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The Maldives Story
by Hilath Rasheed
A small volcano is taking shape in the midst of the artificial beach in Male. Do not be surprised. It is not one of those subterranean formations that suddenly jut up from the Indian Ocean when there is a sudden unforseen clash of tectonic plates under the earth's crust. The volcano that is slowly emerging at the artificial beach is built up from concrete, and if there ever was an eruption, onlookers will only get splashed by cement dust.
The volcano is only one of the few depictions in a millenium setup that aims to display to tourists and young people the history of Maldives and its vision for future. Aptly dubbed "The Maldives Story" the L-shaped structure gradually taking formation at the southern corner of the artificial beach has four stalls that aims to depict four stages in Maldives history.
At the entrance is the first stall where a volcano depicts the origin of Maldives islands that emerged on the rim of dormant volcanoes that subsided into the Indian Ocean. The stall shows how the first settlers came and their way of life during the pre-Islamic period.
The second stall displays events until the 20th century; the wars fought against Portuguese and Malabars and other historical events will be staged in this stall.
The third stall encases 20th century history of the country; and the last stall exhibits Maldives' vision for 2020, a stall that aims to create a scenic atmosphere of technological and social progress.
"The Maldives Story", at the moment, is a raw exhibit of steel pillars, cardboard structures, wooden walls and concrete figures. However, upon its completion, the centre will serve as an enjoyable and entertaining stroll through Maldives history and mysteries.
The high wooden ceiling has been carved inward to make a sky, deep blue on the zenith and light bluish tingeing the horizon.
"Once finished, spectators who enter the structure will feel like entering a totally new dimension. It's like walking through the pages of history," a designer working on the site commented.
The centre is constructed in the shape of two boats joined at the stern. Each hall has 150 feet in length and 33 feet in width. Decorations, designs and construction of the structure are carried out under the inspection of the National Security Service (NSS) with information on Maldives history and development provided by the National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research (NCLHR).
Around a 150 people are working on the site--for free--and they include Maldives top artists, painters, model-makers, sculptors, designers and computer graphic artists; Naushad, Chilhiya Moosa Manik, Sujau, Afeef, Egan, Andhu, Ahmed Naeem, Suaib, Munthasir, Nasif, Ibrahim Rasheed, Amjad, Naval and Abdulla are popular faces working round the clock structuring the artificial beach project.
"This is a joint effort between the government, the private sector and private individuals. Hence, the centre will also be an outstanding example of public sector-private sector cooperation," an official said.
NSS and NCLHR's efforts are backed by businessmen, resort owners and other non-government parties; Villa Hotels, Fashion Woodworks, AAA Trading Company, Niyaz Store, SEC, Donad, ADK, Bandos island resort, MTCC, Amin Carpentry, South Catering, Jausa Contracting, Era Computers, The Club, Artline, Aima construction, Petral, Symphony, Focus Computers, Reethi Rah resort, Wahoo and Vimla's contribution are noteworthy. Among them, STO, STELCO and MWSA have heavily contributed to the millenium project, officials said.
"The Maldives Story" centre will be opened to coincide with the official celebrations held at the artificial beach to mark the new millenium.
"Therefore, we're trying to complete work (on the centre) by December 26 at the least," NSS captain Ibrahim Latheef said.
Since "The Maldives Story" centre will be of great interest both to tourists and young people alike, the government is now considering to keep it open for public well after the millenium celebrations.
"We are considering to keep the place open for about two to three months," captain Latheef said.
The construction of the centre has grabbed the attention of many; passersby and residents in the vicinity look in amusement. Still others wonder out loud about what is going on at the artificial beach these last few weeks.
A board has now been put up near the centre outlining general information about "The Maldives Story" project.
"Can't wait to see what's in there. I hear that it's going to be one awesome place," a young man living near the artificial beach commented.
This article appeared in Haveeru Daily on 9 Dec 1999