prelude  In our last edition we had seen how bhaona performances during Ahom rule, flopped without bahuwas. Such emphasis, such concentration of attention on the bahuwa character was so intense that the clown of the vidushaka tradition under Assamese terms became a potent society figure in their later history. But the twentieth century bahuwa appeared wearing spectacles, hats and long pants, etc without any connection with the bhaona, yet continuing to appear in it. He was still dancing, clowning and singing and from his mouth would emit songs of the freedom struggle. He urged the Assamese people to rise up against the British. Men like Ningni Bhaoria of Lower Assam, and Chetem Barua of Nagaon would compose songs of the freedom struggle and sing them in the bhaona performances, appearing as bahuwas. A mute silent tribal of the 15th century, an appendage of the sage Narada had been transformed beyond all recognition, with a separate social function. He had become an instigator of the people towards national resurgence, a fight for freedom from foreign rule. (Next week: Bahuwas in some other forms of our culture) Quiz news: ‘BizMantra’, open business quiz was organised by the Centre for Management Studies, Dibrugarh University on November 7. The first prize was won by Bhaskar Gogoi and Mir Rizwan of Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh. While the second prize went to Rishiraj Pradhan and Pranoy Dey of Dibrugarh University, the third prize was bagged by Veeru Singh Sodhi and Sabir Abbas. The quiz master of the event was Neelotpal Deka. 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 of your SMS.

side screen  1) Picture Clue: She is a graduate from London School of Economics, she is a lawyer by profession and though she is not an actress in the movie The Queen (2006), she is a character played by another artist. Identify her in her early years. (Pranjal Kishore Sharmah, Moscow)

harmonisers  From Dipankar Koushik, Guwahati – 2) During 1740 and 1970 British sailors received a daily ration of ‘grog’. What is ‘grog’? 3) What do the letters VSOP on a bottle of brandy stand for? 4) When we talk of music, what is ‘acid house’? 5) ‘Chitra Das’ is the nickname of which Assamese author?

unities  From Dipankar Koushik – 6) In the Mere sapno ki rani song sequence in Aradhana (1969) which James Hadley Chase book is Sharmila Tagore seen to be reading? 7) The Sun Rises in the West was the tagline during the launch of which famous Indian brand in the US? 8) Neetu Singh was the first child artist to play a double role in a film made in 1968. Name the film.

do-re-me  9) Born in 1919 to Bengali parents, he has been one of the major playback singers in Bollywood between 1950 to 1970. He had taken interest in boxing and wrestling as well. He has recorded more than 3,500 songs and was awarded Dada Saheb Phalke Award. Identify him. (Biswajit Sarma, Nalbari) 10) Name the style of writing in which the first line is written from right to left and then from left to right in the second line? (Himangshu Kalita, Anand Academy, Guwahati) 11) Laxman was the brother of Lord Ram in Ramayana, but who was Laxman in Mahabharata? (Cheban Kr Sharma, MBRS, Guwahati) 12) Who was the founder of the city of Agra? (Munmi Debi, Gauhati Medical College) 13) What is the connection between The Trailor Murder Mystery and Illinois? (Priyomjyoti Phukan, Mathurapur, Sivasagar) 14) Why Roulette (Roulette is a kind of gambling game in which a ball is dropped on to a moving wheel that has holes with the number on it like 1, 2, 3...) is sometimes called the Devil’s Game? (Kritartha Sarma, Milanpur, Nalbari)

crescendo  15) Instead of their national anthem which joyful song was played at the 1968 Winter Olympics for winners from both East and West Germany? (Md Asif Sarwar Choudhury, JB Law College, Guwahati)

answers  1) Cherie Blair 2) A mixture of rum and water 3) Very Special Old Pale 4) A style of fast-beat pop music, also used for a youth cult associated with the music and sometimes with taking drugs 5) Atul Chandra Hazarika 6) When Eight Bells Toll 7) Sun TV 8) Do Kaliyan 9) Manna Dey 10) Boustrophedon 11) He was the son of Duryodhana 12) Shikandar Lodi 13) Abraham Lincoln. He was born in Illinois and The Trailor Murder Mystery was his detective story that appeared in 1843 14) Because all the numbers adding up to 666 is the so-called number of Devil 15) Ode to Joy, from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony