A Riddle wrapped in an Enigma

This term, once applied to the USSR, is now used broadly for the analysis of public statements of any secretive organisation. What term?

From Dickens to Pratchett

With what literary device could you connect Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe and Terry Pratchett (in that order)?

Lost in Translation

Translating the Christian Bible into which language was once treated as heresy and punishable by death in England?

Sone pe suhaga...

------ ----- ------- became the first town in Asia in 1902 to get hydro electricity, when a hydro-electric power station was built at the Shivanasamudra Falls in Mandya district over the river Kaveri,the station was commissioned by Seshadri Iyer, then Diwan of Mysore. Name the place.

Reserving an Isle seat

It's hardly a square kilometer in area, and has coconut trees a-plenty and a solitary lighthouse. Maldivian culture, language etc. but India has retained possession as Ali Rajaa of Kannur (Cannanore) had seized it some centuries ago. So this small ( and its name seems to suggest smallness! ) island has a name that's well-known because it was part of a larger collective name. What's its name?

Ambisinister

If you met an ambisinister man, what would he be?

Donyi Polo

Where in the world would you find the religion of Donyi Poloism?

Hint: Rising Sun

PB55

Invented independently in the US (1902) and Germany (1903). The first German prototype was called the PB55, but the first batch of 3000 was lost at sea while being shipped abroad. What?

8th century scandal

This book might have remained on the margins of literature, were it not for its translation into Sanskrit: it went on to create a country-wide scandal for its overtly erotic content. The author remained unscathed because of his influence in the royal court. Name this 8th century book and author.

Jack, the Lady Killer

What is so special about this book?

Ole ! Missus Cid...

Which town in Spain is said to get its name from the wife of the hero El Cid? It has a soccer team too, but that's not surprising!

Brunel's legacy

Originally built as a steel structure by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, this railway terminus was rebuilt in red brick. Which Indian station?

1565

If you met the Madermaluco, the Hidalchan, the Cotalmaluco, the Melique Verido and the Ozemelluco ganged up against the Seorao of Narsymga in 1565, where would you be?

Bizenegalia

Nicolo Conti of Italy, the first recorded Eurpoean visitor to this country called it Bizen(e)galia. The Portuguese called it Bisnaga. How do we know it better?

Mae West's Parachute

Among parachuting enthusiasts, what is known as a Mae West?

Hint: A potentially embarrassing but not lethal malfunction.

Loxodontology

If an odontologist studies teeth, what does a loxodontologist study?

Cut the Vegetables

A young Catholic priest was about to give his first sermon, but he was very nervous. To boost his confidence, his father cried out from the pews, "They are vegetables, cut them". He would go on to found a school of hypnotism, and cited his father's words as the inspiration. Who was this priest and what was his mother tongue?

Hint: He was defrocked for participating in the French Revolution.

Krating Daeng

By what name do we know the English name of the Austrian version of the Thai drink Krating Daeng?