I'm on the little island capital of Maldives Islands, Male. Far away from the humdrum of city life back home in India; Zero pollution, quiet and serene. Unlike the regular holidayer or tourist I'm here for work.
Everyday as I walk down the narrow lanes to my temporary new office, it is nice to get a slice of local life on the way. I can't help getting lost in the striking Mediterranean tones which have been freshened up with fresh emulsion in view of the holy month of Ramadan. At the local fishmarket has two huge fish at the entrance that I almost appear like an installation. Only later do I get to know that it is the famous yellow finned Tuna which is sold by the kilo! I look in amazement at the streets being so clean just when a fellow mate tells me everything goes onto the garbage island! An island just for dumping garbage?!
Liqueur is banned in the Maldives due to religious reasons and is available only at resorts or 5-Star hotels. The only piece of nightlife and activity I figure is scooting around in sport cars , sitting by the ocean and drinking Holstein(energy drink). I see most of the waiters around are Bangladeshis. One guy informs me about how he mortgaged and somehow loaned to pay a huge sum to a guy from the embassy to find him a job here. He thought the tourism here would fetch him enough to recover the investment and save up for home. Sadly he has not even been paid salary for the last 3 months. He was desperate and determined to go home but his passport was with the embassy and he could not leave without stuffing their mouth again. He says the embassy even gets commission from the Maldivian government for bringing in workforce. His story is a revelation and there are many more like him on these atolls.
Come Ramadan and the entire city has gone into sleep mode. Not a soul on the street, not a sound, except the little buzz at the port and the ocean breaking on the barricades, it is all too surreal with the tendency of laziness catching up. I meet many locales during work, and lot of youth(you don't get to see the elderly here!). 2 out of every 5 had the same answer to my introductory question "What do you do?"- "Nothing" At first I think its a joke but it is a very fact. With no universities around many Maldivians find work outside their country and the others earn from fishing or simply travel and tourism. Obviously only the fishermen go and fish and if you have a plot of land ..then you've hit the jackpot! You do nothing and life just goes by...
I observe in silence..the turquoise blue shallows and the dark blue hues of the reef that only glitters on the surface.
Liqueur is banned in the Maldives due to religious reasons and is available only at resorts or 5-Star hotels. The only piece of nightlife and activity I figure is scooting around in sport cars , sitting by the ocean and drinking Holstein(energy drink). I see most of the waiters around are Bangladeshis. One guy informs me about how he mortgaged and somehow loaned to pay a huge sum to a guy from the embassy to find him a job here. He thought the tourism here would fetch him enough to recover the investment and save up for home. Sadly he has not even been paid salary for the last 3 months. He was desperate and determined to go home but his passport was with the embassy and he could not leave without stuffing their mouth again. He says the embassy even gets commission from the Maldivian government for bringing in workforce. His story is a revelation and there are many more like him on these atolls.
Come Ramadan and the entire city has gone into sleep mode. Not a soul on the street, not a sound, except the little buzz at the port and the ocean breaking on the barricades, it is all too surreal with the tendency of laziness catching up. I meet many locales during work, and lot of youth(you don't get to see the elderly here!). 2 out of every 5 had the same answer to my introductory question "What do you do?"- "Nothing" At first I think its a joke but it is a very fact. With no universities around many Maldivians find work outside their country and the others earn from fishing or simply travel and tourism. Obviously only the fishermen go and fish and if you have a plot of land ..then you've hit the jackpot! You do nothing and life just goes by...
I observe in silence..the turquoise blue shallows and the dark blue hues of the reef that only glitters on the surface.
