prelude  Finally, the much awaited The Assam Tribune Colosseum Quiz Fest, 2008 is over, with more than 90 teams participating in the gala event. Guwahatians, for the first time, witnessed a quiz event conducted by four quiz masters – Prof. Dilip Kumar Barua (the father of quizzing in North-East India), Dr. Amarjyoti Choudhury (another pioneer in quizzing), Neelotpal Deka and Sailen Baishya, The Assam Tribune columnists. After the preliminary round of the event, six teams were selected for the Grand Finale and teams Etesuqam (represented by Biswajyoti Saikia and Dipankar Koushik), Iskra (represented by Gautam Priyam Mahanta and Biswajeet Kumar Bora) and Cheap Monks (represented by Anurag Talukdar and Shalim M. Hussain) won the first, second and third prizes respectively. The winning teams were awarded attractive cash prizes along with prizes sponsored by Datamation, gift hampers from ITC, grooming packages from VLCC and a one year subscription to The Eclectic magazine for all the finalist teams. The event was sponsored by Indian Oil, Assam Oil, Blue Hill Travels, State Bank of India, Reliance Mobile and Datamation. The media partners of the event were News Live, BIG 92.7 FM and The Eclectic magazine. The Colosseum Quiz Fest is a unique quiz event, as never before has a quiz entirely devoted to culture been held in the North-East in such a large scale. The quiz attracted a huge crowd and attracted participants from all walks of life, from different towns and cities. The crowd was enthralled by the group classical dance recital presented by the Thejaswini dance academy of Guwahati. 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 this personality. (Himjyoti Talukdar, Ashram, New Delhi)

harmonisers  From Sadiq Hussain Laskar, Cyber City, Pune – 2) What was invented by Raffaele Esposito of Italy, by adding ingredients and spices over a big piece of flat bread in the 1800s? 3) What was opened by General Lombardi in 1905 in New York for the first time? 4) Plain, Mexican, Slice and Square. What are they different kinds of? 5) What are these – BBQ, Chicken, Anchovies, Meatballs and Pepperoni?

unities  From Manjil P. Saikia, Tezpur – 6) Micheal Douglas’ father is an equally famous Hollywood actor. Name him. 7) The lead actor was Keanu Reeves, the lead actress was Sandra Bullock, the villain was Dennis Hopper. Name this 1990s action thriller directed by Jan De Bont. 8) 20th century Fox once sued a film critic and his magazine for referring to the Shirley Temple character as a wily minicoquette who manipulated the old men. Name the film critic.

do-re-me  9) The French film Le Colur a Ser Folid is a dubbed version of an Indian film. Name the film. (Jitendra Sarma, Balowa, Nalbari) 10) Which monster was produced by dragging a leather glove up and down a cello? (Jayanta Kumar Nath, Tezpur) 11) In Hindu mythology, who is the wife of Lord Barun? (Clue: She is also the Goddess of wine) (Mridushmita Borborah, Kenduguri, Jorhat) 12) In ancient China, when a coffin was closed, the people around the coffin were asked to take 3/4 steps back. Why? (Sonmani Das, Nalbari) 13) What is the name used in the Bible for the final battle between Good and Evil, at the end of the world? (Ratul Medhi, Kakamari, Nagaon) 14) The Bijak (Account Book) compiles the verses and observations of which Indian mystic? (Saurav Sarkar, Darrang College, Tezpur)

crescendo  15) The males of Sudan’s Dinka tribe compete with each other for the title of the ‘fattest man’. Later, the would-be-brides choose their husbands from amongst the winners. Now can you tell why this fascination for the fattest man? (Bhagyajeet Bhuyan, DD News, New Delhi)

Answers  1) Levi Strauss 2) Pizza 3) The first American Pizzeria 4) Pizzas 5) Different pizza toppings 6) Kirk Douglas 7) Speed 8) Graham Greene 9) Dil To Pagal Hai 10) Godzilla 11) Mandira 12) So that the shadow does not get confined inside the coffin 13) Armageddon 14) Kabir 15) Because obesity is a sort of status symbol for the Dinkas – it proves that a tribesman has enough money to keep a large herd of cattle and as a result is able to fatten up on their milk!