I get tired of how easily people all around the world are swayed by the media hype. Retards are found in all cultures and all societies.

An unidentified Western couple were verbally abused during what they believed was a wedding blessing conducted in the Maldives.

But instead of a blessing of their relationship, the couple were subjected to a torrent of abuse. The pair were oblivious to the humiliating words the celebrant was using as this part of the blessing was conducted in Dhivehi.

Among other things the celebrant called the couple “infidels” and “swine” and said any future children the pair produced would be illegitimate.

dreams of the East

I dreamt of walking through the East,

In sandals donned over tired dusty feet.

As I crossed the hazy oriental lands,

I saw peasants bent over fields of yams.

A festival of lights lit up the night,
A thousand lanterns gliding away like kites.
Prayers were said and candles were put afloat,
The river ablaze with tiny bamboo boats.

Swimming in waterfalls, wind in my hair,

Wearing sarongs, light as the air.

The sun was amber and red.

As it fell and died, the colours bled.

 I strolled through crowded streets,
Vespa's everywhere were honking ‘beep ‘beep’.
Mountains inland and at sea towered above,
The butterflies, up the path and over the water; I was in love.

Forgotten temples and bullet holes,
Horrors which sent shivers through my very soul.
Stories of atrocities tugged at my heart,
Children faces, after their deaths; immortalised art?

Street vendors offer spicy noodles dish after dish,
Feasting on crabs, prawns and freshly caught fish.
Markets selling fruit on the river float,
'me love you long time' the noisy city gloats,

Waking up was mundane,
To see familiar a terrain.
All that was left was a dream, a memory,
Of a place where the old world fused with the contemporary.

in the words of lenny kravitz

  "I wish that I could fly
Into the sky
So very high
Just like a dragonfly

I'd fly above the trees
Over the seas
In all degrees
To anywhere I please

Oh, I want to get away
I want to fly away..."

such a spartan ramazan

This is my first Ramazan at home in the Maldives as an adult. I have to say I have been anticipating the smell of hedhikaa, the long afternoons in the kitchen listening to siyarath on the radio, the karaa fani, and the late night card games I remember from my childhood.

Alas! The Ramazan I remember has been washed away by the bearded men in ankle revealing trousers... Instead of the usual TV shows which were made for Ramazan there are sermons. One of which I had the unfortunate pleasure of having to listen to while preparing food ... it talked about menstrual blood of all things! The colours, the consistency... understandably I ate very little that day at break fast time. 

And the food two types of hedhika; one spicy the other one sweet is a spartan shadow to what I remember. We use to have 4 or 5 different types of spicy hedhikaa, 2 types of sweets, 2 types of fresh fruit juice, 1 or 2 curries and rihaakuru, mashuni or mas kurolhi everyday. Yes! In my family Ramazan was celebrated, it was my favourite month of the year. 

I think the only legacy left intact was karaa! Still as juicy, sweet and as red as I remember it!

 

parlez vous Francais?

Police: The Lady with the shoulder bag, stop running! The lady with the shoulder bag, stop running!

Police: Hey, you, don't run!

Police: Why are you running?

Marjane: I am late for a class.

Police: Maybe, but you musn't run. When you run, your behind moves in an obscene way.

Marjane: Stop looking at my ass!

a sham resignation?

9 days later they all took oath of office and assume responsibility!

a fed up cabinet

Someone once said to me "Maldives? Aren't they those sleepy little islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean...?” I think we've far out grown the 'sleepy-island scene'. I mean if we aren't holding cabinet meeting underwater, our cabinet staging mass resignation.

Let’s recap shall we? Through the amendments to the Public Finance Act the opposition MPs were trying to give parliament the right to veto government plans; these included key privatisations and changes to the policy on loans.

Hmm do you hear that? It sound like a bell is ringing "UNCONSTITUTIONAL"!

I don't really blame Anni and his ministers. DRP and their opposition bloc which control the majority in the Majlis, with this power they will not allow the government to make any headway. They will just block them at every step of the way.

It took us 30 years to overthrow a tyrant dictator; I wonder how long it will take us to reform the Majlis.

enough said

lawsuit: "openly declaring sin"

So I've been following Saudi Arabia in the news... and it seems that three young Saudis are in trouble with the Religious Police (tsk tsk naughty boys and girl!)

A lawsuit has been filed against them for the crime of "openly declaring sin" and said it would take at least one week for the Islamic Sharia court to decide whether to proceed with a trial or dismiss the case.

All this because the three were featured in MTV's "True Life - Resist the Power, Saudi Arabia" which followed how they cope with the strictures they encounter in their daily life in Jeddah, seen as the kingdom's most liberal city.

"We are not free to live as we like," said Aziz, one of the youths who appeared on the MTV show. In the episode he tries to meet his girlfriend for a date, a risky endeavour in the kingdom.

Fatima wants to start a business selling the traditional abaya in colours rather than the standard black.

The show also followed the struggles of a heavy metal fan who explain that when they pray they turn their heavy metal T-shirts inside out to show respect for God.

Heart of Glass

"walking down life by myself, and it's okay"

-sweets
 

resistance from a woman means a lot...

I read earlier this week about a Saudi religious policeman from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, questioned a young couple walking together in an amusement park to confirm their identities and relationship to one another, he got a painful surprise - when the woman suddenly attacked him.

Apparently he was punched repeatedly; he was eventually taken to hospital suffering from severe bruising.

If the woman is charged with assaulting the officer, she could face a lengthy prison term, or a lashing, or both.

'People are fed up with these religious police, and now they have to pay the price for the humiliation they put people through for years and years,' Saudi human rights activist was quoted saying 'to see resistance from a woman means a lot... This is just the beginning and there will be more.'