Yahoo! India Answers blog

Hello there, everyone! It’s been an eventful few months, and interacting with our community here at Answers has been as exciting as ever.

Adele, beautiful talented Adele, has been in the spotlight for a while now, with her powerful music and incredible voice. Rolling in the Deep and Someone like You are requested for every hour on the radio, are must-haves on every playlist, and can persuade even the most reticent bathroom singer into humming along. Adele has been nominated for 6 awards at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards due to take place in Los Angeles on 12th February, 2012. We checked in with our users on what the odds are of her cleaning out the Grammys.  Our TC Wendigo believes it’s unlikely as sweeps at the Grammys are very rare. But there is also a strong community out there rooting for her and cheering her on. Good luck to you, Adele.  We’re crossing our fingers for you.

2011 has been a year of many losses in Indian music. Very recently, we bid farewell to the Evergreen Dev Anand. Our editors too, felt the loss dearly; there were many outpourings of grief in the office. A memorial page was created to document tributes, and we invited Yahoo! users to join in and pay their respects to the Peter Pan of Bollywood. We received an overwhelming 250+ responses, as readers shared childhood memories of their beloved hero, and how he is inextricable linked to the magic of cinema. We invite you to write your own tribute, as you read the memorials here.

Touching on some burning issues across the country, like FDI in retail, and the new political tinge to the Anna movement, made us realize that there are strong opinions out there, if divided. While most believe FDI will be a positive change, benefiting the consumer by lowering prices and increasing quality, creating more jobs and pulling India out of recession, others believe that FDI is not suitable for a country like India which is still in early stages of development, where population, inflation and illiteracy are high.  The Anna issue also sees divided support. A large section believe that things have to become political before progress can be made, while others who support Team Anna’s ideals against corruption feel the cause will lose validity if given a political agenda. And the debate rages on…

With all the glitz surrounding Dirty Picture and Vidya Balan’s delicious performance as Silk Smitha, we decided to check in with our readers on whether Size Zero was still the in thing. Could the unabashed portrayal of retro sex-appeal change what is popularly perceived as beautiful?  I’m happy to report that nearly all of our 75+ responses rejected the Size Zero definition of beauty. Users spoke instead of healthy bodies, confidence and self-esteem as the components of beauty. Summing it up perfectly in fact, is the Best Answer as chosen by voters, which says size zero is beautiful only to people who like stick insects! Well said!

The month of December is quickly flying by, and we will soon be saying goodbye to 2011. The Yahoo! Year In Review is out, and comes highly recommended as a ton of fun (even if we do say so ourselves!).  To wrap up the year with a little silliness, we invited our users to send in their predictions for big Bollywood weddings in 2012. Who will tie the knot in B-town next year? While Saifu and Kareena ran away with the most number of votes, it appears that many are still rooting for Salman and Katrina! A few others that topped the list were Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Khemu, Vidya Balan and Siddharth Roy Kapoor, and Ritesh and Genlia. Well, dear users, only 2012 will tell how accurate that third eye is, and we look forward to measuring the New Year against your forecasts!

For the first time this October, India observes Domestic Violence Awareness Month, making it an international event.  This year, the focus isn’t just on violence against women, but also on the spreading of awareness of men as victims of domestic violence and harassment. This post elaborates in detail the forms of violence against women, men, children and the elderly.

To gauge our community’s awareness on the issue, we put out a few questions. And although it’s only been one day at the time of this post, I have to say the quality of response is extremely heartening.  Sensitized and informed, opinion is strong and information abounds.

Here are the questions we have up. We’ll be following this post with a round-up of insights from you, our readers, so please feel free to add your own interpretations, your own experiences, and contribute to the conversation as we spread awareness around the issue of domestic violence.

• What constitutes domestic violence? How do I recognize that someone is being abused?
• What is the Bell Bajao campaign?
• Is domestic violence a gender issue?
• What are the legal rights of domestic abuse victims?

Hello, everyone-
Yahoo! Answers will be unavailable Tuesday, September 13th, from 10.30am – 16.30pm IST, due to planned maintenance.

If there is any change to this schedule, we will update the information here.
Meanwhile, please check out these Yahoo! pages and:

• Get the latest on the world of cricket at http://cricket.yahoo.com/
• Want to be updated on the education? Here’s where http://campus.yahoo.com/
• Be updated on the coolest movies at http://in.movies.yahoo.com/
• Join a group at Yahoo! Groups at http://in.groups.yahoo.com/
• Read about the news that matters to you at http://in.news.yahoo.com/
• Can’t get enough of gossip? We have exactly the thing at http://in.omg.yahoo.com/
• We unravel the happenings in finance http://in.finance.yahoo.com/

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Yahoo! Answers Team

With the government all set to discuss the Jan Lokpal Bill in parliament today, we sent out a message into the Yahoo! Universe, to gauge the pulse of our readers. Do they support Anna, or are they against him? Do they believe Anna’s methods are democratic? Will the Lokpal bill change corruption at all, or will we just be creating another monster in the public sphere?

Reflecting the strength of the movement on the ground, our readers share their opinions, sharp and insightful, as they engage in conversation with the community.

While the majority seem to support Anna’s cause, seeing him as a “one man institution against corruption” taking a stance against the government’s view that people in power are above the law, there are a few dissenting voices. Confused about how a group with a genuine cause can resort to black-mailing the government, there is an opinion that Team Anna detracts from the cause, with the means they have employed to reach their end – dictating terms to an elected house.

Will the bill bring any sort of change? Verdict remains divided. While it appears that the cancer of Indian corruption is beyond rescue, there remains a sliver of hope; it is a step in the right direction. Recalling the skepticism that the RTI faced not so long ago, it is without question a tool that has blown the lid off several scams. Another reader rightly points out that India has no deficit of laws to control corruption, it has just shown abysmal effort at implementing them. Therefore the creation of another law will merely be superfluous, adding to the corrupt workforce, and to the list of laws that are a travesty of justice. Instead, if some of this focus was diverted into correcting our judiciary methods – expediting legal processes, cutting down red-tape, and increasing accountability to higher courts, we would have a far more efficient, effective system on our hands; one that the people would be less dissatisfied with. Reader Meenakshi agrees that it is indeed the Judiciary that has failed us, but believes that the Lokpal bill will never be implemented, as it amounts to signing a political death warrant.

There seems to be lack of consensus regarding whether Anna stands for democracy or not. Mukesch Kaley is of the opinion that Anna’s methods make it quite clear that he is against democracy. However there is a segment of our audience that believe he is in fact, the only man out there fighting for the survival of real democracy; a government for the people, by the people and of the people, not a farcical shadow of the idea, that allows the corrupt to stay in power, to evade justice, and take the country for a ride.

While it may be that the Lokpal is not nearly enough to root out corruption, it has certainly come at a time where it has found an audience, nay, an uprising, that demands to be heard. And while the bill goes to parliament, a country watches, unblinking.

Adding to the storm of debate around the issue of fairness creams, undertones of racism and an obsession that spans the globe, two recent incidents have stoked the fires again.

An ad by a global brand in personal care, owned by Unilever, has sparked debate on whether the brand is implying that darker skin is less desirable. And Naomi Campbell’s outrage at being compared to a chocolate bar has led to talk of Cadbury’s Bliss ad campaign being racist.

We asked our community at Yahoo! Answers to share their thoughts, and we got some interesting feedback.

Why are fairness creams so popular?

While Jake believes it stems from the psychology of Gori, another user believes it is the ads that define for society, what beauty means.

Do fairness creams promote racism?

In lighter vein, one user disagrees – fairness creams try to kick away racism just by making everyone fair. Something to think about?

Where does the fair-skinned prejudice stem from? Are we born with it, or does society and mass media seed it?

Some great contributions tracing racism and prejudice back to society, family, slave-trade and colonialism.

And the bottom-line –

Do fair skinned people get more interview calls, more dates, more spotlight than dusky people?

Tell us your experiences, share your thoughts, be part of the community.

Yahoo! Answers is back; up and running!

We were down for a planned maintenance exercise, which has been completed, and we are open for business again.

Thanks for your co-operation during this time.

We look forward to you frequenting the site, active participation and continued patronage.

If you were inconvenienced, we’d like to apologize.

Yahoo! Answers Team

Hello, everyone-
Yahoo! Answers will be unavailable Monday, May 16th, from 11:30 am-6:30 pm IST, due to planned maintenance.

If there is any change to this schedule, we will update the information here.
Meanwhile, please check out these Yahoo! pages and:

• Get the latest on the world of cricket at http://cricket.yahoo.com/
• Want to be updated on the education? Here’s where http://in.education.yahoo.com/
• Be updated on the coolest movies at http://in.movies.yahoo.com/
• Join a group at Yahoo! Groups at http://in.groups.yahoo.com/
• Read about the news that matters to you at http://in.news.yahoo.com/
• Can’t get enough of gossip? We have exactly the thing at http://in.omg.yahoo.com/
• We unravel the happenings in finance http://in.finance.yahoo.com/

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Yahoo! Answers Team

Mothers: what will we do without them?

Indian men are notorious for being mama’s boys, and some would go as far as saying that the only woman he will ever love, will be his mother. This is a half-truth; Indian women are just in love with their mother’s and will cling onto the relationship, long after they have been married and have their own children.

As with all relationships, we don’t get enough opportunities to say what we really feel, atleast not often enough, its not built into our daily interactions.

Yahoo! Answers India gives you the chance to do exactly that. Write to us with a Mother’s Day message for your mom and we will gladly feature it in Yahoo! India.

Question 1: What message do you have for your mother on Mother’s Day?

We also have some other questions that all of you might be interested in answering.

Question 2: What’s the best song to dedicate to your mom on Mother’s Day?

Question 3: What are good gifts for Mother’s Day?

Go ahead, we are all ears.

The wedding season will be here before you know it and what better way to start than the wedding of the decade. This week, as the world watches Prince William and Kate Middleton say “I do,” we invite you to Yahoo! Answers Royal Wedding Week.

As Prince William and Kate walk down the aisle this Friday, April 29, we’d like to hear your stories, secrets, and tips from your special day or upcoming nuptials.

To celebrate the most anticipated wedding, we’ll ask three questions this week and encourage you to share your moments and/or dreams. In addition, we’ll award the winning answers 100 bonus points.

The first question is about a moment that no one will ever forget…

Question 1:  Where and how did your husband or wife propose to you?

The second is on perfect planning for that important day…

Question 2:  What are some tips or advice on planning a successful wedding?

The third is on how to stay married happily…

Question 3: What is the secret for a lifelong successful marriage?

Royal wedding photos

To see pictures of the royal family, please visit our Flickr page here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/britishmonarchy/