prelude  The 13th century is an important period in the history of Indian classical dance. From this century onwards, one can find manuals on dance from practically every region of the country. So, there are the Nrittaratnavali of Jaya Senapati from Andhra Pradesh, Sangitopanishat by Vachanarya Sudhakalasa of Gujarat, Hastamuktavali of Assam, Govinda Sangita Lila Vilasa from Manipur, Abhinaya Chandrika of Mahesvara Mahapatra from Orissa, Sangita Damodara of Raghunath from Bengal, Adi Bharatam, Bharatarnava and Nritta Adhyaya of Sangitamakarananda from Tamil Nadu, Balarama Bharatam and Hastalakshna Dipika from Kerala, the Nrityaratnakosa by Kumbhakarana from Rajasthan and the Sangitamallika of Mohammad Shah from North India. But the list is not complete and, in fact, it merely gives examples from various regions of India. A superficial study of these manuals emphasizes two broad facts. First, that despite regional variations, all schools subscribed to the basic principles of the Natyasatra tradition. Dance continued to be divided into Natya and Nritta on the one hand, and into Tandava and Lasya on the other. The second is that, although they continued to follow these broad principles, many distinctive regional styles evolved and each region ultimately developed a distinctive vocabulary. This second fact led to the formulation of different classical styles in India. The beginning of the contemporary classical styles – be it Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, Manipuri, Odissi or Kathak – can be traced back to developments in the mediaeval period, roughly dating from 1300 A.D. to 1800 A.D. In content and theme, dance was conditioned by the growth of regional literary traditions, which in turn were influenced by shifts in religious emphasis. 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: Deutsches Wörterbuch or the German Dictionary, placed this philologists duo among the leading founders of German literary studies and linguistics. Their collection of fairy tales (1857) was also instrumental in rekindling interest in folk poetry and thus, stimulating the Romantic literary fairy tale. Identify them.

harmonisers  From Kamaljyoti Borah, Gauhati University – 2) Which American writer was buried with Bolshevik leaders beside the Kremlin Wall in Moscow? 3) Who was the first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary? 4) In Chinese art, what does the dragon symbolise? 5) A voyage on which ship inspired Darwin to write his masterpiece on the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection (1859)?

unities  From Saroj K. Deka, Guwahati – 6) With which famous author did Amitabh Bachchan share his first and middle name in the movie Andhaa Kanoon? 7) What event was conceived in France in 1938 as a reaction to the Venice Mostra, established by Benito Mussolini as a platform for fascist propaganda? 8) Which playwright won a national award for his screenplay of Benegal’s Manthan?

do-re-me  From Maharnav Gogoi, AEC, Guwahati – 9) Traditionally, a special name is given to a section of the South Transept of Westminster Abbey due to the number of literary figures buried there. What name? 10) Which famous classic Middle Eastern love story is based on the real story of a young man called Qays ibn al-Mullawah from the Northern Arabian peninsula during the 7th century? 11) Somerset Maugham’s novel Cakes and Ale contains thinly veiled characterisations of Hugh Walpole and which other English author? 12) Which Indian born author did George Orwell call the “Prophet of British imperialism”? 13) The Other Side of Me is the autobiography of which famous American author who died on Jan 30, 2007? 14) Ovid and Horace are two of the trio who are regarded as the three canonical poets of Latin literature. Name the third.

crescendo  15) Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963, they are scientifically known as ‘Homo Superior’ as opposed to the common homo-sapiens. Asteroid M, Genosha Island, Madripoor Island, Muir Island and Savage Land are the fictional places which were created especially for them. Who are they? (Anupom Bora, Mazgaon, Tezpur)

answers  1) Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. Their famous collection of fairy tales is the Grimm’s Fairy Tales 2) John Reed 3) Sir James Murray 4) Emperor 5) HMS Beagle 6) Jan Nissar Akhtar 7) Cannes Film Festival 8) Vijay Tendulkar 9) Poets’ Corner 10) Layla and Majnu 11) Thomas Hardy 12) Rudyard Kipling 13) Sidney Sheldon 14) Virgil 15) The Mutants in the X-Men comics