1278 MALDIVES - Boduberu Music

The most widely known form of indigenous music in Maldives, and also the most popular, especially in the Northern Atolls, is called boduberu.  It is likely that the music was introduced to The Maldives by sailors from the Indian Ocean region in about the 11th century, and that it may have East African origins. It evolved among the common citizens as an alternative to court music. In the early days, the people gathered together to perform boduberu, and it became widely accepted as the music of the common people. The performing of the music is often referred as "vibrating the island".

1238 MALDIVES - Vivanta by Taj Coral Reef resort on North Male Atoll

Located in the Indian Ocean–Arabian Sea area, Maldives consists of a double chain of twenty-six atolls, oriented north-south, that lie between Minicoy Island and the Chagos Archipelago. Maldives is the lowest country in the world, with maximum and average natural ground levels of only 2.4m and 1.5m above sea level, respectively. More than 80 per cent of the country's land is composed of coral islands which rise less than one metre above sea level. One of these atolls is Malé, which consists of two separate atolls: North Malé Atoll and South Malé Atoll. North Malé Atoll (Male'atholhu Uthuruburi) is of irregular shape, is 58 km long, and contains about 50 islands (including the capital Malé). There are also sandbanks, coral patches, innumerable farus and submerged shoals (called "haa" in Dhivehi). The general depths of the interior are between 46 and 64m. The bottom is sandy. There are numerous passages on all sides. Seen from space it is considered one of the most beautiful atolls on the planet. Practically all uninhabited islands of this Atoll became tourist resorts during the two final decades of the 20th century.