Suvadhiva

The atoll of Suvadhiva is a most familiar atoll for me.I was working as captain on board a twelve tonner collecting vessel for Hoko Maldives in 1978. Captain Abdul Raheem Shakir (Levendly) gave me some lessons in charts ,taking course and compass measurement in Noonu Atoll before we crossed the channel ...(7 to 8 hrs) to Suvadhiva. No sooner than we crossed he handed me the boat over and went on vacation.
A totally different surrounding of voices ways and habits.Their dialect is so different to what we have up north, it can even be called a different lingo.
Went around most of the fishing islands buying fish for the mother vessel...where it was frozen and exported. All Japanese management..and very good.
But after my annual vacation, I missed the soccer, music and friends company,i quit.
I could not go back untill 1992 with Amin and Bodu Mohammed on an expedition to find the surf spots down south.
And for three years from 1995 to 1998 i was surf guide for Atoll Adventures.
Some of the best and the most heaviest breaks in the Maldives are down there.

sad song

Its a sad day for somebody every day as much as its a happy day for many.
A family friends cousin 22 years old
died in the early hours,

family in distress, while friends and relatives try to console,
the funeral ended 11 hours later,
reminded me of a sad song i wrote in 1981,
on a banishment at Ellaidhoo.

mithaa mihuri nukaiheney ( here i am as if haven't had anything to eat)
evves ehchcheh nudhirifa aye ( no can drink anything )

kuraane vaki kameh nu engi ( can't know what i should do )
runaa thah mulhin kanneh vefai ( all nerves gone lazy )
thuraa thakah minjeh nu engi ( no solution or end to disturbing problems )
furaana mathin foohivefaa ( fed up of life)

mithaa mihuri......................

hadhaane vaki gotheh nu engi ( can't know what to do )
halaaku vaan kairee ve faa ( almost near to breaking )
madhaa nudhaa thaneh nu engi ( can't know where i am going )
aavaaraave mendhuruvefai ( mid- day sun and going nowhere )

mithaa mihuri .....................

hithaamaige kolheh nu engi ( can't know the end of sadness )
hithaa sikundi gabu vefai ( heart and brain gone numb )
heelaa majaa kohlaan nu engi ( can't know to laugh and have fun )
hiyaalu thakah gelleni ve faa ( lost in meandering thoughts )

mithaa mihuri......................

The Trial

The farce of a trial over and I come home. Half way through reporters and everyone barred and sent off. Evidence vedeo behind the judge and people laughed .Judge got angry for laughing at an arrangement thats stupid in a court of law and sents all observers out. Anni escorted around armed guards and taken home witout a trial as charges against Anni who was taken for his personel safety for having a peaceful vigil at Jumhoory Maidhaan is now being charged with sedition, terrorism and what not and it keeps building up with every trial that Anni's lawyers has to constantly request for new unfound charges that its nothing but a big farce. And all the while trying to make a public believe in any ridiculous explanation of the trial and keeping Anni under arrest is an injustice that no right sensing person will accept. Whatever trial they have or whatever sentence he might be given will not make the people believe , for that day, Anni was exercising not only a human but a constitutional right and he shall be released.
Inspite of the threats, thousands of people gathered at the artifical beach area for the totally peaceful demonstration on he 24th to exercise a consitutional right under Article 25 and 26 while , calling themselves a false name of government security forces constantly threatening and blaring over a loudspeaker inciting fear was a nuisance to everyone gathered there for who ever who went there went there because they believe that police commisioner adam zahir should be thrown out of office for irresponsibility for what happened at Fares-Mathoda and all the violence in the country with knives and iron bars having a field day. Thieves of gangs cracking island office safes and taking away puplic property; who come with with knives and attack or threaten and rob you of your daily earnings.
While at Laamu ,on the 22nd, the first news i heard was that the island office of Mukurimagu was busted last night and people told me that these attacks has been an ongoing series and already all the other safes of Thundi Mathimaradhoo Fonadhu and lots of public property had been robbed and the police cannot stop them.
The next slogan of the peaceful demonstration was to protect the civil rights of a government employee, by calling not to threaten or harass or be put out of job or office because of his membership in a certain political party.
And the other one was to release Maldivian Democratic Party chair person Anni and all politacal prisoners.
The gonernment of president maumoon abdul gayyoom has failed in the needs of the people when they try to deprive the people of a constitutional right and taking the theme of party rules outriding the constitution and a wild campaign for two days to incite fear among the people against peaceful demonstration constantly over national tv, and radio while giving no chance to any opposition party member to say any thing ( on national tv, and radio the one and only and totally controlled and monopolised by the government) ....... But, riding over fear and threats thousands of people joined the peaceful demonstration to protect their rights.

TITA and JOHN

tita and friends are totally responsible for the quality in colour paper and brush work from 96,7 onwards that made warter colour a definite thrill for me.This is from a photo of tita and son john. She
saw that i had a regular supply of all that i need to do good water colours.

PASTA POINT (01) 95

This is my first painting of Pasta Point at Kanuhura done on drawing block and ordinary water colour.The inside section racing into" lockjaws".





SOLD

Eid Mubarik

Its with a heavy heart that i have to wish you Eid Greetings on this day of brotherhood. The attack on the citizens of Gaaf Dhaal atoll Fares-Maadhoda by riot geared armed assault team from our national armed forces four days ago on the 5th still hangs heavily on my brain. The simple minded folk are still in fear and terror because of the ruthlessness of the sudden attack.Women and children pepper sprayed,stun grenaded and beaten up when most of the men folk were out fishing and all the while using degrading foul language and threatening to kill anyone who are against the government.Whats become of the decency and ethical code that they are supposed to uphold towards their own people.This incident really had made me sick.

I am no religious scholar but i would like to know what it says about attacking a fellow muslim.

back pages from the rock scene

when i think of days and the years gone by
when i think about the music and the times we had
when i think about how and it all began
and when i think about the guys and a who they are
i think of you,pioneers,stepping stones

hearing music only from the radios
listening to the sound from them old machines
to cliff and jim and boone and them and engelbert
when the beatles came a taking all
the young ones hearts
out comes you with your band, called yourselves
The Shooting Stars

"back in the days we had no guitars
and no one to show us how it was done
back in the days we had no drums
and no one to show us how it was done"

and then you went away on a noble cause
and when you came back you were so well versed
you gave it to us all
with your selfless heart
and you had this band called the T T Bum Blues
we love you,we love you
playing your guitar and making us flyyyyy.

"back in the days.............we had no guitars
"back in the days..............we had no drums
"back in the days.............. we had no sound
"but we had you ,playing your music
"making us flyyy. (words and music by Hassan Ziyadh)

In 1995 some of the old boys decided to commemorate 25 years of rock music in the Maldives and they organised a rock concert with as many artists from the 70 s era plus some musicians of the day.
Its safe to say that the father of rock music in the Maldives is Naibuge Shiham.I was a grade 6 student when there was the first rock concert by a band called The Shooting Stars.It was a four piece band with Shiham on the lead guitar,Bayyu on the drums,Ibrahim Khalid on rythem and Athif on bass.For us it was awesome.I was so amazed to watch them play on those never before seen instruments and singing songs I only hear from the radio.Yeah ...that was the thing and we all wanted to be like them.
Well, it did not take long for others to follow.Guitars came into the scene and before long there were many keen musicians picking songs .
Shiham went to Australia for studies and came back with a degree in music.He held classes at home and introdused jamming sessions.There was a boom for rock music and few bands came into the scene....T T Bum Blues Band,Quicksands,Vampires,Deep Freeze,Twentieth Century BC and others. And there was a regular weekly gig at Icege where we can have soft drinks ,ice tea and ice creams and above all its not taboo to dance with a girl.
But with change of government to the present regime in 1978, the mullas came into the scene and started restricting and banning such venues.All the hopes and dreams of Shiham was shattered and he went nuts.He went back to Australia and never came back or got over it untill he died.


ROCK SILVER 95 at Olympus Theater.

1. guitar boogie................Juha
2. runnaway.....................Habib
3. you're so sweet............Alibe
4. introduction..................Zindh
5. suzie Q .........................Kurley
6. she's not crying.............Andhu
7. shilo.................................Athif
8. rhinestone cowboy........Alibe
10.help yourselves.............Athif
11.jamaican farewell...........Izekial
12.wishful thinking..............Alibe
13.i swear..............................Andhu
14.bootleg..............................Kurley
15.love just aint enough.......Soba
16.welcome to my world......Alibe
17.Honky Tonk Woman.......Kurley
18.me and bobby mcgee......Ziyadh
19.knock on your door.........Nahid
20.dont let me down............Athaif
21.the letter...........................Kurley
22.congratulations.................H. Shiham
23.rose garden.......................Nahid
24.in the shelter.....................Andhu
25.tossing and turning...........Andhu
26.the way it used to be........Alibe
27.eternal flame......................Hawwa
28.she's not you......................athif
29.wish you were here...........soba
30.let me get to know you.....Alibe
31.three little words...............athif
32.like a rolling stone.............ziyadh
33.what u see is what u get...soba
34.summer wine ....................Alibe and Nahid
35.boulevard...........................Izekial
36.these boots're made for walking..Nahid
37.traveller..............................Bundy
38.feel like making love.........kurley
39.tribute................................athif
40.old time rock n roll.......... athif
41.good golly miss molly...... kurley
42.hard headed woman........athif
43.tribute song.......................ziyadh

ALL @@@#HITS THE FAN

aboul government loans to special people in the majlis and all in mininan daily its all@#^$$##hit the fan and getting hot under the .............

in deep thought 99

pencil and water colour

Idhreesbe' 97

Idhreesbe' is from the island Himmafushi.I came to know him through my friend Tony..the Australian surfer who got ship-wrecked ,and came back to stay at the ultimate secret spot.He chose the Island of Himmafushi for its home break as well as the closest access to Thamburudhoo and found Idhreesbe' to be like a father to him ;and Tony calls him Boppa too.I did this one from a photo album pasted on the wall at Zulfa's (Mrs.Tony) place in Male' where I was staying then .I did this one to give Tony a surprise. water colour

home for the night 04

In my sojourn at Thulusdhoo I tried doing some fast water colours using photos taken in my outer atoll surf trips.This one is of Gaaf Dhaal Fiori. water colour