Ways To Conquer Your Fear

Starting a conversation with an attractive woman can be a nerve-racking experience. In fact, many guys are so intimidated by attractive women that they avoid most females they don't know; in turn, missing opportunities to meet potential girfriends every day. The solution here is to overcome your "knee jerk" reaction to avoid attractive woman and learn to approach them with confidence.

Here are 10 tips to help you do it: ....
Number 10
Approach her no matter what
If you approach, you win -- no matter what happens. Most guys are too focused and concerned about a conversation going well and walking away with a phone number. This is a big mistake. Look at it this way: As long as you open your mouth and say something -- anything at all -- you're doing what 95% of guys can only dream about. Congratulate yourself the instant you start the conversation -- after all, you're already a cut above the rest! Once you've made this initial verbal contact, relax and enjoy the chat with her.

Number 9
Ignore your excuses
One of the best ways to move forward and start a conversation is to learn to ignore your own excuses: "She'll never go for me;" "She'll think I'm a slime-ball or a pervert;" "She's busy, I don't want to interrupt her.". All these excuses come from the desire to stay in your "comfort zone," and each one is complete BS. As soon as you notice these excuses in your head, stop thinking, go over to her and start talking. You'll be glad you did.

Number 8
Screw up big time Are you a perfectionist?
If so, work on restraining your need to get things just right (at least when it comes to the female sex). When you expect to have perfect interactions with women, you put too much pressure on yourself, which makes it harder to get off your butt and take action. Even if you mess up, be happy with yourself for taking the initiative.

Number 7
Focus on how you'll feel if you don't talk to her
One reason you hesitate to start talking to her is because it feels uncomfortable to take the leap. But the fact is, it's more uncomfortable not to. Think about it: If you approach her, you may be nervous at first, but before you know it, the conversation is over. And if you don't approach her, you'll wish you had, and you'll carry that regret with you for the rest of the day. Save yourself the agony and go talk to her.

Number 6
Don't put undue pressure on yourself
When most guys see a woman they'd like to meet, they immediately view her as a potential date -- which creates all sorts of pressure. Instead, look at the next woman you meet as an opportunity to work on your "skills." This "mindset shift" helps you to be less attached to the outcome; in turn, making you more relaxed and more likely to start the conversation. Don't forget: You also improve the chances of it turning out to be a fun experience for everyone.

Number 5
Use fear as your signal to approach
Learn to make fear your friend. Next time you're afraid to say something to a woman, realize that fear is a sign that you need to start the interaction. Using fear as a guide allows you to stretch your comfort zone, become a more confident guy and meet new women. Just get it done and you'll feel great!

Number 4
Be courageous and you'll become confident
How would you define courage? Is it having no fear of doing "scary" stuff? Actually, the correct definition of courage is "the ability to take action in spite of fear." The courageous man isn't the one who doesn't feel fear -- it's the one who can push himself to take action even though he is feeling afraid. The next time you want to talk to a woman and you begin to feel that nervous energy rushing through your body, see it as an opportunity to have courage and channel your fear to make the conversation happen. Your self-confidence will get an instant boost, and you might just meet a great woman in the process.

Number 3
Don't stereotype
Sure, every once in a while, a woman is going to act a little grouchy when you try to start a conversation with her. But don't forget, this is the exception, not the rule. Once you start approaching more women, you'll find that most are friendly as long as you don't act like a dumbass. So stop telling yourself that every woman will turn out to be snooty, because it's far from the truth.



Number 2
Make the move
Do you want to know a simple yet effective trick to get unstuck? Stop trying to figure out what you're going to say and just begin moving in her direction. On the way over, you'll naturally notice something you can comment on and use that to start the conversation -- no matter how simple it may be. The key is to say something to get the ball rolling and let things progress from there.

Number 1
Grab every opportunity to talk to women
Did you just miss a perfect opportunity to talk to a woman? No, you didn't -- it's never too late. Stop what you're doing, find her, and have the conversation you should have had earlier. You'll find it's no big deal and she'll be impressed that you went out on a limb to speak to her.

The only difference between success and failure is the number of attempts...

Sunset

The Art Of Kissing

Every now and then a quarrel breaks out down at the barber shop, lines are drawn, challenges leveled and, with any luck, somebody walks out with very few blood stains. All over a seemingly innocent discussion: What is the greatest sport on earth?

Some say "football". Some say "baseball". Canadians say "hockey". The rest of the world says "soccer". (Actually, they say "football", too...but they mean "soccer".)

I say: "kissing". Yes, kissing is the greatest sport on earth. Allow me to explain just a few of the reasons.

Kissing is the most versatile sport around. There are so many types of kisses to choose from – at least one for just about any occasion. There is the quick peck on the cheek kiss, the peck on each cheek kiss, the peck on your nephew's cheek kiss while grabbing the other cheek flab with your hand, the wildly passionate kiss, the elegant kiss on the hand, the dreaded kiss of death, the "Hey you! Kiss this!", and even the Florida town of Kissimmee (founded, no doubt, by early Italian pioneer kissers).

The Art of Kissing Is Easy

Kissing is easy to transport. It really doesn't matter where you are. You can kiss: at the gym, in the boardroom, in the space shuttle, even in Alaska from June through September.

Kissing requires so little equipment, which means you can do it even when not prepared for the occasion, and even when you have to travel light. This makes it the ideal participation sport for businessmen, world travelers and marsupial groupies.

Kissing always livens things up. Try this: the next time you are in an oh-so-booooring meeting that seems to last oh-so-foreeeeever, why not just kiss somebody. Go ahead; try it. See how it livens things up?

Kissing is legal in all 50 states and most earth-bound countries. Rumors are circulating that kissing will even be legalized soon on Mars, Jupiter and in Afghanistan.

Kissing is 100% biodegradable, so when you kiss somebody, you help the environment.

Kissing is safe to do in a moving vehicle, as long as you are not driving.

Kissing is non toxic...unless you kiss somebody who has just swallowed a bottle of Drano. Even so, kissing is still safe, as long as you do not use your mouth.

Kissing is non-fattening. This is perhaps the best news of all, because dieters now have something to keep their mouths busy while not eating, and smokers can quit smoking without having to chew candies until they a) need to diet or b) induce diabetes. (Read the headline: "Kissing prevents diabetes")

Kissing is organic, low in sodium, preservative-free, low in saturated fats and does not contain dozens of delicious ingredients that cannot be pronounced, like javelchromopntheoremicherbicidic acid.

Most kisses are not tested on animals, but who am I to stifle your sense of adventure?

You can kiss just about everyone: your boyfriend, your aunt, your wife, your veterinarian, the Prime Minister of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick and your pet aardvark. Don't try kissing them all at the same time, though...especially not your boyfriend and your wife.

Kissing meets the toughest safety regulations of any national or international sporting organization. Kissing has a tremendous safety record, except for the occasional locked braces. But a quick call for a AAA tow truck fixes that problem (CAA in Canada, AA in the UK, the local plumber in France)

Extreme Kissing NOT Recommended

The only recorded deaths involving kissing are by third parties, usually wives, husbands, spurned lovers and other spectators who somehow get past security and storm onto the playing field like that well-dressed gentleman at the Superbowl.

We do NOT recommend "extreme kissing". For instance, don't kiss an on-duty garbage truck; it is considered dangerous. Don't kiss a metal fence-post in sub-zero weather; readers in northern climates know exactly what I mean. Don't kiss any electrical outlets, or you'll look like this.

Are you paying attention? This one is important. Don't kiss the vacuum cleaner if you want to retain all your vital organs. It's OK to kiss sandpaper, just don't use your tongue. Don't kiss a chainsaw; we feel this one is self-explanatory. And don't kiss your office manager while on duty...unless you happen to be a work-from-home hermit like me.

But overall, kissing is so great that it makes baseball, hockey, football and soccer seem like bush league sports. Next time you hear a brawl at your local barbershop, just go in and give everyone a kiss. I guarantee that you will win the argument hands down. And if not, at least you will make some new friends to argue with.

Where Did the Maldives People Come From?

The Maldives consist of over 1000 small coral islands stretching over 764 km of the Indian Ocean west of Sri Lanka. The country is populated by roughly 180,000 people who call themselves Devehi(s) ('islanders'), and their language is Divehi, which is also the ethnographic term. These islands are grouped mostly into ring-like coral atols, and since atol is a Devehi word it should be spelled correctly with one l. Seafaring explorers of past centuries fancied that the shape of this chain of atols resembled a garland, and indeed on a map it does look like this. So the Archipelago came by the name mala div (garland island, a common word in Indian languages), and the name should properly be spelled Maladiv, not Maldive.

The Maldives people are a clear ethnic category, having a unique language derived from Sinhala but grafted on to an earlier Tamil base, and they have a homogeneous cultural tradition. In early medieval times they followed the Sri Lanka type of Buddhism, but in 1153 were converted to Islam by order of their ruler. There is another island located to the north of Maldives territory that belongs culturally to the Maldives, Minicoy (properly, Maliku), which because of events during the colonial period is now held by India as part of its Laksh- advip Island group. Most of the Maldives islands are tiny, less than a mile long, but Minicoy is the largest island populated by Divehi people. The Indian government does not allow foreigners to visit this island.

The Maldives is known in Europe mainly because of its resort hotels and beaches. More than thirty otherwise uninhabited small islands have these hotels. Government policy is to keep Maldivians off these islands, and tourists out of the rest of the country, except for Male the little capital. Male is only 1.5 km long, though there is a slightly larger nearby island, Hulule, which serves as the airport. A few years ago Male was characterized by bright, sunny, sandy, sleepy streets lined with white compound walls and mosques, but now is has some 45,000 people, a severe water problem, and a number of motorcars, although the place is not large enough to get them into fourth gear.

Historical Records
Early references to the Maldives are found in the Commentary on the Bharu Jataka and the Khuddapatha, early Buddhist texts, and the Dipavamsa, the earliest Sinhala epic (4th century BC), and the Mahavamsa (3rd century BC). The country was probably overrun from Kerala in the Sangam Period of South India (1-3 century AD). It is mentioned in the Greek text Periplus (1st century AD), by Pappas of Alexandria (4th century), and several fifth century Greek authors. The islands are mentioned by the Chinese travellers Fa Hsien (5th century) and Hsuan-Tsang (7th century), and in a document of the Tang Dynasty (8th century). The country was conquered by Tamil Pallavas from neighbouring Madras (late 7th century).
Islamic records start with an account by Sulaiman the merchant (c. 900 AD), and Al-Mas'udi (916), Abul Hassan the Persian (1026), Al Biruni (1039), and Al-Idrisi (c. 1100). In the meantime, the country was reconquered by the Tamils, namely by Rajaraja Cola (1017). Europeans are on a more familiar territory when they read the account of Marco Polo (1279- 92). Ibn Battuta made two visits and spent a year and a half in the Maldives as an Islamic legal advisor (1343-46). girl carrying a baby
Portuguese accounts begin from about 1500. In the brutal competition for control of ocean routes they invaded the Maldives in 1588, killed the sultan, and established Portuguese rule, but that only lasted for fifteen years. Most interesting is a lengthy three-volume account by François Pyrard of Laval, who was held captive in the Maldives (1602-07) and learned Divehi. It is a gold-mine of original Divehi history, customs, and language.
British interest dates from the early 1600s. The Divehis had always managed to remain essentially independent, except for the brief Portuguese occupation, but in 1887 the sultan formally accepted British suzerainty. The only sustained historical work of the Maldives done in the British period was that by H.C.P. Bell, a British antiquarian who studied the Buddhist remains, texts, and coins. The British did not leave an administrative or cultural stamp as they did in India, except for their base in Gan in the south. The Maldives became independent in 1965 and joined the United Nations.

Tamils, Sinhalas, and Arabs
Where did the Divehis come from? Generally, ordinary Divehis mostly know only that their islands were settled from Sri Lanka, that before Islam they were Buddhist, and that their language suggests the same origin. Because of the long dominance of Islamic tradition, they tend to stress Arabic and Muslim cultural influences and overemphasize Arab ancestors. Scholars came from the Islamic centres of learning in Egypt, and the Divehis accepted the Shafi school of Islamic law. They rationalize Divehi culture and behaviour in terms of traits in Arab culture mentioned earlier in old Islamic texts. But for all that, and despite eight centuries of official status, the Islamic tradition is something of a cultural overlay.
The influence of medieval Sinhalas is the dominant cultural stream. From roughly the 8th to the 10th century, unwanted kings and their retinues were apparently banished from Sri Lanka to the Maldives, and they brought their culture, language, and religion with them. There are several remains of Buddhist stupas (excavated by Bell), with coins, inscriptions, and various artefacts.
What was not known previous to my research in the early 1970s, is that there is a strong underlying layer of Tamil population and culture. So far, most Divehis have not shown themselves interested in accepting this finding, as it does not suit their sense of their presti- gious origins. Be that as it may, the evidence is overwhelming. There is a clear Tamil substratum in the language, which also appears in place names, kin terms, poetry, dance, and religious beliefs. This is actually Tamil-Malayalam, as up to about the 10th century when the Malayalam language acquired a separate identity, what is now Kerala was considered to be part of the Tamil area. There are numerous references in the Tamil Sangam (1-3 century) and medieval literature to kings of Kerala having ships, conducting invasions by sea, and ruling the northern part of Sri Lanka. People of Kerala settled the Lakshadvip Islands, and evidently viewed the Maldives as an extension of them. There is a Maldivian epic about Koimala, who is said to have come from India, bringing with him his royal lineage, landed on a northern atol, and then made Male his capital. The name koi is from Malayalam koya, son of the prince, which is also the name of a high caste group in the Lakshadvip Islands. Koimala has now become a generalized eponymous ancestor of the pre-Muslim Divehis.
The medieval settlements from Sri Lanka were strongest in the southern islands, and this gave rise to the Divehi language, Buddhism, and the ideals of kinship. The chronic wars between the Sinhalas and the Tamils which have characterized 2500 years of history in Sri Lanka, probably spilled over to the Maldives, so these settlers from Sri lanka ultimately absorbed all the earlier population into their Divehi culture.

maldives family
By the 1970s there was only one identifiable separate caste, the Giravaru, who then lived on Hulule Island near Male. They were virtually endogamous, and unlike the other Divehis they cherished marriage as a permanent state. These people said that they were from "Tamilas" though they did not know what that meant. Their former status was rather like the palm-tree tapping lower castes of Kerala, and other Divehis regarded them as impure. They themselves averred that their customs and morals were purer then those of other Divehis. Now the Giravaru have been evicted from Hulule to make room for the expanded airport, and this remnant of Indian caste has nearly disappeared.
The Divehi kinship system is partly of Dravidian origin, and bears evidence of some matriliny, like the Nayar and other matrilineal groups of Kerala. Some of the kinship terms are clearly derived from Malayalam. On to this was grafted the royal lineage system of medieval Sinhala immigrants, but the matrilineal background remained evident in the royal lineage. This is an anomaly for an Islamic society, and can only be explained in terms of the cultural history.
In religion we find a vibrant underlying system, called fandita, co-existing with the formal politically-linked theological Islamic system which provides the rationale for behavioral and political control. The word fandita comes from the Indic word pandit, and refers to special powers possessed by certain men and women. This belief system encompasses ideas about spirits, ghosts, winds, and lights on the sea, and it allows people to control their health, their enemies, their boats, their fishing catch, and their destiny. The rituals contain a lot of what in India might be called puja and mantravadi (reciting of mantras), besides South Indian ideas about health and healing. This is marvellously islamicized by the institutionalized belief in jinns. The fandita experts engrave charms to be tied around the neck as is done in South India and Sri Lanka, and this is islamicized because they scratch on them marks resembling Arabic script. It is said that the Maldives was converted to Islam because a visiting saint in the 12th century showed the king that his faith had the power to control the most terrible ocean jinn then afflicting the people. The king ordered his subjects to be converted, and the saint rewarded him with the title sultan. But in fact, conversion to Islam was probably motivated more by the strength of Islamic trade and civilization which dominated the Indian Ocean at that time.

The Earliest Settlers?
There are hints of two other early layers of immigration. One is from Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia from where people found their way to settle Madagascar roughly about the time of Christ. Did some of them stop in the Maldives on the way? Probably. There are a number of Southeast Asian traits and artefacts present in the Maldives: crops such as sweet potatoes and taro, dark-coloured fish of Southeast Asia, and "bed-roasting" a custom which compels the mother to rest on a bed with fire under it for ten days after delivery to purify her, which is of Southeast Asian origin.
Very early visitors to or settlers in the Maldives were probably Gujaratis. Seafaring from Gujarat began during the Indus civilization. The Jatakas and Puranas show abundant evidence of this maritime trade. The Gujaratis reached and settled Sri Lanka about 500 BC. Some evidence of direct cultural influence from North India can be deduced from the methods of boat-building and silver punch-marked coins (of the Mauryan period) have likewise been found. It is quite possible that intrepid Gujarati seafarers were shipwrecked on these islands, or that Gujarati exiles settled on them as they did on Sri Lanka, before the rise of Tamil-Malayalam sea power in the early Christian era.

Language and Script
Devehi is derived basically from an old form of Sinhala called Elu, which was spoken in Sri Lanka before many Pali and Sanskrit words were added. This dialect must have come ultimately from the Panjab. This supports the interpretation of the Sinhala chronicles that the ancestors of the Sinhalas, and therefore of the Divehis, came from western India, from Gujarat by sea, and not from Bengal. Many Sinhalas prefer the myth that they came from Bengal because of the historical importance of Buddhism, and indeed from the time of the Mauryas (3rd century BC) the sea traffic on the east side increased, and Buddhism came to Sri Lanka via Bengal. Before that, the core of Sinhala settlers came from western India, a claim which is supported by linguistic and cultural features and the specific descriptions in the epics themselves, for instance that Vijaya, the founder of the Sinhalas, visited Bharukaccha (Broach, in Gujarat) in his ship on the voyage down.
Dihevi though built up from a Sinhala dialect was grafted on to earlier Tamil speech and has incorporated words from every cultural wind that buffeted the Maldives: Bengali, Malay, Persian, Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese, and English.
The Brahmi script dating from Mauryan times, used in the edict inscriptions of King Asoka, gave rise to all indigenous scripts in India. It came by sea to the far southern coasts and gave rise to both the Sinhala and Tamil scripts. Brahmi was an angular script, but it evolved into the rounded medieval Sinhala script. The original Maldives script, called Evala Akuru, was roundish and resembled medieval Sinhala script. A more evolved form, Dives Akuru, is known from the copper-plate grants and tombstones especially from the 14th century, studied by Bell, and it bears the influence of the old Tulu and Grantha scripts of South India and the original script of Lakshadvip. It was used in the southern atols of the Maldives as late as 1835.
The modern Divehi script, called Tana, was invented by a unknown person after the Portuguese interlude. He must have been an educated Muslim who also had a knowledge of classical Indian phonetics, as the script combines features of both Arabic and Indian scripts. The basic symbols are Arabic numerals and other letters to which Divehi phonetic values are given, and the script runs right to left. There is a full set of long and short vowels whose marks surround the consonants, the consonants have the inherent vowel 'a' but are marked with a little circle above when mute, and the script lacks aspirated consonants. These are the features derived from South India, probably along with scientific understanding of phonetics. The result is a simple script, suitable to the language and easy to learn. Most Divehis are literate, as they learn to read Islamic texts in little religious schools, and type fonts are available for printing in the script. In the 70s there was a move to replace the Tana script with "English" (Roman) script, but because of its obvious deficiencies for South Asian langu- ages, the official tendency is again to support wider use of the Tana script.

The Society
The Devehi pattern of family organization, marriage, divorce, and kinship grew out of the confluence of historical streams in the Maldives. There have been three conflicting kinship systems: the Dravidian, the North Indian, and the Arab. Most fundamental is the Dravidian: kinship terms classify kin into those marriable and unmarriable with self; cross-cousin marriage is preferred; girls have a puberty ceremony; and matriliny is possible. There are several indications of a former preferential cross-cousin marriage in the Maldives, but in the Arab system now superimposed, any cousin marriage is acceptable. The North Indian system with its patriarchal authority and wider rules of exogamy, was brought by the original Sinhalas to Sri Lanka, but there it was greatly modified by the underlying Dravidian element until it also accepted preferential cross-cousin marriage while it still retained strong lineages for political reasons, and this was brought to the Maldives.
The present rules of marriage and family are thought by the Divehis to follow Islamic rules strictly, but these rules are interpreted in unique ways. Most striking is the frequency of divorce. The Maldives has the highest divorce rate (of registered marriages) of any country in the world, according to United Nations statistics. In the 1970s the rate was eighty-five divorces for every 100 marriages. By Islamic law as interpreted in the Maldives, the same man and woman can marry three times, after which they must marry other partners, and then they are free to marry each other another three times. An official notification limited the number maximum to three such cycles, or nine marriages for the same couple. But by giving a gift to charity even this could be relaxed, so some couples have remarried many more times than that. Traditionally there was an element of pride, even piety, in a man having had many marriages. Some individuals claim to have had forty to eighty marriages.
Divorce is not so traumatic as in Western societies for either the partner or for their children. Most people live on tiny islands, and all the households know each other well. A man can divorce and remarry and move to a nearby household. His children are still close. They know that he is likely to remarry their mother anyway. This game of marriage is often the most important entertainment in these isolated communities with their somewhat stultifying atmosphere.

maldive resort
Social control is exercised through religion. Every island has an Island Chief who is head of the mosque and also represents the government. The Island Chiefs fall under an Atol Chief, who is assisted by gazis who perform ceremonies and uphold Islamic law. Any misbehaviour is reported by the Island Chief to the Atol Chief and to the Department of Justice in Male. This includes theft, drinking liquor, not attending mosque, adultery (though this seldom arises), and even masturbation (by law but not in practice). There are practically no murders.
The political system is also special to the Maldives, though there is not enough room to summarize it here. There are a few families who control most assets such as the shipping company, tourist hotels, and real estate in Male. These families tend to control the government. There is a majlis (national assembly) but democratic practices are only slowly gaining ground. A president who identifies an opponent is likely to exile him to an uninhabited island for some years - the commonest form of punishment, which is of ancient origin in the Maldives.

(The International Institute for Asian Studies)

PLACE IN DA HEART...

There is a place in the HEART
where THOUGHTS become WISHES...
and WISHES become DREAMS
It's a place where anything is possible...
if we only BELIEVE
There are 6 things to believe in...
for a happy, successful life
Believe in your FAITH...
Believe in your GOALS...
Believe in your LOVE...
Believe in your FAMILY...
Believe in your FRIENDS...
And most importantly
Believe in YOURSELF...
If you believe in these 6 things
you can't go wrong...
However, if you ever start to doubt yourself
just remember this...

Dhon Hiyala and Alifulhu: a true love story

The story of Dhon hiyala and Ali Fulhu is Maldives’ equivalent of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, but the legend of their tragic love is shrouded in mystery, and many Maldivians still ask whether it was just another folk story, or whether it was a true story. The answer, with regard to the most recent available research is that, though the love story may have taken place, it may not be as melodramatic as the tale that is being told by our forefathers.

In short, at least certain elements of the story seem to be true. The islands, to which the characters in the tale are ascribed, still exist. Dhon hiyala’s father is from Shaviyani atoll Maroshi island, while her mother is from Baa atoll Dhonfan island. Her parents lived in Thaa atoll Buruni island, and Dhon hiyala was born there, too.

Even today, the places in Buruni island where much of the story takes place, are marked as historical places: the “Kamana beach,” and the fields of “Koamas,” “Heena,” and “Kunahaa.”

“Dhon hiyala and Ali Fulhu” have been made into a successful feature film, based on the book of the same name by Maldivian linguist Abdulla Sodiq.

DOOMED LOVE

Dhon hiyala (literally meaning “Fair Woman”) is described as a “Faiymini” girl (perhaps a word borrowed from India related to “padmini” which means “extremely beautiful”). She was the “perfect beauty” rarely born and hence prone to the “evil eye” and had to be protected from outsiders, leading to her mother Dhon Aisa and father Malima Moosa bringing her up in an underground cellar in their home.

However, their “secret” is discovered when Ali Fulhu (the Romeo in this story), who is in Dhaalu atoll Hulhudheli island, sees her in a dream. It was said that the “constellations conspired to bring Dhon hiyala and Ali Fulhu together” because “they were born at the same time.” Ali Fulhu then constructs a dhoni and embarks on a journey to Buruni island in search of Dhon hiyala.
After arriving in Buruni, Ali Fulhu constructs a house and sets up work. He secretly meets Dhon hiyala, they fall deeply in love, their love so strong that they are ready to die for each other. They secretly get married and start living together, but still only Ali Fulhu, Dhon hiyala’s parents, and the “Foolhuma” who delivered Dhon hiyala know of Dhon hiyala’s existence.

But Ali Fulhu is not the only one to dream of Dhon hiyala. Another Ali, “Fageeru Ali” from Shaviyani atoll Lhaimagu island, also dreams of her and comes to Buruni pretending to be a blind man to see the proof of existence of this perfectly beautiful woman. However, after he meets Dhon hiyala, his fake blindness is exposed, but he escapes from Buruni and comes to Male and informs the King that a perfect beauty has been born in Buruni. Fageeru Ali, the informant, is then taken into the King’s grace.

The King journeys to Buruni, gives Ali Fulhu over to the mob, and forcibly marries Dhon hiyala. In pronouncing the marriage of Dhon hiyala to the King, the magistrate in Buruni pronounces that “another man’s wife, on no legal grounds, is made the wife of the King” but the King does not mind because Dhon hiyala becomes his.

The King forcibly brings Dhon hiyala to Male. However, Ali Fulhu escapes from the mob, journeys to Male, and Dhon hiyala escapes from the palace on a Friday when the King is away at the mosque to attend the Friday prayers, and Dhon hiyala secretly journeys together with Ali Fulhu back to Buruni.

However, they find no escape when the King’s armada embarks on a high seas chase, and when Ali Fulhu is forced to land on a sandbar in the middle of the ocean in search of water for Dhon hiyala who is dying of thirst, the King overtakes them, and realizing that there is no hope for their love together in this world, the star-crossed lovers decide to end their lives, and jump onto a “maavaru” floating in the sea, where their bodies are cut into pieces. It is said that Dhon hiyala’s decapitated head and Ali Fulhu’s severed leg were washed ashore on Kaalhufushi island.

To date, a grave, where Dhon hiyala and Ali Fulhu are said to be buried, is marked in Thaa atoll Kandoodhoo island. It is said that Dhon hiyala and Ali Fulhu met their deaths in 1442 AD, about half a century before Columbus discovered the Americas.

Perhaps for this reason, tourists arriving in Maldives have expressed interest in visiting the islands on which the Dhon hiyala and Ali Fulhu drama took place: Buruni, Maroshi, Dhonfan, Kandoodhoo, Hulhudheli, and Lhaimagu. Hence, the story of Dhon hiyala and Ali Fulhu has potential to market “cultural tourism” in Maldives, according to tourism experts.

Historians are more in favor of describing the story of Dhon hiyala and Ali Fulhu as a legend or part of the folklore of Maldives. Hence, they claim that only the essentials of the story are true while much of the melodrama and tragedy associated with the doomed couple were “spices” added by later generations to make the story more melodramatic. But they say that there is no harm in one enjoying such a story, as such folklores help to “revive interest in Maldives’ history, traditions and culture.”

(This article appeared in Haveeru Daily on 21 June 2003)

my first blog..

Well.. this is my first post. I dont usually write blogs, cause i dont know what should i rite here. Let me guess.. hhhmm.. how about my life??? or about hobbies or any thing that relates to me.
But first of all I would like to give you guys little advise. One of the greatest man said "Worry does not empty of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength." So lets think about it....