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April 28, 2013

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Much Ado About The “Controversy” That Is Nasheed’s Response

controversy

A question that Nasheed answered during a Q&A session while in Denmark recently has become a topic of much controversy, of course stirred by none other than those who are so “moved” by Islam that they cannot or are not willing to understand the fact that extremism is not the version of Islam that Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) has preached and left behind as a legacy to all of us to be blessed with Allah’s love and good things in the Hereafter.

It was a tweet by Mr. Bushry, the former editor of Monday Times; a man I respected deeply as a journalist and his ability to keep readers interested with his articles (I still remember looking avidly forward to each article that was published back then and I am most certain I have never missed out on reading anything that he published back then) that brought this video link to my attention. Maybe I am just dumb or maybe the version of English language that I understand is not on par with what Bushry and the likes have studied, but what I understood from the video clip was that Nasheed adressed the point of rising extremism as an issue that exists in this country together with many other countries in this region.

Maldives being a “100%” Muslim country, the vulnerability factor here is a just a tad more, which is of course true if you look at what has happened in the past and what is happening even now. If you take into account the direction in which Imran and the lot are trying to move this nation i.e. by preaching their hypocritical version of Islam, extremism & radicalism is what is going to be the end result of this all. And of course if you take a look into the bombing that took place in the Sultan Park together with the Himandhoo issue, both of which came up during Maumoon’s 30 year golden era, one cannot turn their back on such glaringly obvious evidence unless they choose to be blind, which is of course another matter altogether.

What Nasheed said was that a different dialogue that preaches true Islam to the people needs to come out. Which is certainly true because there are very few scholars who actually preach what they practice without sounding like envoys sent from up above to judge people based on their actions and decide then and there who and who are ordained for Paradise and Hell. Nasheed corrected himself after using the term “liberal Islam” saying that a better way to put it would be the “correct version of Islam” and the fact that this dialogue needs to be established is the unvarnished truth. I believe that Nasheed makes a valid argument based on that point. Extremists use and exploit religion to their own advantage. Religion is a means to an end to them, most of them dreaming about the 70 virgins they would be offered the minute they strap explosives on their body and go blow up something killing 1000’s of innocent bystanders in the process. That is not the form of justice that Islam talks about.

Islam is a religion that advocates peace above all else. A just and fair system for its followers and those that do not follow it, a society that can live in harmony, even be it when there is a mix of people who follow different religions. Such is the way of Islam, it is not a religion based on beheading each and everyone that emerges with a different school of thought from yours and it is certainly not about enslaving and brainwashing people into submission. Above everything else Allah SWT has given us free will and that choosing to live the way we do is something He alone can judge and to that there is no question.

Nasheed’s point of extremists using religion to their advantage is valid and the example he took to drive home the point was what seemed to have stirred all this controversy. The example that extremists always have an answer for everything. Even if one cannot sleep at night, they would quote a Hadith and an Ayat from Quran and then the person would go back to sleep again. This is in no way a mockery to any of the teachings in Islam and I cannot find anything blasphemous in nature in what he said. He did not mock Islam, nor did he mock the Sunnah laid out by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Anyone who has a good command of the English language and can THINK for themselves without getting all defensive about their personal hatred towards Nasheed would indeed understand his point.

Me, I’d rather have a leader who sees the problems that exists in this society than bury his head in the sand like an ostrich & goes on to prevent others from seeing and facing the reality of the society that we live in today. Reality is that even the much “revered” Maumoon Abdul Qayyoom himself had agreed to the rising elements of extremism on this soil during conversations he had at the American Embassy based in Sri Lanka as per the documents leaked on WikiLeaks. Truth is extremism if not curbed, if a solution not found, is a ‘virus’ that will continue to breed, multiply and the resultant wound fester beyond control which would result in us reverting back to the dark ages where education is a thing of the past, where women become enslaved and our children grow up to be ignorant in a way that would bring nothing but despair raining down upon us.

For once, stop the hate mongering TV channels and newspapers from feeding those little tidbits into your brain and do the actual thinking for you. For once in your life, STOP and THINK! It just might change how you see things which in turn might pave the way for a better future.

An important point to ponder upon meanwhile is the fact that actions are judged by our intentions. And be it me, you or Nasheed, we would all be judged for our actions, our deeds and the way we have conducted ourselves in the Hereafter. Allah knows best.

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February 14, 2013

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Yes, I Have a Problem…

maldives-police-brutality-1

To say that empathy is a foreign concept to most Maldivians would not be a lie. It is appalling just how narrow minded even some of my friends are. Politically, I do not care who anyone chooses to vote for. I do not mind whether everyone goes and votes for even the devil himself. I’d question their thinking rationale which made them conclude the devil to be the best choice but then I wouldn’t comment on it.

But what I do have a problem with is people and my friends who refuses to see brutality and injustice when it happens right in front of them. My digestive system has issues and malfunctions when people ridicule what the other person goes through, going so far as to label them cowards in the face of great tyranny and injustice.

February 8th 2012 was one of the worst days of police brutality in the recent Maldivian history. I was appalled at the apathy that some people showed towards the victims of the attacks of the life threatening variety, the picture in my post being one of them. The man depicted in the picture lost three of his fingers to the attack by the police officer (Haveeru reports on this incident one year on), if not for his hand getting in the way, he would certainly have died or would have been rendered into a coma or a vegetative state for the rest of his life. There are people who still think everyone who got beaten up within an inch of their lives that day deserved what they got and had it coming. Enough said.

I have a problem when people root for and become cheerleaders for the bullies instead of condemning the act. And I certainly do have a problem when people judge the other person never knowing what he/she has gone through. Unless you put on their shoes, walk through their life, face the troubling & conflicting times they have had and come out a “winner”, don’t assume that high and mighty attitude and think you are a better person.

Some Maldivians I’m afraid to say, they wouldn’t know injustice until it bitch-slaps them on their face. Or brutality until a baton comes swinging their way. Or the humiliation of being subjected to inhumane  torture until they are stripped of every right and poked with a hot iron rod in their nether regions. Or pinched and groped with every intent of humiliating and dehumanizing the person to a level that would continue to give them nightmares for the rest of their lives.

Point being, these people might differ from you in their political visions and aspirations but that certainly doesn’t make them any less human. You are a human too. At least I think we all are. If not for our ability to think, rationalize, feel and show empathy when and where its due; what other aspect differentiates us from becoming mere animals?

What the Jews are doing to the Palestinians ain’t the only injustice that is happening in this world. Its happening right in this country too. When you open your mouth and condemn what the Jews are doing to the Palestinians and laugh on like a hyena when it happens to someone from whom your political opinion differs; yes, that I have a problem with.

And that ends my mini rant for the day. Thanks to everyone who took the time to “listen”.

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February 8, 2013

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Coup-versary!

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The first trickle of unease and fear began in my heart when Umar Naseer came out with his ladder theory. My anxiety meter ratcheted up to a level that made me blurt out that Umar Naseer was calling out in front of an audience to topple an elected government and someone needs to do something about it. But alas, like almost every chaos inciting speech that had been made by the opposition movement that had been holding protests for longer than 2 weeks was ignored. Of course for a President that believes the best in people who was busy trying to fulfill all his pledges before the 5 year term was up, Nasheed did not have the time to spare and neither did his administration. But the protests that were started off with the arrest of the infamous Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed seemed to be the beginning of the end. Or perhaps the beginning of the end lay somewhere further along the way when Velezinee tried to bring everyone’s attention to the atrocities that were being committed by the Judicial Service Commission, the Judiciary watchdog of the country. Needless to say, everyone else to whom I voiced my worries regarding Umar Naseer’s statement scoffed off my worries.

And so on the night of the 6th of February 2012, as usual I went  to bed not knowing the next day would be one of the saddest days of my life. That I would wake up to find a level of chaos that this country has not seen during recent times and that I would see the President I voted for during the 2008 election forced to resign because the opposition had gained a far more tensile sort of momentum which had gained further strength upon the addition of mutinying police and military officers joining with the protesters to uphold the “law and order” of the country.

Since I never switched on the television or the radio before heading to work, I never knew anything was wrong until I was well on my way to work. I knew something was off when I heard people shouting. Since Velaanaage is pretty close to the Republic Square area, the shouts of the angry protesters and rioting police & military officers could be heard all over. And upon asking one of my colleagues who conspiratorially whispered to me that the police and military have also joined “the people”, I knew then and there that what I had feared that night was indeed turning into reality.

As the morning progressed, things went from bad to worse. Majority of people at work place cheered on a coup as it happened something that broke my heart and made me so frustrated with people’s attitudes. Half of them didn’t even know what was happening, why this was happening, but the fact that the smear campaign that had been ongoing ever since Nasheed’s term had begun had taken effect and gotten deep rooted in their subconscious. Even now if you ask most people who thinks Nasheed deserved to be toppled from power in such a manner would always start throwing around “Judge Abdulla Mohamed”, “unconstitutional orders” etc. It doesn’t matter that the judge in question was one who was under investigation by the Judicial Service Commission themselves for incompetency and untoward acts committed by him in his capacity as a judge. But as they say, “lies spread like wildfire, consuming everything within their path.” In this instance it was the already small minds of the people who have seldom being taught to think on their own and reason out during a 30 year dictatorship.

I never did read through all the live reporting that was done on Haveeru or Sun of the events that took place that day. For one thing my heart and emotions couldn’t take it. For another I was just too frustrated with everything that had happened, the loss of so much within just a couple of hours of the day. I don’t think that I can still adequately describe the upheaval that my emotions went through that day. And the only saving grace was the support of my family who thankfully are not divided in the opinion of what took place that day. However I did take the time to save the timeline of events on Sun.mv though because you never know when the “facts” will become distorted in a country like ours that is always ripe for storytelling.

Reading through the timeline (which I have translated and uploaded here for anyone who would like to take a look), the inability or rather the inaction by the military to uphold the oath they have taken is the most glaring failure of the night and the 7th of February as it dawned. Such inaction by the military officers as the riots first started at the Artificial Beach, acting as mere spectators of a gory event as it unfolded in front of them is simply something unacceptable. There came countless times when they could have brought the situation under control. But perhaps the command structure which had pretty much failed in an institution where following orders as they are handed down is top priority was the main reason behind the rapid escalation of the events. And when intervention did come, I would say it just came too little, too late.

The question that has always remained utmost on my mind ever since the Feb 7th is how can I trust a military that couldn’t protect the elected president of the country from a mob of police officers that had gone rogue? How could military officers give into emotion and start shedding tears like a group of wussies who couldn’t put their duty and the country first because their “friends” were the ones they had to confront? Some might say let bygones be bygones but I am someone who used to respect people who work in the armed forces but now I have nothing but disdain for the uniform they wear which is a joke unto itself.

One other question that kept poking at my subconscious when going through the timeline was where was President Nasheed when all this was happening? Why wasn’t he informed earlier on? Was he informed and didn’t want to intervene that early on? And why so much hesitation on the military’s part to do the needful, to disperse the protesting officers and restore law and order in the city when it would have been possible in the wee hours of the morning? I guess the answer lies in Tholhath, the Defense Minister then, who in reality had all along being in cahoots with the opposition.

Tholhath’s betrayal to President Nasheed and members of the party is evident now when you look at the timeline with fresh eyes and a new perspective. It was partly his doing that led the situation to the level it deteriorated then. In the end nothing justifies the toppling of a people elected government by a bunch of hooligans in uniform who chanted all over the city that they were finally upholding the law and order in the country and that they were doing it for Islam.

As we “mark” the one year anniversary of the coup that blinded international community and made countries like America and India that boasts of being the biggest democracies in the modern world turn their third eye blind towards us, the people who still voted for Nasheed wanting an end to the tyranny and injustice that has been part of the Maldivian life for too long to count still bleeds from their heart. I still bleed from my heart over the events that took place that day. My eyes still hold the tears that remains to be shed, my mind still goes crazy when I think of the absolute defiance to order and the gross misuse of power that police and military officers embroiled in on that fateful day.

There are lessons to be learned from all of this. That “hiythirikan” only takes you along so far. Patience and wanting to believe the good in the other person only works when the group of people who sit with you aren’t a pack of vultures, always analyzing which spot to pick on, which point to prick on you for you to bleed.

For one thing letting the media have free reign without any thought to the consequences of spreading vile untruths and half truths and spreading malice amongst society was a grave mistake. It was President Nasheed’s pledge to give the country and its people the freedom that they deserve, but perhaps the one glaring mistake his administration did was to leave this freedom unchecked. With great freedom comes also a great responsibility to do what’s right which somehow went unheeded by the media channels in their frenzy to create an environment of hatred towards the President of the country, of course with the backing of the old cogs of the previous regime whose hatred for a simple man who rose to the position of the President of this country had unleased an ever growing sense of jealousy and hatred in their hearts.

I blame President Nasheed for landing us in this position as well. He should have known better than to put his trust in the cogs who have been oiling the 30 year old regime machine better than the rest of us. He who suffered too numerous times to count from the injustice of a regime that was notorious for inhumane torture of the dissenting voices; Nasheed should have known better.

I blame MDP MP’s too. They should have stood by Velezinee when she was the lone voice that stood up against the beginning of the elements of the coup that was being put into motion within the walls of the so called judicial system of ours. Everyone stood by, let her scream her voice and the walls down, some turned their back on her in shame, others just laughed it over, made deals that would benefit them, and look where we are now? If everyone had stepped up to the plate, done what they were supposed to do and given Velezinee the support that she had needed so much then, maybe, just maybe we wouldn’t have ever had to see the atrocious events of the 7th of February 2012.

I’ll end this post with a poem I came across on Twitter, penned by Mickail Naseem for the one year “anniversary” of the coup, that struck a chord deep within me. Let’s hope that the day of reckoning for the traitorous lot is not too far away, that they face the punishment for the heinous crime against the votes and voices of the people of this country that would not drown out and fade away in its resonant call to restore democracy and rights of the people in this failed country of ours. Long live democracy! Long live people’s power!

“Surrounded by armed mutineers,
He stood with his resolve unwavering,
Constantly reminded of his family at risk,
His presidential self deemed duty most supreme,
Friends, colleagues and women beaten all the same
His cousin, his family, bleeding before his eyes
Years of sacrifice for liberty and freedom,
Still engulfed his selfless mind
A plea for mercy
Bellowing across the chaotic ground
The commander in chief
Begged from the rank and file
Pleas ignored, all hell broke loose
A general said, it’s time to shoot
Decided he was
No one should die
Resigned the president
In a blink of an eye“

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January 29, 2013

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Lets Talk About Sex, Shall We?

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Sex, god forbid, even at this day and age where promiscuity is the norm for most societies turns out to be a bit of a ‘taboo’ subject to talk about in this country of ours. For some people, sex is something that needs to be carried out in the darkness of the night, never to be talked about, shrouded in a bit of mystery and perhaps more than anything else procreation the sole reason behind the act. In other words a means to an end.

The reason behind this post is not in any way to advocate for and promote promiscuity and indecency amongst the masses. My intention is to highlight on a subject few women even at this day and age are comfortable enough to talk about and perhaps be bold enough to ‘demand’ their rights as an equal partner who has as much right as the man to achieve satisfaction in a sexual relationship.

If someone were brazen enough to broach the subject of sex and the intricacies involved in it, most would view the person, especially if it were a woman with an aghast look in their eyes all the while thinking, ‘Oh, here is the type of loose woman my mama always warned me about.’ Let me tell you, opening my mouth a few times in the ‘wrong’ sort of company has earned me this look, so I definitely know what I’m talking about. This is not surprising given the fact that Maldives being a hugely patriarchal society even today tends to view women in the light that they are just there to serve one and one purpose alone, i.e. to slave away all day and night to the man they are tied down to for the rest of their life.

A cynical viewpoint of marriage and sex for a woman? Yes, it may be. But then its nothing further from the truth. Lets ask this question to the general populace of women in this country. Women who are bold enough would answer without a moments hesitation, but those who shy away from such conversations in the first place might not want to state the truth out loud, but that doesn’t make it any less of a truth. Ask most women whether they are sexually satisfied with their partners, whether their partner takes the time to really please them or whether it goes more along the path of a ‘wham-bam-thank you maam’? I bet my life on the outcome being that more than 50% of women would state the answer to be in the negative.

So why is this so? In these advanced times of information globalization and outreach, its definitely not the case of the partners involved being totally clueless about the hows and whys of sex, but rather its a case that is more than repeated across the globe, even in those countries where we all agree to be ‘developed’ in every sense.

In Maldives, there is the aspect of religion to add to this, where ‘religious’ scholars tend to scorn a woman who stands up for her rights, who believes in there being equality between the husband and the wife. If you look at the life led by the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) you’d understand just how wrong and sexist most of these ‘scholars’ are, who do nothing more than marginalize women and make them feel inferior in every single way.

For a man, there is nothing worse than a woman questioning his prowess in the bedroom. Maybe the sexual chemistry, the ignition factor was never there to begin with in the relationship, or maybe, just maybe the man involved is actually selfish enough to keep the woman always begging and wanting for more. Perhaps the thought of empowering the woman in the bedroom makes the man break out in hives, gives him palpitations at the thought that it might embolden her in areas outreaching the bedroom.

Men always have this tendency to quote their number one reason for straying from their matrimonial vows as being the fact that they are no longer sexually satisfied in their marriage. Well, let me clue you in on a worldwide ‘secret’; what you give is what you get, i.e. satisfy the woman in the bedroom and see how things work out for you. You can’t expect insert pin A into slot B within the first 5 minutes to work every single time. There is something called exploration, foreplay which is mighty important when it comes to a woman. And its not just you who is no longer satisfied if one were to keep a scoresheet. Its because society still raises their over judgemental eyebrows at women who dare to come out and seek a divorce from the highly sexist judiciary of ours that most women for whom the relationship no longer works continues to stay around. After all, the neighbors, your ‘friends’ and family would go into titters if they were to find out that you are leaving the man who makes you feel like a cold fish in bed.

Its no secret that men and women were created by God in such a way that the physical and emotional differences between them attract and complement one another when you meet the right fit. I know that if men were to honestly answer the question of how much time they take in a day to really talk to their partners they would be grappling around in their memory to come up with a truthfully accurate answer.

Though sometimes the physical act alone is enough to satisfy most partners, for a woman, her needs border on a different level. She has to be in the mood and the feel of things to really enjoy the moment and give it her all; in other words, emotional wellbeing of both partners is important to really get it going. A woman cannot just turn off her emotions and be there in the moment like a man does. So a little bit of work to get her there every now and then would be more than appreciated?

The first phase of a relationship is exciting on so many levels. The newness of it all, the need to really make a long lasting impression on top of everything else makes even the sex for most couples an adventure of sorts during this period. So why does it all head South as the relationship progresses? For some it might have never been there, but for others I guess its a case of life happens, a case of hoping that things would change one fine day in the horizon.

At the risk of sounding like a harlot, this is a thought that crosses my mind at times. That there would be some women out there who’d never ever taste the beauty that is sex with the right partner; a partner who takes the time and ensures that the woman reaches fulfillment before taking himself to that point. That there would be women out there who’d think that there is something wrong with them that prevents them from ever finding pleasure in an act that should wholly be about pleasure and increasing intimacy between partners. Different things work for different couples, its all up to them to explore, seek and find out what works for their partners and what does not. If you don’t have the interest nor the inclination to give pleasure, in my opinion you don’t deserve any in return.

For men who just don’t try at all; you don’t deserve a woman in your life. It’d be much better to live your whole life with your left hand and a stash of porn for company rather than subject some poor unsuspecting woman to an act that becomes a burden more than anything else. For that small percentage of men who try and succeed no matter how minute that figure maybe, I applaud you for having the guts and being secure enough in your masculinity to keep the woman at home satisfied in an aspect that few men do. For those who are in the middle ground? Keep trying. You just might at last make your woman fly.

And my advice to women? Never be afraid to seek the pleasure that is as much your right as his. Sex might not be everything in a relationship but it does account for a lot. For a harmonious and long lasting relationship, setting off fireworks in the bedroom just might shed enough light to tackle the rest of the problems that occur along the way.

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January 25, 2013

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The Simple Things In Life…

flowers
A conversation I had yesterday at tea with two of my colleagues whom I happen to be very good friends with made my brain whirl around a bit today on those simple pleasures of life that we usually take for granted. Perhaps it is because we lead such busy lives today, always engrossed in something or the other, or maybe we have just become too ‘complacent’ with the way things are, or we have gotten too desensitized to really take a moment to think and reflect on those things that just simply makes us happy.

Our conversation bordered around about how things were when we were kids, not having the latest toy or gadget in the market at hand, but nevertheless never actually ‘wanting’ more than our parents could afford to provide for us.There were no techno gadgets to go gaga over, not much of TV channels to watch in order for us to be ‘brainwashed’ into wanting and yearning for those things that were, simply put, out of reach back then unless of course your parents or family were super loaded.

Its the norm today to see parents go out on a limb to provide their children with all sorts of the latest gadgets and whatnot because at this day and age, a kid without those things in hand is one dare I say left out of the group of the “in kids”? I watch in awe these days when parents get their kids ready to go to school each year. Of course, every parent wants to provide the best of what they are able to for their children, but then I still think people take things a bit overboard, maybe more to do with ‘peer pressure’ than anything else. It has to be a certain type of bag that should be taken to school, a “theme” to which the book covers should be prepared and the list goes on. I remember a time when plain brown paper and a roll of cellophane got the job done, but then I guess I am just “ancient” in the way I think.

Back when I grew up, we tended to not get fussy when we wanted something that was way out of the price range of affordable goods. I don’t remember (maybe my memory is faulty here), about pestering my parents to buy me something just because one of the kids whose parents were lucky and able enough to afford it tended to have it. But it is quite the norm today to see kids throw tantrums of gigantic proportions because their parents have the gumption to say that at the moment buying the latest version of the iPad is not feasible when the child already has a vestige of such articles at his or her disposal.

Sometimes I think that the more you tend to ‘have’, the more jaded and dissatisfied your soul becomes. How on Earth is one to treasure, savor and take pleasure in what he has when the next thing he fancies comes into his possession without much ado? It is when one learns to be content with what one has that the art of appreciating and taking pleasure and happiness in what one has becomes the norm.

I still remember bits and pieces of my childhood with the fondest of memories. The earliest memories of myself as a child is one where I played on this little ‘hill’ of white sand at home, mostly some toys of the construction variety (I tended to be a bit of a tomboy), whiling hours away, engrossed with doing whatever it was that fascinated me about it in the first place.

bikeClose at heel comes the memories of taking walks early in the morning. I am someone who used to go on long walks, all by myself, back in an ‘era’ when drug addicts and all sorts of junkies high on the latest drug didn’t crowd the streets and made walking alone on the roads a living nightmare. Neither were the streets of Male’ that crowded with vehicles and let me not forget, people who sometimes makes the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other on the overcrowded streets something of a challenge today.

Next comes the memories of my dad trying to teach me how to ride a bicycle. I still break into smiles when I recall how he used to get a little impatient with me because as soon as I saw something or someone coming my way, my bike refused to head in any other direction apart from what was coming or standing in my way. Needless to say, bike riding was something I barely mastered and in spite of that, sometimes I wish to go bicycle riding in the wee hours of the morning even now.

And last but not the least comes the memories of how my love affair with reading began. I used to and still lose myself in the pages of a book for hours, now it should be the digital pages on the iPad; such that my mom used to ‘scold’ at me for burying my nose in a book so deeply such that nothing that went around me registered on my mind. I used to practically gobble up books, reading two to three books in a day and going back to the library almost every single day to get new books to replace what I had already finished reading.

And I would be remiss if I were not to point out the delights of the simple yet filling fare that graced our dining tables then. The short eats mainly “Saatanuge gulha“, “Husnooge bajiyaa“, the “gulha” sold at Dharaage – all made by Maldivian hands I must add; and of course the “Bodu Biscoadhu” and also the very delectable “Kudhi Biscoadhu“. Oh and the “Juice Petty” and the lollies that we used to rush out to buy on blistering hot days; nothing even comes close to the feel and taste of the cold sweetness bursting into the mouth and taking away with it the thirst that begs to be quenched. And I should also mention the “Garudhiya” bowls that come from fresh fish, with everything from the liver to the “Dhon Bis” to the head of the fish that leaves a long lasting smell on the hands but nevertheless makes for very enjoyable and memorable meals. Food certainly seemed to taste better then, maybe the quality of products accounting for one of the reasons why everything used to taste better then. lollu

To fill up the idle hours playing tag, hopscotch and the infamous dodge ball games that used to amuse us kids for hours are still memories I hold dear to me. Sometimes I wonder, where kids of the current generation are going to find memories to smile upon in perhaps 30 to 40 years time. Would they have anything simple as the contentment of taking a walk early in the morning, the fun of going for bicycle rides on the roads in the wee hours of the early morning and perhaps most of all, simple Maldivian food that I still recall and taste on my tongue if I close my eyes and concentrate on it just that much harder.

I sometimes find myself ‘pitying’ kids who grow up today, their days so mired with going from one tuition class to the next, engaged in earning the highest scores in the exam, passing time engrossed in the social media that hardly teaches one how to interact with each other in society etc that just sometimes seems to hint at a society that continues to distance itself more and more from the forms of interaction that enables us to feel, empathize and perhaps become better people along the way.

Kids today, if I am being whimsical enough about it, have no time on their busy and gadget infused schedules to stop and smell the roses, point being no one takes the time teach them to take five and just simply be. The pleasure of simply being, standing still for just a couple of seconds perhaps could be the beginning of learning the art of taking pleasure in the simple things in life.

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