prelude  The paintings which were commissioned in the Mughal courts were principally the Akbarnama and Tarrikh-e-Khandan-e-Timuria, etc. These small or large sized miniatures were the visual accounts of the daily and annual events in the palaces. Naturally, there was rejoicing and festivity on the occasion of the birth of a prince. Music and dance were normal. In the paintings, we see musicians playing on drums called the Nakaras or a number of trumpets (Tuti). Also, there were male dancers in contrast to the many female dancers in the Jain schools. In the paintings of the Akbarnama and the Tarrikh-e-Khandan-e-Timuria, alongwith the paintings of a slightly earlier period, namely the Tutinama, two distinct schools of dance were in evidence. One seems to draw its inspiration from Iran or at least from the paintings relating to the dance in Persian miniatures. There were men and women in long flowing robes, high conical caps in standing positions which were diminished and their movements were reminiscent of their then Iranian counterparts. Quite often in a single painting, there were two different groups of dancers. Records tell us that, as part of the loot, 350 dancers were brought to Akbar’s court. Undoubtedly, some of these must have represented ancient traditions. In course of time, they were rehabilitated and, perhaps, it was this amalgam of the Persian and the Indian, brought together in a court milieu, which was responsible for the nascent beginning of a style of dance which we recognize today as “Kathak”. 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  1) Picture clue: Identify the man in the picture who appeared in newspapers and magazines during the first part of the 19th century as the cartoon embodiment of the government of USA. (Dr. Ishtiyaq Ahmed Khan, Guwahati)

harmonisers  2) She is the first Indian to do an ad for Coca Cola and she’s given her voice in Nescafe, Cadbury’s Five Star, Vicks, Brooke Bond and many others. Identify her. 3) One of his albums is Pal, and he’s sung for a few recent films including Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Yes, he is Kay Kay. Name the popular ad where he sang. 4) Identify this famous music director who gave music in the Titan and Garden Vareli ads. 5) Just remember the Sunlight detergent tune, and identify the playback singer.

unities  6) She sang for Ujala, Ortem and Annapurna Ata, and was unknown till her hit Ai Ajnabi (Dil Se). Name her. 7) Who was the composer of the first Liril ad? 8) In the fifties, Jatindra Maitra gave music to an ad for deluxe Tenor cigarettes. Among other eminent artistes (Chidananda Dasgupta, Harisadhan Dasgupta and Bansi Chandragupta) this ad involved an Oscar Award winner too. Can you name him?

do-re-me  9) You know the Colonial Cousins famed Hariharan and Leslie Lewis (Lezz). Leslie has a studio. Can you name it? (Usha Das, Guwahati) 10) Can you name the first Sony TV programme that featured Zubin Garg? (Diganta Das, Rehabari, Guwahati) 11) The Delhi Government recently granted second language status to two languages. One is Urdu. Name the other. (Pinky Pradhan, New Delhi) 12) Which former US President ordered the bombing of Damascus airport in August 1969, according to an upcoming book Years of Renewal by Henry Kissinger? (Sonti Mahanta, Doomdooma) 13) The year 1999 had been declared as the year of a particular language. Which was it? (Nomee Baruah, Lakhimpur) 14) Which actress has published a book called Fifty and Done? (Chandra Mohan Das, Guwahati).

crescendo  15) In cinema shooting parlance, what is a “salad”? (Prosenjit ‘Piklu’ Dutta, Tezpur)

Answers  1) Uncle Sam. He was modelled after Samuel Wilson, an inspector of meat supplies to the U.S. Army during the War of 1812 (2) Usha Uthup (3) Pepsi’s Yeh Dil Mange More (4) A. R. Rahman (5) Kavita Krishnamurti (6) Mahalaxmi Iyer (7) Vanraj Bhatia (8) Satyajit Ray (9) Digital Studio (10) Star Yaar Kalakaar (11) Punjabi (12) Richard Nixon 13) Sanskrit 14) Tara Deshpande (15) A camera fault when film piles up inside a camera.