A. Madhavan
B. Kesava Menon
C. Panchu Menon
D. Suri Namboothiri.
28. Who is Indulekha’s lover?
A. Soori Namboothiri
B. Shinnan
C. Kesavan
D. Madhavan
29. Madhavan had asked Panchumenon for permission to bring ………. along with him
to give English education
A. Kalyanikutty
B. Shinnan
C. Chatharamenon
D. Indulekha
30. In which year Ayyankali organized ‘Villuvandi Yathra”?
A. 1893
B. 1896
C. 1987
D. 1890
31. Ayyankali enrolled the Dalit student …………in a school in Ooruttambalam.
A. Ammini
B. Panchami
C. Kali
D. Malu

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32. Ayyankali was nominated to serve in the Srimoolam Praja Sabha in……
A. 1910
B. 1920
C. 1912
D. 1900
33. Ayyankali formed the Sadhu Jana Paripalana Sangam (SJPS) in ……
A. 1908
B. 1906
C. 1907
D. 1910.
34. Who was Ayyankali’s Guru?
A. Chattambi Swamikal
B. Thaikkattu Ayyavu
C. Sreenarayana Guru
D. Vaikunda Swamikal
35. Who was the founder of the Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha (PRDS)
A. Ayyankali
B. Sreenarayana Guru
C. Vaikunda Swamikal
D. Poykayil Appachan
36. Who is the author of the poem “No Not a Single Letter Seen”?
A. Poykail Appachan
B. Sreenarayana Guru
C. Ulloor
D. Changampuzha
37. Who is the translator of the poem “ No Not a Single Letter Seen”?
A. Meenakshi
B. Muni Prasad
C. Ajay S Sekhar
D. Ajay Menon
38. Poykail Appachan changed his name from Komaran to…….
A. Yesudas
B. Yohannan
C. Mathai
D. Joseph
39. Poykayl Appachan, a revolutionary Dalit leader and social reformer, was born in ……
A. Eraviperoor
B. Perunna
C. Pala
D. Kottiyum
40. At the legendary Raksha Nirnaya Yogam conducted in………….in 1910, the poem
"No, Not a single letter is seen" was sung.
A. Koavayal
B. Kottarakoth

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C. Kulathur Kunnu
D. Kottiyum
41. Who is known as the father of Kerala's Islamic Renaissance?
A. Abdul Khader
B. Mujeeb Rahman
C. Vakkam Abdul khadir Moulavi
D. Moitheen kutty Saheb
42. On January 19, ……., Vakkom Moulavi started the weekly journal Swadeshabhimani
A. 1907
B. 1908
C. 1900
D. 1905
43. Who was the first editor of Swadesabhimani?
A. K Ramakrishna Pillai
B. Bhaskara menon
C. Vakkam Moulavi
D. CP Govinda Pillai,
44. Who wrote the essay “Vakkom Moulavi: My Grandfather, the Rebel”?
A. Iqbal Azad
B. Sabin Iqbal
C. Janaki
D. Kochubava
45. “colonisers "replaced memory" by removing a people's traditional memory and
substituting their own” who states?
A. Nelson Mandela
B. Franz Fanon
C. Ngugi wa Thiong'o
D. Gayathri Spivak
46. Ngugi wa Thiong'o was a ……………writer.
A. Kenyan
B. French
C. German
D. American
47. Moulavi was influenced by Mohammed Abduh, Mohammed Rashid Rida's Journal
………
A. al-Manar,
B. Al-Muqtataf
C. Al- Jinan
D. Al- Nibras
48. Who was the second Editor of Swedesabhimani?
A. K Ramakrishna Pillai
B. Vakkam Moulavi
C. , CP Govinda Pillai
D. Kumaran Asan

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49. "Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the
definitive story of that person". Who says?
A. Ngugi wa Thiong'o
B. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
C. Franz Fanon
D. Umberto Eco
50. The first newspaper in Kerala to establish contact with Reuters in London was…….
A. Deepika
B. Malayala Manorama
C. Swedesabhimani
D. Samkshepa Vedartham

51. Who wrote the poem “Kuttipuram Bridge”?

A) Kunchan Nambiar
B) Edasseri Govindan Nair
C) Sugathakumari
D) K Satchidanandan
52. Who translated the poem “Kuttipuram Bridge” into English?
A) A. J Thomas
B) V. C Harris
C) K Satchidanandan
D) Jayasree R. K
53. Which is the poem that expresses the poet’s anxiety and uncertainty about the process
of modernization and mechanization?
A) Rain-at- Night
B) Ghoshayatra
C) No, not a single letter is seen
D) Kuttipuram Bridge
54. _____ is the act of crawling between the winner’s legs on penalty upon losing a game.
A) Naatta Noozhuka
B) Malloorkkayam
C) Anthimahakalan
D) Gramalakshmi
55. Who is the Malayalam novelist and social reformer best known for exposing the
pitiable plight of Namboothiri women?
A) Lalithambika Antharjanam
B) Sugathakumari
C) Sithara S
D) O Chandumenon

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56. Who penned the work “Daughter of Humanity”?

A) Sithara S.
B) O Chandumenon
C) Lalithambika Antharjanam
D) Sabin Iqbal
57. ___________ translated “Manushyaputhri” into English as “Daughter of Humanity”.
A) A. J Thomas
B) Gita Krishnan Kutty
C) Jayasree R. K
D) K Satchidanandan
58. ____________ is a character in “Daughter of Humanity”.
A) Kunhathol Amma
B) Priya
C)Ravi
D) Sanjeev
59. The story “Daughter of Humanity” was published in the anthology ____________.
A) Agnisakshi
B) Aathmakadhakkoru Aamukham
C) Cast Me Out If You Will
D) Agni
60. Who is referred to himself as “a humble historian”?
A) Vakkom Moulavi
B) Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer
C) V. C Harris
D) O. Chandumenon
61. __________ is a Namboodiri caste name which literally refers to “one who is inside”.
A) Lalithambika
B) Antharjanam
C) Manushyaputri
D) None of these
62. Who obtained contemporary education in an English Medium school which was
unheard of among traditional Muslim families of his time?
A) Vakkom Moulavi
B) V. C Harris
C) Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer
D) Sabin Iqbal

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63. ____________ is written by Basheer.

A) Indulekha
B) Tribals of Kerala
C) Daughter of Humanity
D) Christian Heritage
64. Who visited Basheer (the narrator) in the story “Christian Heritage”?
A) Kochu Thommi
B) Govindankutty
C) Lakshmi
D) Kunhathol Amma
65. Which is the debut novel penned by M. T Vasudevan Nair that won Kerala Sahitya
Academy Award in 1958?
A) Kaalam (Time)
B) Asuravithu (The Demon Seed)
C) Naalukettu (Legacy)
D) Randamoozham (The Second Turn)
66. “Myth and Literature” is taken from the collection of speeches ____________.
A) Vakkukalude Vismayam
B) Parinayam
C) Kerala Samskaram
D) Malabar Manual
67. According to M. T, which book is a compilation of regional legends in eight volumes
that is sold most in Kerala?
A) Keralolpathi
B) Aithihyamala
C) Chemeen
D) Mahabharata
68. “Myth and Literature”, the excerpt was originally delivered at Sahitya Academy in ____.
A) 1991
B) 1992
C) 1994
D) 1995
69. Who is the member of the trio of Modern novelists and short story writers, others
being Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai and Ponkunnam Varkey?
A) Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer
B) M. T Vasudevan Nair

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C) Jeet Thayyil
D) Poykayil Appachan
70. What served as pillow for guests in the story “Christian Heritage”?
A) Christian Heritage in India
B) Premalekhanam
C) Ormayude Arakal
D) Nerum Nunayum
71. _____________ is a major character in the famous novel Chemeen.
A) Fishermen
B) Sea
C) Womenfolk
D) Shore
72. Chemeen is a novel penned by _____________.
A) Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
B) M. T Vasudevan Nair
C) Vyloppilli Sreedharamenon
D) M. Mukundan
73. According to M. T, which novel gains relevance by showing how nature can be a life-
giver and life-taker at the same time?
A) Chemeen
B) Keralolpathi
C) Aithihyamala
D) None of the these
74. Who is honoured as the father of Malayalam language?
A) Thunchath Ezhuthachan
B) Kovilan
C) Thunchan Nambiar
D) M. N Bhattathiri

75. Who is the founder secretary of the Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi, an organization
for the protection of nature?
A) S. Sithara
B) Sugathakumari
C) Lalithambika Antharjanam
D) Sabin Iqbal

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76. Who translated the poem “Rathrimazha” into English?

A) Sugathakumari
B) B. Hridyakumari
C) Jayasree R K
D) Gita Krishnan Kutty
77. Who was an active member of Odessa, a film fraternity founded by John Abraham
and later managed by C. V Sathyan?
A) V. C Harris
B) M. T Vasudevan Nair
C) VKN
D) Narendra Prasad

78. According to V. C Harris, the history of twentieth century _______ is a mixture of the
consequences of several important late nineteenth century struggles and movements which
aimed at social reform and the emergence of Nationalist Movement and the left Ideology.
A) Kerala
B) India
C) Cinema
D) Tamil Nadu
79. _________ by Adoor Gopalakrishnan is the ‘inaugural’ film in “art cinema” category.
A) Chemeen
B) Swayamvaram
C) Thampu
D) Neelakkuyil
80. According to V. C. Harris, ___________ is considered as a landmark film in
Malayalam for its successful fusing of various ingredients like truly local, well-crafted
story etc.
A) Swayamvaram
B) Kadvu
C Nirmalyam
D) Neelakkuyil

81. The movie Neelakkuyil was released in the year __________.

A) 1954
B) 1965
C) 1978
D) 1972

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82. Who is the author born in Kerala and educated in Hong Kong, New York, and
Bombay?
A) Sugathakumari
B) Sithara. S
C) Jeet Thayyil
D) Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer
83. ____________ was Jeet Thayyil’s debut novel which was shortlisted for Man Book er
Prize in 2012.
A) These Errors are Correct
B) Apocalypso
C) English
D) Narcopolis
84. Jeet Thayyil is very much influenced by __________.
A) Dom Moraes
B) Derrida
C) Freud
D) K. Satchidanandan
85. The poem “Malayalam’s Ghazal” is taken from the collection _____________.
A) These Errors are Correct
B) English
C) The Collected Poems
D) Apocalypso
86. ______________ is a poem that is usually composed of five to fifteen couplets, often a
meditation on love or melancholy or the metaphysical, in which each couplet stands
independently yet offers another “puzzle piece” on the theme established in the first
couplet.
A) Lyric
B) Sonnet
C) Free Verse
D) Ghazal
87. What is the peculiarity of the ghazal form?
A) The last couplet often contains the poet’s name.
B) The last couplet does not contain the poet’s name.
C) The last couplet is unimportant.
D) None of these.

88. A phrase or verse that is repeated regularly in a poem or song is called __________.

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A) rhyme
B) alliteration
C) refrain
D) assonance
89. __________ is a form of dance that originated in Gujarat.
A) Garba
B) Kalbelia
C) Ghazal
D) Bangra
90. Whose short story is “Agni” (Fire)?
A) Sithara. S
B) Priya S.
C) Satchidanandan
D) Jeet Thayyil
91. Who is the protagonist of the short story Agni (Fire)?
A) Ravi
B) Sanjeev
C) Nameless Boy
D) Priya
92. Which story enriches a conversation on the unusual portrayal of a rape incident?
A) Narcopolis
B) Agni (Fire)
C) Pictures Drawn on Water
D) Christian Heritage
93. In the story, Agni __________ is a rape-survivor who declines either to be persecuted
or to be destroyed with disappointment or disrespect.
A) Priya
B) Sithara
C) Ravi
D) Stripling boy
94. Who translated the story Agni into English?
A) Priya S.
B) Sithara S.
C) Jayasree R. K
D) B. Hridayakumari

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95. ______________ is a poem written in the wake of the great flood in Kerala in 2018.
A) Rain-at-Night
B) Malayalam’s Ghazal
C) Pictures Drawn on Water
D) Ghoshayathra

96. Who wrote the poem “Pictures Drawn on Water”?

A) Kunchan Nambiar
B) Edasseri Govindan Nair
C) K Satchidanandan
D) Poykayil Appachan

97. Who coined the term “pennezhuthu” (Women’s Writing)?

A) K. Satchidanandan
B) Sugathakumari
C) O Chandumenon
D) Sithara S.

98. In the poem, “Pictures Drawn on Water”, in which part the poet explains the selfless
attitude of the people in the face of tragedy?
A) The Slush
B) As We Look On
C) The Boat
D) The Cat
99. Who becomes philosopher in the poem “Pictures Drawn on Water”?
A) The People
B) The Cat
C) The Slate
D) The Slush

100. Which part of the poem “Pictures Drawn on Water” is considered as a piece of
ecological poetry?
A) As We Look On
B) The Boat
C) The Slate
D) The Slush

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ANSWER KEYS
1. A 26. A 51. B 76. B
2. C 27. C 52. A 77. A
3. B 28. D 53. D 78. A
4. B 29. B 54. A 79. B
5. C 30. A 55. A 80. D
6. A 31. B 56. C 81.A
7. B 32. C 57. B 82.C
8. A 33. C 58. A 83. D
9. D 34. B 59. C 84. A
10. C 35. D 60. B 85. C
11. D 36. A 61. B 86. D
12. B 37. C 62. C 87. A
13. A 38. B 63. D 88. C
14. C 39. A 64. A 89. A
15. C 40. C 65. C 90. A
16. A 41. C 66. A 91.D
17. B 42. D 67. B 92. B
18. C 43. D 68. D 93. A
19. D 44. B 69. A 94. C
20. B 45. C 70. A 95.C
21. C 46. A 71. B 96. C
22. A 47. A 72. A 97. A
23. D 48. A 73. A 98. C
24. A 49. B 74. A 99. B
25. B 50. C 75. B 100. D

Prepared by:
(Modules I and II)
Ms. SMITHA N
Assistant Professor, School of Distance Education,
University of Calicut.

(Modules III and IV)

Ms. SABINA K MUSTHAFA
Assistant Professor, School of Distance Education,
University of Calicut.

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