Yahoo! India Answers blog

You could call it one of the most colourful festivals from the South of India. And the most fun. It certainly is the biggest festival in the state of Kerala.

Onam marks the homecoming of the legendary King Mahabali beloved of all his subjects.

In pre-historic times, it is said that Mahabali was such an excellent ruler that the Gods in the Indian pantheon particularly King Indra felt insecure about his rising popularity and prosperity. The Gods begged Lord Vishnu to kill Mahabali who appeared in his Brahmin dwarf  (the Vamana) avatar and begged for alms from this great king and tricked him to the underworld.

Photo courtesy: Shantih on Flickr.

But the Lord Vishnu also blessed Mahabali as he was one of Vishnu’s greatest devotees. Hence Mahabali is allowed to visit his people in Kerala on an annual basis.

The festival lasts for ten days.

Characteristic Onam celebrations include the traditional pookolams (intricate flower carpets), the Onam sadya (an elaborate banquet lunch), Vallamkali (snake boat races) and kaikottikkali (dances that women of the house-hold indulge in) during the ten day festival.

Photo courtesy: George Augustin e on Flickr.

Photo courtesy: Arun Kumar Sinha on Flickr.

What makes this festival truly unique is how it brings about secular sentiments within the state. Although the festival of Onam originated as a Hindu festival, all communities in Kerala including Muslims and Christians celebrate Onam with equal fervour.

Needless to say, we couldn’t let this festival pass by without any comment. I’m sure most Indians have a favourite memory associated with this festival.

What is your most favourite Onam memory?

Answer us or leave us a comment here.

Photo courtesy: Raj_nair81 on Flickr

And of course, Happy Onam!

Bhumika Anand

- Community Manager

To continue improving your Yahoo! Answers experience we are introducing a few small changes this week…

Changing time to choose a Best Answer

Based on your feedback to be able to resolve a question quicker, we have now reduced the wait time to choose a best answer from 4 hours to 1 hour.  If you now receive multiple responses within an hour you can select one of those as your Best Answer, or choose to put the question to vote at this earlier stage.

The full lifecycle of a question won’t change – questions will still be open for 4 days and up to maximum of 8 days if you extend the expiration.  This change gives you the option to resolve earlier or put to vote earlier.   If you take no action to resolve or extend the question, the question will automatically go to vote for the Best Answer.

Optional Preview screen when answering questions

Many of you have commented that to you’d prefer an answering experience without having to see your response on the Preview page first.

If you are signed-in with your Answers account and have answered at least one question before then when submitting your answer you can choose to Submit your response immediately without going to the Preview page first.  We’ve kept the Preview page too, so you can still see how your response will look before publishing it.

What makes Yahoo! Answers unique is the avid involvement of the community it is YOU that provides the content so continue to ask, answer and vote!

Have something to say about the changes, leave us a comment.

It’s August and whether you are planning a holiday to some great, exotic locale or are just back from one, Answers is the place to celebrate your vacation! This August we are doing a special initiative in the Travel category where we invite you to share your fondest memories of landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes, and skyscapes through your travel stories and anecdotes.

Spread over four weeks, with each week catering to one particular theme, this initiative will showcase the best holiday destinations and the most awesome travel stories that come from you! So start working on that travelogue of yours and include details like places to stay, things to see, best shopping deals and the like. And don’t forget to tell us why it is among your favourite holiday destinations! We’ll be awarding 50 bonus points for the best story each week.

Not only that, we invite you to share your favourite photograph of the vacation on one of these Flickr groups:

-         Landscape group  http://www.flickr.com/groups/100naturallandscapes/

-          Cityscape group  http://www.flickr.com/groups/26328425@N00/

-          Seascape group  http://www.flickr.com/groups/seascape/

-          Skyscape group http://www.flickr.com/groups/98509261@N00/

Photographs courtesy Anbujawahar

Once you post your picture there, remember to leave us a comment with the Flickr link on the blog, or add the link in your answer. At the end of four weeks, your story and photograph could be featured on our blog or as part of an exclusive article on Yahoo!

And here are 5 steps to ensure your Flickr photo makes it to the contest:

1. Log in to http://www.flickr.com/
2. Sign up for Flickr with your Yahoo! id if you don’t have a Flickr account already
3. Join the Groups (whose links are mentioned above)
4. Upload your Travel photos there
5. Copy the link of your photo and use that in your answer!

This week’s question is about dreamy landscapes. Meadows full of flowers and green grass, a winding river, a roaring waterfall, awe-inspiring mountains, or endless deserts – what landscape inspired you the most and made for an unforgettable holiday? What was your most picturesque and idyllic holiday on land?

Share your story and get featured on Yahoo!

We all had it drilled into our heads during civics class that India is a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. The Preamble also goes to confer on all Indians Justice, social, economic and political; Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality of status and of opportunity; and promotes among all of us Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.

And yet, there is one defining moment in all our lives when we have felt that yes, we do live in an independent country.

For me, it’s not one but many moments – the fact that an initiative like Meter Jam can take place. The simplicity of traveling around the country without any need to justify one’s action. The fact that on this blog and other blogs like this, I can write what I want to write and not be hauled up for writing what I think.  And on a lighter side, it’s also the freedom to exchange hard words with a government employee if any work takes too long to get completed and not worry about being jailed.

There are many reasons I love India – but most of all it’s the people. People who will rush to help strangers when they think they need help. People who will smile at each other without any hidden agendas. People who uphold the gorgeous diversity and culture of India so seamlessly and with such joy!

Likewise, you must have an opinion of India and its freedom. There must have been one defining moment in your life when you would have felt that yes, we do live in an independent country. What was that moment for you?

When did you feel that India is truly an independent country?

Answer away or leave us a comment here.  And so let us celebrate India’s Independence Day this Aug 15.

- Bhumika Anand

Community Manager

I never do well in quizzes. That’s because I usually remember all the answers and the trivia after I’ve passed the question and someone else answers it. My typical response at a quiz has always been, “Oh, that one. I knew that!” which as we all know doesn’t really fetch one points. So I’m always collecting trivia and questions on general knowledge like this one. Sajith wants to know which is the smallest mountain in the world. And I am hoping this is one answer I will remember on time in the next quiz.

And the answer Ryan gives is:

Mount Wycheproof in the Mallee region of Victoria, Australia is the smallest mountain in the world. It stands 47m above the surrounding plain. The town of Wycheproof is built on it’s ’slopes’. It was mistakenly classified as a mountain by the Surveyor-General even though by size, it should be a hill. Mount Wycheproof is predominantly granite and has a quarry on the east face of the mountain. It is also where Whycheproofite was discovered.

Photo courtesy Prince Roy on Flickr.

Read more about Mount Wycheproof here.

About CM’s Pick:

Ask a question that is interesting and chances are your question will feature in a new section called Community Manager’s Pick or simply CM’s Pick. The answerer that the CM judges the best will also be featured on the blog! At the end of the week, after a lucky draw, two Answerers (one asker of question and one answerer) will win 100 additional Answers points!

And as promised, two of last week’s winners have got an additional 100 points each. Last week’s winners are:

Vikash

Bitterman

So keep asking and answering!

Bhumika Anand

Community Manager

We are all health-conscious these days. And so we are all very particular about the sort of food that goes into our system. A lot of health drinks in the market promise to make you fitter, leaner, meaner, healthier and any other quality you may desire to be. A lot of that advertising leaves us confused about what most of those drinks really contain and why they are healthy. Or how they help us to keep fit and lean. Just like Vikash here is wondering on Answers – What is a pro-biotic drink?

I really liked the answer Tygress has sourced from Wikipedia:

A pro-biotic drink is a drink that contains active cultures (live bacteria) in it. This is intended to help you digest food better. Your stomach naturally contains bacteria that digests food, but sometimes you do not have enough of it. Yogurt is one thing that contains active cultures, all brands, not just Activia. Activia just has a different strain of bacteria in it than other standard yogurts.

Do you know anything more about pro-biotic drinks? Whom are they most useful for? Answer away or leave us a comment.

Does this make you feel like indulging in some yogurt immediately?

Here are some recipes you can use:

Making Yogurt

Sweet Lassi/Yogurt

Yogurt Chutney

Yogurt Raitha

This is really the beauty of Answers. Everyday you learn something new and that’s always useful, isn’t it?

About CM’s Pick:

Ask a question that is interesting and chances are your question will feature in a new section called Community Manager’s Pick or simply CM’s Pick. The answerer that the CM judges the best will also be featured on the blog! At the end of the week, after a lucky draw, two Answerers (one asker of question and one answerer) will win 100 additional Answers points!

So keep Asking and Answering.

Bhumika Anand

Community Manager

For the longest time symbols have fascinated humankind. We need our symbols.

In every day life, symbols help us understand the world around us – a red octagon is a symbol for Stop. The world of mathematics is made easy with the use of numerals that symbolise numbers or amounts.

When it is about our faith or our religion, symbols become the means through which we interpret our texts and derive meaning. Which is why I thought this question asked by Banjaran to be interesting because the intersection of common symbols in our religions goes to show how all religions preach the same precepts.

An answer I found particularly fascinating was the one by Average Joe who has sourced it from http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/b_lotus.htm and says:

Lotuses are symbols of purity and ’spontaneous’ generation and hence symbolize divine birth. According to the Lalitavistara, ‘the spirit of the best of men is spotless, like the new lotus in the [muddy] water which does not adhere to it’, and, according to esoteric Buddhism, the heart of the beings is like an unopened lotus: when the virtues of the Buddha develop therein the lotus blossoms. This is why the Buddha sits on a lotus in bloom. In Tantrism, it is the symbol of the feminine principle. The lotuses are usually differentiated by their colour and grouping, in three or five flowers, which may or may not be combined with leaves.
White lotus
This symbolizes Bodhi, the state of total mental purity and spiritual perfection, and the pacification of our nature. It generally has eight petals corresponding to the Noble Eightfold Path of the Good Law. It is the lotus found at the heart of the Garbhadhatu Mandala, being the womb or embryo of the world. It is characteristic of the esoteric sects, and the lotus of the Buddhas.
Red lotus
This symbolizes the original nature of the heart (hrdaya). It is the lotus of love, compassion, passion, activity and all the qualities of the heart. It is the lotus of Avalokitesvara.
Blue lotus
This is the symbol of the victory of the spirit over the senses, of intelligence and wisdom, of knowledge. It is always represented as a partially opened bud, and (unlike the red lotus) its centre is never seen. It is the lotus of Manjusri, and also one of the attributes of Prajnaparamita, the embodiment of the ‘perfection of wisdom’.
Pink lotus
This is the supreme lotus, generally reserved for the highest deity, sometimes confused with the white lotus it is the lotus of the historical Buddha.
Purple lotus
This is the mystic lotus, represented only in images belonging to a few esoteric sects. The flowers may be in full bloom and reveal their heart, or in a bud. They may be supported by a simple stem, a triple stem (symbolizing the three divisions of Garbhadhatu: Vairocana, lotus and vajra), or a quintuple stem (symbolizing the Five Knowledges of Vajradhatu). The eight petals represent the Noble Eightfold Path and the eight principal acolyte deities of the central deity on the mandalas. The flowers may also be depicted presented in a cup or on a tray, as a symbol of homage.

I also really like what bitterman says:  Lotus has a special status.  It is in water but it never attains the coolness of the water. Sun rays touch it but it never attains its warmth or heat of the sun. It is neithor hot nor cold, so the saints in religion are reported as neither happy nor sorrowing like its Pattrattra thanmai.

What does a lotus signify in your religion?

Leave us a comment or answer away!

About CM’s Pick:

Ask a question that is interesting and chances are your question will feature in a new section called Community Manager’s Pick or simply CM’s Pick. The answerer that the CM judges the best will also be featured on the blog! At the end of the week, after a lucky draw, two Answerers (one asker of question and one answerer) will win 100 additional Answers points!

So keep Asking and Answering.

Bhumika Anand

Community Manager

Following last week’s changes to Search and the Fans/Contacts system we now have a few more changes to share with you…

Edit My Preferences page

To keep public information and your personal settings separate we’ve made further changes on the `Edit my preferences` pages.

As with the previous preference page you can still add your photo or avatar from here or change your screen name which will both be used across your Yahoo! experience.  We’ve made this page a little lighter to view by splitting out how you will be seen on Answers from your personal preferences on Privacy and Communications.

The Privacy and Communications tab gives you control to receive specific notifications such as when `someone becomes your fan` or when `there are new questions for My Saved Searches` – and whether you allow fans at all.

Hiding your profile

You may notice there is no longer the option to choose whether you `Show link to my Profile Page`.  This previously controlled whether you linked directly to your Pulse profile on Yahoo!

This setting is now controlled across all Yahoo! properties from the `Privacy` settings on the Settings page on Pulse http://pulse.yahoo.com/y/settings

Many of you have voiced concerns about the misuse of the Fans and Contacts feature.

Firstly, we’re aware of how strongly many of you feel about this and we’ve heard and taken on board your feedback: we’re sorry we’ve taken so long to address a problem that may have affected your experience of Answers.

However, as of today, we are now making improvements to how Contacts and Fans work on Answers to ensure that your experience on the site is better.

In addition to Contacts and Fans we’ll make some changes to the voting limits.  First of all…let’s cover Fans and Contacts:

What will my Fans see?

Anyone can become your fan by adding you as a `contact`.  Once someone has added you as a contact:

• Fans will get latest updates when you ask questions in the `From my Network` tab
• Email notification when you ask a question

If you don’t want to allow fans at all – you can set this in your Preferences page.

If you don’t want a certain member to be aware of this information you can block them from the My Network page (http://answers.yahoo.com/my/contacts/connections/).

If your Q&A and Answers network are marked as `My Contacts Only` on your `Preferences` page, Fans will not gain access to view your content or your network.

Want to know when someone has become your fan?  You can activate a notification in your profile page to receive an email when someone becomes your fan.

What will my Contacts see?

Contacts are those people you choose to add and you will be sharing your content with them.

Once you add a contact they will:

• See your questions and answers
• Get an update on the homepage in the `From my Network` tab when you ask a question
• Have visibility of your Answers Network

Everyone likes to receive the kudos of having new `Fans` of their content and this change will keep the overall control of `who-sees-what` with you.

Keep watching this space – this will be just the first step in changes we have planned for how Contacts and Fans should work and the benefits they bring as we continue to make this feature work for YOU.

Changes to voting limits

We’ve noticed that many you in the Answers community are very avid voters!

To help you continue to feed this passion we’ve now increased the daily limits for the number of votes you can cast.  The new maximum daily are:

• Level 1: 25 votes per day
• Level 2: 50 votes per day
• Level 3: 75 votes per day
• Level 4: 100 votes per day
• Level 5: 125 votes per day
• Level 6: 150 votes per day
• Level 7: 200 votes per day

So what’s stopping you?  Get voting!

We could probably go on at length about what it was like to be part of this global spectacle but honestly, the you just need to watch the video: