prelude  The roots of Qawwali can be traced back to 8th century Persia. During the first major migration from Persia, in the 11th century, the musical tradition of Sama migrated to the Indian subcontinent, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Amir Khusro Dehelvi of Sufis is credited with fusing the Persian and Indian musical traditions to create Qawwali as we know it today, in the late 13th century in India (Hindustani classical music is also attributed to him). The word Sama is often still used in Central Asia and Turkey to refer to forms very similar to Qawwali, and in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the formal name used for a session of Qawwali is Mehfil-e-Sama. From Banashree Baruah, Cotton College – The word “chocolate” comes from the Aztecs of Mexico, and is derived from the word “xocolatl”. Chocolate was discovered by Mesoamerican civilisation and cultivated by ancient Mayans and Aztecs, who used it as a basic component in a variety of sauces and beverages. Chocolate has been used as a drink for nearly all of its history. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, changes occurred and ideas flourished to store the fantasy drink, creating hard, durable chocolates. It was then that people began experiencing and consuming chocolate worldwide. Pi Day is on March 14. In today’s Harmonisers and Do-Re-Me, enjoy quiz on “Pi” from Manjil P. Saikia. 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. Send your name in each SMS.

Side Screen  Wikipedia describes her amongst others as songwriter, fashion designer, film producer and spokesperson. Identify her shown as a twelve year old in the movie casper meets Wendy (1998). (Manjil P Saikia, Darrang College, Tezpur)

harmonisers  From Manjil P. Saikia, Tezpur – 2) Mathematician Irving Kaplansky has given music to only one song in his entire professional career, which was written by Enid Rieser and became quite popular in the last decade. What was the song about? 3) For what folly is the House Bill No. 246 of the Indiana State Assembly infamous in mathematical history? 4) What is so unique about the short story, Circle Digits-A Self Referential Story written by Michael Keith? 5) The Old Testament, 1 Kings 7:23 says: “Also, he made a molten sea of 10 cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and 5 cubits the height thereof; and a line of 30 cubits did compass it round about.” What is the mathematical fallacy of this?

unities  From Deepjyoti Deka, Nalbari – 6) Sankar Dada in Telugu, Vasoolraja in Tamil, Uppi Dada in Kannada. Who or what was it in Hindi? 7) If the Titanic belonged to the White Star Lines, to which shipping line did the Lusitania belong? 8) Rajesh Khanna’s Chhaila Babu and Uttam Kumar’s Kokhono Megh were based on which Hollywood classic?

do-re-me  From Manjil P. Saikia, Tezpur – 9) Who said: “The race of circle squares, will never die out as long as ignorance and the thirst for glory remain united”? 10) What is so special about the museum ‘Palais de la decouverte’ in Paris? 11) As the geometer his mind applies/To square the circle, nor for all his wit/Finds the right formula, how’er he tries – who is the poet? 12) What does Google do each day as a tribute to Pi? 13) What is the unique status enjoyed by Pi in the movie world, which no other universal mathematical constant enjoys? 14) The author was Dr. Edward Johnston Goodwin, it was introduced by a Mr. Taylor I. Record, a representative of Possey country on January 18, 1897. What was it?

crescendo  15) At the Iwo Jima monument, there are five soldiers holding the American flag. However, there are eleven hands in the monument. Why? (Dipankar Koushik, Guwahati)

Answers