Dhiraagu is currently running a promotion to mark the rollout of their new wifi hotspots around Male'. The hotspots, which are setup in some of the popular cafe's and restaurants, lets customers at these joints enjoy speedy access to internet via laptops, pocket pc's and smartphones. Access is to be granted with the purchase of vouchers but I am not sure if the access offered is time based or data transfer based. However, it would probably be a safe bet that it would not be cheap.

The great thing about this wifi promotion is that they are giving FREE access for the duration of the promotion. That means people in the vicinity of the hotspots can get high speed free internet! The signal is strong and easy to catch atleast around the block and recievable even further off if a wifi antenna is used to boost the signal reception. If you are really desperate for internet and want to cash in on this opportunity, quickly slap up a bi-quad or cantenna for 2.4Ghz use, connect to your wifi card and surf away. Making an antenna certainly makes for an interesting project to while away the afternoon and access to such a antenna has the additional benefit of letting you connect to one of the numerous (unprotected) wifi networks around.

Stay connected!

I am a believer that technology, when applied effectively, can be a boost to the development pace of Maldives. However, technology isn't always put to its best use in the country. For example, one of the things that the government has maintained through the years is a strict constrictive policy on broadcasting. They are proud to claim that the (government operated) Voice of Maldives is the sole radio station in the Maldives meanwhile ignoring the fact that they've denied anyone else from doing the same and thus letting the government operation reign the airwaves all this while. (This misdirection is similar to the headlines that feature on the telly and radio news about Maldivian contingents "winning" the third place in sports competitions abroad - the unspoken word here being that the competition was only participated by three countries!)

Anyway, the purpose of this control over TV/Radio broadcasts undoubtedly lies not far from the fact that they are an effective medium to educate and inform the masses. Conservative and authoritative governments often resort to imprisoning the airwaves and monitor the airwaves for anyone breaking this sacred law. The Radio Monitoring Station in Male' polices the airwaves for disruptive use of radio transmitters as well as keeping a lookout for those who dare raid the airwaves with their own content.

I agree that some degree of control over the radio spectrum is necessary and is advised. All governments do have laws that govern the use of the airwaves - primarily to let the spectrum be managed effectively so as to be of use to as many people as possible. It lets radio stations broadcast without fear of being trumped by other nearby radio stations. It lets radio stations broadcast without much interference from industrial and home use devices. Sadly, this doesn't seem to be the case in the Maldives. The sole radio operator is the government using up only a single slice of the radio spectrum leaving the rest unused. Therefore, a policy to restrict other broadcasters could not be for any other purpose than laying a grip on what is broadcasted!

The content currently on the radio is also something I deem questionable. This (government) station has been bombarding the airwaves with their line of thinking, with the limited content they deem worthy. This operation also allows for the intentional (or unintentional) spread of a single propaganda that has gripped the minds of its listeners. What the station deems unworthy or unsuitable for airtime never gets heard by the populace. Additionally, anyone who listens to radio knows that it has been dominated by more or less the same old bunch of people - I know I've heard the same voices for the last 15 years or so that I can recall! The typical content they broadcast throughout the day has been Dhivehi and Hindi songs. News feature on the hour, dictating the government news and activities. English music is scattered sparsely into the day with an additional English-only hour at sunset. Educational programs have typically been far fewer from the many "argument" heavy drama's broadcasted. All this content of course has a sizeable following - after all this is coming from the sole local station in operation and has been the only source of news about the country. Some people even like the content - after all what other choice is there? what alternative have they heard?

It might be high time that the restrictions on broadcasting be relaxed. It might be high time that the masses have access to alternate view points. It might be the time to unleash a radio spectrum full of diverse programming and content. Let it be full of music varying from Dhivehi, Hindi, English, from pop, classical, trance and even industrial! Let people have access to educational content with programs on everything from language learning to electronics! Let it be broadcasting news relevant to people and society!

Are these mere ideals? Does anyone agree with these opinions?

A friend informed me about a recent effort underway to form an NGO with the purpose of researching and documenting the practice of "fanditha" and "sihuru" in the Maldives. Their website Fanditha.com states that the intended goal for the NGO is to utilize the research efforts to document the use of fanditha/sihuru and publish findings as a video documentary. The fellows involved in it informed me that they intend on publishing books/articles as well.

Fanditha and sihuru are magic practices that invoke spirits and/or a "higher power" by performing various rituals as remedies to countless events people encounter in life. The events it is applicable for ranges from love problems, family issues, health ailments and even monetary difficulties. The rituals performed are aplenty as well - they vary from recitation of verses, use of a talisman/taweez (locally called a "thaweedh") and even communication with the so-called jinn.

Fanditha usually carries a positive connotation to it and is associated with healing. "Jinni avalun" (possession of individuals by Jinn) is an instance where fanditha is used to heal the afflicted individual via communication with the world of the Jinn. Senn had published sometime ago a video of a (real?) exorcism ritual in the Maldives and is available for download on his website.

Sihuru, in comparison, carries a negative connotation and is associated with evil and harm. The latter is considered to be demonic and its practice is publicly shunned upon. There even was the 1993 case of Ilyas Ibrahim (the President's Brother in Law) being officially charged with "the use of sihuru" to kill Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom (the President)!

I do not believe in either fanditha or sihuru but it is something that I have been intensely interested in for a long time. I am quite interested in getting my hands on the material the fanditha.com group gather, were they to actually go ahead and succeed with their goals. I hope they make a note to publish digitized copies of the books and papers they unearth in addition to their video documentary compilations. Attempting to debunk what the fanditha believers show as proof of its validity with logic and science would be a task I am most willing to undertake.

I was going through one of my photo albums when I stumbled across this photo of a doll clad in the Maldivian traditional dress - the "dhivehi libaas" with black and white striped "kandiki". The dress also has authentic "kasabu" decoration around the neck of the dress. The doll even has a model "fahtaru bai" (necklace) around its neck to complete the attire. My mom, who is an avid craftswoman, made this doll as a present for the host family that I stayed with when I attended the Asia Pacific Children's Convention in Fukuoka, Japan in 1994.

This lady in red (dhivehi libaas) makes for a eye catching item on a mantelpiece and probably would make a popular souvenir if someone were to start producing these locally...

Haha. I am still laughing. There had been a recent rumour, spread via email and SMS text messages here in Male' (and possibly the rest of Maldives as well) that Mars was coming so close to earth that it would be visible tonight to the naked eye almost as large as the full moon. The message had apparently been passing around quite fast and people were talking about it excitedly - even the Kasauti stuck housewives, the bling sporting I-am-so-cool youth littering Male' and even much of the rebels-without-cause political acivitists that make up the majority of this sad city seemed to chattering up about it. As I walked along the road tonight, I saw people looking up at the sky to grab a glimpse of this so-called spectacular event. Some had flocked out to road from the confines of their homes to get a better look. I even saw a man looking up eagerly into the sky with a set of binoculars!

However, the sad truth is this is all a hoax. Yes, you've been duped had you believed the whatever SMS or friend who told you about it. In fact, Mars came closest to earth in 2003 and at the time it was so close that the red dot that signifies Mars on the night sky outshined the brightest and largest stars in the sky - it even easily grabbed the attention away from Venus and Sirius that usually are visible the brightest on the Maldivian night sky. Technically, the planet was around 56 million km way from earth and would be closest it comes to planet earth in 60,000 years! The news was mentioned in popular media outlets. Read about the event from these articles at NASA, RedOrbit and BBC.

A bunch of my close friends and I watched the planet through my telescope back then and was in awe of the clarity with which the mysterious red planet appeared. The close proximity of the planet made it easy to view not only with the naked eye but was a total delight to witness with the aid of a telescope. I would have captured images but my telescope wasn't as cool as the one that President Maumoon supposedly has in his mini-observatory in Theemuge.

Anyway, if this hoax has ignited and interest in the stars and events taking place in the mostly dark canvas of the night sky, then let me point you to SkyMaps.com where they have a freely downloadable map of the sky for each month to make your viewing easy. The constellations, planets and stars are shown for easy spotting and the celestial events for the month are also listed on the maps. It surely can contribute toward an exciting educational evening with friends/lover as you try to spot the stars and map the heavens

Enjoy