Which Kerala town is called the Venice of the East for its network of backwaters and canals?

The correct answer is B, Jaipur. The capital of Rajasthan, founded in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh II, earned the name because the old walled city was painted in a terracotta pink wash, traditionally said to have been done to welcome a royal visit in the nineteenth century, and the colour is still maintained by law in the old quarter. Option A is wrong because Jodhpur is the Blue City, named for the indigo-washed houses below the Mehrangarh fort, and is also called the Sun City. Option C is wrong because Udaipur is the City of Lakes, sometimes also called the White City and the Venice of the East. Option D is wrong because Jaisalmer is the Golden City, named for the yellow sandstone of its fort and havelis. All four Rajasthan cities carry colour names, which is exactly the trap this question sets.

The correct answer is A, Jodhpur. The houses crowded below the Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur are washed in indigo blue, a colour traditionally associated with Brahmin households and also believed to keep interiors cool and repel insects, and the view of that blue sprawl from the fort gives the city its name; Jodhpur is also called the Sun City for its unbroken sunshine and stands at the edge of the Thar desert. Option B is wrong because Bhopal is the City of Lakes of Madhya Pradesh. Option C is wrong because Thrissur in Kerala is called the cultural capital of that state and is famous for the Thrissur Pooram. Option D is wrong because Indore is the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh and carries no colour nickname. In a paper, Jodhpur usually appears opposite Jaipur, so hold both pairs together.

The correct answer is B, Jaisalmer. The city in western Rajasthan is built of a honey-coloured yellow sandstone that turns golden in desert light, and its living fort, the Sonar Qila, rises out of the Thar desert; the nickname belongs to the stone, not to any metal trade. Option A is wrong because Amritsar is known as the city of the Golden Temple, which is a separate idea and not the Golden City. Option C is wrong because Surat in Gujarat is called the Diamond City of India for its diamond cutting and polishing industry, and also the textile city. Option D is wrong because Madurai is called the Athens of the East and the City of Festivals, for its temple and its long history. Candidates lose this mark by picking Amritsar, so separate the Golden City from the Golden Temple city.

The correct answer is B, the Manchester of India. Ahmedabad in Gujarat built up a large cotton textile industry on the model of the English mill town, and the comparison with Manchester, the cotton capital of Britain, stuck; the city is also called the Boston of India and, more recently, the Textile City. Option A is wrong because Chennai is the Detroit of India for its concentration of automobile manufacturing. Option C is wrong because Bengaluru is the Silicon Valley of India, as well as the Garden City and the Electronic City. Option D is wrong because Jamshedpur is the Pittsburgh of India and the Steel City, for the Tata works founded there. Papers also use the regional variants of the same name, Kanpur as the Manchester of North India and Coimbatore as the Manchester of South India.

The correct answer is B, Chennai. The capital of Tamil Nadu and its surrounding belt hold a very large share of India's car, commercial vehicle and auto component manufacturing and export, which is why it is compared with Detroit, the historic motor city of the United States; Chennai is also called the Gateway of South India. Option A is wrong because Pune, though it too has vehicle plants, is called the Oxford of the East and the Queen of the Deccan. Option C is wrong because Gurugram is a corporate and services hub in Haryana, not a motor city nickname. Option D is wrong because Jamshedpur is the Steel City, named for the Tata iron and steel works, and is also called the Pittsburgh of India. In a question of this shape the distractors are always other industrial cities, so attach each nickname to its one industry.