prelude  All the ancient records mention a race of people called the Kiratas living on the Himalayan borders and also in Assam. The Vajasenaya Samhita and the Atharva Veda describe the Kiratas as the people residing in caves. The great epic Mahabharata mentions several principalities all along the border land of the Himalayas, ruled by Kirata kings, with whom the ruler of Delhi had to come into conflict. The Kalika Purana describes the Kiratas as having short stature, golden colour, shaven head, rough skin and addicted to meat and drink. According to this authority, the present Assam area was being ruled over by Ghotoka – a Kirata chief – when Narakasur invaded the country in about 2200 B.C. According to the Mahabharata, Bhagadatta of Pragjyotisha joined the Battle of Kurukshetra with a strong army of Kirata and Chinese soldiers. The Chinese records of about 248 AD clearly mentions that in ancient times, traders from different parts of Tibet, Central Asia and China flocked to Assam through various routes, and as they traded mostly in silk, they were generally called Seres. Seres included Cirrahadois (in modern sense serek cloth traders), Syrites and Kiratas. The word Kirata, therefore, is a general term referring to the people of Mongolian origin and it also refers to the Bodos. It is they who first introduced the cultivation of silk. Therefore, all the hill tribes of Assam are expert weavers of silk of some form or other, and Muga and Pat silk are products of an indigenous household art in Assam. 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: Walt Disney won an honorary Oscar (Academy Award) in 1932. But for what?

harmonisers  From Pranjal Kishore Sharmah, Moscow – 2) Who or what is a “sandwich-man”? 3) What unique distinction do the movies Raagini, Baaghi, Shehzaadi and Shararat have? 4) The name of which fabric comes from the Persian words meaning ‘cup’ and ‘container’? 5) Talking about his own books, this legendary writer commented, “My books are water, those of the great geniuses are wine. Everybody drinks water.” Who was he?

unities  From Manjil P. Saikia, Tezpur – 6) Along with The Titanic, which film holds the record for the maximum number of Academy Awards nominations? 7) Who was the first Indian actor to act in a Hollywood film, in 1937? 8) For the Spanish dubbed version of which film has Ricky Martin lent his voice?

do-re-me  From Himjyoti Talukdar, New Delhi – 9) In the 1960s, girls carried a penny in their shoes lest their dates failed to drop them home. What product got its name from this? 10) Why did Intel call the successor to the 486 processor series “Pentium”, instead of using a combination of digits as they had always done? 11) All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All play and no work makes him a _ _. Fill in the blanks. 12) Where in India (specific location) is the TJ brand of confectioneries (including potato chips/wafers) manufactured? 13) In the 1930s, the representatives of Western democracies attending the Mostra di Venezia were shocked by the influence of the fascist governments of Italy and Germany on the selection of films and the decisions of the jury. What resulted out of this? 14) This product was invented in 1846 from using tea and witch hazel to heal cuts and bruises. It is commonly used today as a cosmetic. Identify the product.

crescendo  15) Which film ends with the words, “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”? (Saroj K. Deka, Maligaon, Guwahati)

answers  1) For his creation of Mickey Mouse 2) A person (also known as a human billboard) whose body is used to advertise goods and services. The term was supposedly coined by Charles Dickens 3) In all these movies Mohd. Rafi sang playback for Kishore Kumar, a rare instance of one singer doing so for another 4) Jamdani 5) Mark Twain 6) All About Eve 7) Sabu 8) Hercules 9) Penny Loafers 10) Because numbers can’t be trademarked 11) Mere toy 12) Tihar Jail 13) Cannes Film Festival 14) Pond’s cream 15) Casablanca.