Read the paragraph: In a community dance of Arunachal Pradesh, eight persons…

2023

Read the paragraph: In a community dance of Arunachal Pradesh, eight persons form a circular group. In a Republic Day parade, a group from Arunachal Pradesh consisting of Kavita, Laxmi, Munni, Nini, Oliver, Pallavi, Quincy, Rehana presented this dance. All of them were related to one another, due to which there were some constraints as to who would be beside whom. Laxmi, Munni, Nini — the only three women in the group — have to be side by side; Munni and Oliver have to be farthest from each other; and Quincy and Kavita should have at least 3 others between them.

If Nini is placed opposite to Pallavi and between Quincy and Munni, then which of the following should be opposite to each other?

  1. A.

    Munni and Quincy

  2. B.

    Laxmi and Rehana

  3. C.

    Pallavi and Rehana

  4. D.

    None

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B

Concept: In a circular arrangement of 8 people (all facing the centre, evenly spaced), two people are opposite each other exactly when they are 4 seats apart — this splits the remaining 6 people into two equal arcs of 3 on each side. So opposite and farthest apart both mean a position-difference of 4 out of 8.

Application:

  1. Fix Nini at seat 1 as a reference point, since only relative positions matter.

  2. Nini is opposite Pallavi, so Pallavi sits at seat 5 (4 seats from Nini).

  3. Nini sits between Quincy and Munni, so seats 8 and 2 (Nini's two neighbours) are occupied by Quincy and Munni in some order.

  4. Laxmi, Munni and Nini must all sit side by side as a block of 3 consecutive seats. Since Munni is already next to Nini, Laxmi must take the seat on the far side of Munni to complete the block.

  5. Taking Munni at seat 2 and Quincy at seat 8, the block Nini(1)-Munni(2)-Laxmi(3) is consecutive, so Laxmi sits at seat 3.

  6. Munni and Oliver must be farthest apart (opposite), so Oliver sits at seat 6 (4 seats from Munni's seat 2).

  7. Quincy and Kavita must have at least 3 others between them; with Quincy at seat 8, the only fit with 3 on each side is Kavita at seat 4 (opposite Quincy).

  8. The one remaining seat, 7, is taken by Rehana.

  9. Reading opposite pairs across the circle (seat n and seat n+4): seat1-seat5 = Nini-Pallavi, seat2-seat6 = Munni-Oliver, seat3-seat7 = Laxmi-Rehana, seat4-seat8 = Kavita-Quincy.

Cross-check: Repeating the same steps with Munni at seat 8 and Quincy at seat 2 instead (the mirror-image case) reproduces the identical set of opposite pairs, just reflected around the circle — Laxmi and Rehana remain opposite each other either way, confirming the result does not depend on which direction the block is placed.

Result: Laxmi and Rehana are opposite each other.

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