I happen to visit the Maldives National Art Gallery yesterday and came across these two very wonderful paitings that amazed me.

Bandiyaa Dance ~ an oil painting by Fathumath Zuhura


Island scene ~ acrylic on canvas by Hassan Ziyad

Below is a picture of a Maldivian fisherman wearing a very nice hat. It is the fishermen’s hat I was introduced to in the ART classes at Majeedhiyaa School. It has been ages since and I have never seen anyone wearing such a hat for real.

When this picture hit my eyes just recently and while scooping ice-cream at Seagull Restaurant, Male’, Maldives, I really wanted a snap of it. I knew this was a snap I did not want to miss. I expressed this interest to the two other prominent bloggers with whom I was seated with and the real photographer who was next to me felt really shy. I could not understand his reasons. I had no choice but to pull out my tiny camera and to take the snap myself. Poor lighting conditions coupled with the distance I was from the target, I could not take a clean and nice shot. Besides, it was a late evening and the restaurant was packed with people.

I wonder if anyone has a better image of it that I could use in my online album ‘staging the authenticity’.

The picture below is very striking and very Maldivian. The vibrant red dress for women and the black sarong with white stripes worn by both men and women is such a beautiful sight for today. The island on display at the background is a very good composition for the subjects on show. Those unbrellas look so cool too. Whosoever is holding the copyrights and the original picture, may I humbly request a larger file (res. 1024px minimum) and permission and to include it in my web photo folder ‘Staging the Authenticity’. I may not have anything to give in return but trust me; you will not regret interacting with me on this.

Other readers in possession of similar and interesting pictures that really display the Maldives, I would like an opportunity to view them. It will be very interesting if anyone would have a picture in which women wore GREEN and other colours. Closeups that show the ebroidery will be really cool, and the list goes on.

Now then, it is this picture I long to see BIG.

The Maldives has an authentic culture. A local language and script, unique food and drink, own dress code and dances among other things signify the Maldives and its people in their thousands. Men wear black sarong striped in white (see picture below) and women wear bold and heavily embroided and wide neck dresses in florescent colours of green and red are typical to the Maldives and they are spectacular. Blessed with a less stressful life, dancing is a way life and Boduberu and Thaara are popular and they rise, stretch, bend, turn, jump, glide and dart. These dances are entertaining to the Maldivians and possibly to the tourists too when resorts stage them. What are un-staged are evermore scarce and only fewer women, mainly the old living in outer islands wear the embroidery. Besides, local trends suggest that the country’s vibrant culture and tradition is erasing fast.
 




Pictures by AhmedZahid. Click here to visit the dedicated photo album.