Turning 40 felt like a milestone worth celebrating with reflection. I had planned to write a post on my 40th birthday, sharing 40 lessons I had learned in my 40 years of life. But, as life often does, it got in the way, and the article remained unwritten. Fast forward three years, and as 2025 began, I resolved to finally complete it but instead of 40 lessons I thought to write the biggest and most profound lessons I have learnt along the way. With my 43rd birthday quickly approaching on January 25th, it feels like the perfect time to pause,…
-
-
Ramadan greetings from my kitchen🌙 If you’ve been following my blog, you’ve probably heard me brag about my beloved island Fuvahmulah and the delicious traditional dishes that make up our cuisine. But there’s one dish that holds a special place in my heart, especially during Ramadan: “Garo Baffen.” “Garo Baffen” is more than just a soup—it’s a comforting bowl of goodness that warms the soul and brings families together during the holy month. And while my mom’s version is an absolute delight, I’ve also crafted my own simplified version using ingredients readily available here in Male’.During Ramadan, time is a…
-
As cliche as it sounds “true happiness lies with loving yourself first”, it has some if not whole truth to it, since happiness could translate different to everyone of us. Since the begining of feminist movement back in mid 19th century women are more liberated and have a voice of their own. They have gone against the norms and rules of patriarchal societies to be more self loving and independent. Women felt more liberal where they consider the highest authority as their “feelings”. But did we really achieved the true meaning only doing the surface level work of indulging ourselves…
-
Isnt it fascinating to know how our mind can fool us into believing things that aren’t true sometimes? How we are wrong about our own past experiences? How we are compelled to believe what we see and hear yet it can be an illusion? What you want to believe is easily justified in your mind even if its not the reality. I have been curious to learn about how mind works for a long time. I dont have any professional education or training on this topic. Every opinion I have shared is based on my understanding from bits I learn…
-
It goes without saying that we all are unique. We are aware of the distinctiveness we hold from each other. Despite the fact we tend to despise these differences. I’am no professional to give any professional opinions on these matters. No one of us free from little glitches in our thinking or systematic errors in our cognitive thinking. From the time we start taking our first breaths we tend to fall for these errors or biases. Being aware of it gives some clarity to the thinking and the decision making process. We often think we know what goes in our…
-
Chasing happiness have been single most life goal for most of us. But its definition varies from person to person. There is a preconceived notion of what a happy life looks. The whole society and its systems are built on these ambitious yet exhausting set of standards. We fall for all these fallacies regardless of it being unattainable. What is happiness? Is it a state of mind? Do you need to have all the worldly affairs fulfilled in order to be happy? Certainly there is no black and white answer for this. Time and again its been proven not everyone…
-
Fuvahmulah best known for its shiny pebble beach (thoondu) and abundance of mango trees which bears the sweetest and juiciest mango’s is also a land of luxuriance of flavours. Is there anyone who doesn’t love “Hunihakuru” in Fuvahmulah? It’s the queen of all the desserts ( typically serves as a short eat).A delicate balance of desiccated young coconut ( huni) and sugar ( hakuru) cooked perfectly into a glossy and a sticky pudding wrapped in a soft cooked dough. These treats are popular during Ramazan. This is the most classical flavours I have known of Maldives. scrapped young coconut This…
-
They say it takes a village to raise a child. In our home we say it takes the whole house and its resources to cook my mamma’s savoury soup (garo baiffen) which is special for breakfast during Ramazan. Ramazan and Roshanvilla’s ( my home) garo baiffen has its own long and special history. It goes together like jam and butter. We cant wrap a ramazan off without it being served in our dinner table every single day for breakfast. This is far from just a soup but a tradition that we are following for ages. The taste of this soup is as…
-
Warm sweet soup of flour with a dash of cinnamon,cardamon and pandan leaf cooked in coconut milk is what traditional dessert flavours of my native island (fuvahmulah) reminds me of. Faa baiffen is one traditonal dessert made from basic pantry items. Growing up we were not bestowed with many food items or anything in excess (life was much better with minimal items) An afternoon when the blazing sun is out there a lunch filled with home grown boiled taros and flavourful fish soup accompanied with desiccated coconut compliments the most with faa baiffen. A warm soup which is smooth and…