Question Ably - 18: Answer

Going by how many answered correctly and how quickly they did that, it looks like QA - 18 was too easy.

For the record the answer is Saif Ali Khan, the 10th Nawab of Pataudi.

As an aside, when I was looking up Wiki, I saw 'pretender' in (brackets) next to the names of Saif and his father, and his father's name appeared twice. This elicited two reactions from me: outrage (on behalf of Saif) and excessive caution (I re-counted the names).

All these days I had assumed that a 'pretender to the throne' was a usurper or other illegitimate occupant. After deeper Wikiing, I now see that 'pretender' has a wider meaning. It means a person who claims a position of rank or honour that is no longer available, is abolished.

That explains why Saif's father, Tiger Pataudi is listed as a regular Nawab of Pataudi till 1971 (when titles together with Privy Purses were officially abolished in India) and then as a 'pretender' from 1971 till his death.

Wiki also explains that used in this context, 'pretender' is not disparaging. The French origins of the word were value-neutral and meant a 'claimant'.

Anybody who says she knew all this gyaan all along is nothing but a pretender.