prelude  Wish you all A Merry Christmas I am sure all of you have heard about Christmas carols, but have you heard about A Christmas Carol? It is a story by Charles Dickens about a miser called Scrooge, who is converted by a series of visions from a condition of mercantile avarice and misanthropy into an embodiment of the Christmas spirit, with its generosity and goodwill to humankind in general. By no means one of the best of Dickens’ works, it nonetheless represents entertainingly his celebration of the virtues associated with Christmas. He represented these virtues as the cure for the puritan narrowness of feeling and inhumanity of outlook which were the dark side of Victorian commerce. Anyway, once again it is that time of the year when love is in the air and a feeling of bonhomie prevails. Yes, it is Christmas once again. The season to be jolly. When our minds begin to dwell on the many customs that have come to be associated with the Yuletide spirit. Carols, cards, toys, decorations, hollies, mistletoe, new clothes, the crib, the Christmas tree, that jolly good old fellow called Santa Claus, parties, the Christmas cake, sweets and other delicacies that make up the Christmas meal. As the old carol goes, have yourself a beautiful Christmas. But coming Christmas, let us pray for world peace without the concept called ‘terrorism’. Enjoy the day. E-mail your questions with answers at: only4_pol@yahoo.co.uk or post at: THE COLOSSEUM, Mosaic, Friday Supplement, The Assam Tribune, Guwahati-781003 or SMS at: 9864102417.

side screen  1) Picture Clue: Identify who this house in Kumbakonam belonged to in the 1920s and has now turned into a sort of pilgrimage for academicians around the world who come to marvel about the wonderful genius who had once resided there. (Manjil P. Saikia, Tezpur)

harmonisers  2) In which town in Israel would you find the Church of Annunciation, the Church of Saint Joseph and Saint Mary’s Well? 3) What name in Christianity is given to the Sunday before Easter? 4) In which book of the Old Testament would you find the following words: for a living dog is better than a dead lion? 5) According to Exodus, Chapter 8, what was the first of the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians?

unities  6) Which British pop singer made curious forays into film acting, appearing in The Man Who Fell to Earth, and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence among other films? 7) Which exhilarating and fast moving comedy-musical was also a gentle satire on the movie modes and manners of the twenties and it offers a comic depiction of Hollywood’s transition from silent films to “talkies”? 8) Who won the first Filmfare Award for his hundredth film?

do-re-me  9) What begins with My Lord is My Shepherd? (Kaushik Das, Tezpur) 10) On which day is the Annunciation celebrated? (Kankana Goswami, Beltola Survey, Guwahati) 11) The Biblical story The Tower of Babel is connected with the origin of what? (Amiya Kumar Baruah, Phulaguri, Nagaon) 12) In the UK, how is the Collegiate Church of St. Peter better known as? (Amiya Kumar Baruah, Phulaguri, Nagaon) 13) Index Libororum Expurgatorius lists what? (Manjil P. Saikia, Darrang College, Tezpur) 14) How is All Saints Eve celebrated in USA as? (Kaushik Das, Tezpur)

crescendo  15) Applicants to this job must be Roman Catholic males of Swiss nationality who have completed basic training with the Swiss military and can obtain certificates of good conduct. Recruits must be between 19 and 30 and at least 5 feet 9inches tall. Which job? (Himjyoti Talukdar, Sunlight Colony, Ashram, New Delhi)

Answers  1) Ramanujan 2) Nazareth 3) Palm Sunday 4) Ecclesiastes 5) The rivers were turned into blood 6) David Bowie 7) Singin’ in the Rain 8) Ashok Kumar for Rakhi 9) The 23rd Psalm 10) March 25 11) The origin of languages 12) Westminster Abbey 13) The books banned by the Vatican 14) Halloween 15) The Swiss Guards