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Harubee – Young Faces, Old Voices

Published

15 years ago

July 12, 2011

Mohamed Shafraz Hafiz for Maldives Promotion House – A group of young men flood the stage and take their positions. There are around twenty of them. A majority of them carry with them traditional Dhivehi goatskin drums. A flourish, a sharp tap, and a song is breathed into life. It’s sleepy at first but gains momentum like a rolling boulder. The song grows louder, faster, and the crowd sways because they can’t help it.

The beat works itself into their blood. Old voices on young faces sing the bodu beru songs and by the time the crescendo arrives, frenzy inducing, the crowd is ensnared completely. A few of them leap into the space in front of the stage to express their exultation through dance. By the time their hearts slow down it’s time for the next song. This is a typical night for Harubee, Maldives’s premier bodu beru band.

Bodu beru, literally meaning “big drum”, is one of the oldest surviving aspects of Dhivehi culture. It is a form of song based on a beat hammered out on a goatskin drum of traditional design. The tempo almost invariably starts slow and builds up into a crescendo, which is sustained for a while before reaching an abrupt end.

Though they’ve earned the right to it, Harubee shuns their status as a super-band, instead choosing to celebrate their roots and the fans that make them who they are. This warmth translates into the performance as well as the energy that comes from their passion.

Not a single member of Harubee performs full-time. They all work full-time elsewhere and come together as a band only for the passion of bodu beru. Harubee’s philosophy is that performing full-time will make the music feel like a job.

Shihan (Puchu), one of the four main members of Harubee alongside Mamdhooh (Manday), Naushad (Naube), and Shamhan (Joray), explains that the four of them first came together as a band at the end of the 90’s quite circumstantially, when one of them beat a dabiya (a tin pitcher), and the others joined in with song. They soon found themselves performing free at parties purely for the love of bodu beru.

The group officially came to be known as Harubee for their performance at the 2006 Dubai Shopping Festival. Since then, Harubee has gone onto perform at tourism expos, various major events at resorts, and have appeared on National Geographic Channel and the BBC in addition to performing alongside major local artists at live events. Harubee’s first mainstream success came when they won the MNBC Bodu Beru Challenge 2010. Since then Harubee has been performing without respite. This is no small accomplishment, considering that all members work full time, and the line up always depends on who can get time off work for a performance.

Harubee cannot be talked about without mentioning the cultural relevance of the group. The art of bodu beru is one of the most representative facets of Dhivehi culture. Many of the songs circulating around the bodu beru scene are so old that their origins are lost entirely. Harubee represents a revitalising, and more importantly, a rebranding of everything bodu beru stands for. As a bodu beru group of young people who charge their performances with a new energy that somehow falls runs parallel to the timelessness of the tradition, Harubee brings a progressiveness to the art that has not only been absent but hadn’t even been conceived of before. Bodu beru is cool again precisely because it’s not the way you remember it.

The band chooses to emphasise the continuity in this progression from tradition. Harubee humbly names Hamdun Hameed as the group’s major influence. As the founding members’ school principal and prolific torchbearer of bodu beru, Hamdun heavily involved the group in Ameer Ahmed School’s bodu beru activities, coming to teach the boys who would become Harubee most of what they know.

Modernised or traditional, bodu beru is a live art, and Harubee is a live act. The group is currently recording an album, pushing the progression further with their new songs. A major challenge will be to translate their unique personality into recorded form. Unused to the restraint and the set structure of the studio environment, Harubee has to overcome these constraints and find the best way to pack their brand of improvisation and spontaneity into an aural experience.

First an explosion onto the scene, then establishing their place, now recording an album. What could possibly be next for this group of young men, who don’t practise, who don’t plan their show, yet still project an electrifying presence? “To never stop,” says Shihan. Harubee intends to overcome the fickle nature of seasonal trends. They intend to make bodu beru bigger than it already is, and to push it further than it has ever gone.

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Four Seasons Resorts Maldives honoured for 25 years of marine conservation efforts at HICAP 2026

Published

2 days ago

October 14, 2026

m@ldives

Four Seasons Resorts Maldives has won the 2026 Sustainable Hotel Award for Biodiversity Action & Education from Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP). The award recognises 25 years of conservation, research and training at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa (since May 1998) and Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru (since November 2006).

Winners are selected by an expert judging panel for innovative sustainability practices that can be replicated across Asia Pacific. The Biodiversity Action & Education category emphasises measurable conservation and practical learning. Four Seasons Resorts Maldives was recognised for connecting sustained conservation and scientific advances with hands-on learning for guests, local schoolchildren and young Maldivians.

The resorts’ Reefscapers partnership, launched at Kuda Huraa in 2001, encompasses more than 9,000 coral frames across one of the Indian Ocean’s largest artificial reef restoration projects. Decades of monitoring have supported peer-reviewed, AI-assisted research into coral survival, informing restoration methods as environmental pressures increase. Corals on mature frames now reproduce naturally, while spawning and larval-settlement research advances methods to repopulate damaged reefs and increase diversity.

That research also supports practical conservation education. Since 2023, Landaa has hosted the Baa Atoll Marine Biology Internship Programme, a three-stage, three-year initiative introducing students across the atoll to marine science.

Furthermore, the resorts’ government-accredited Apprenticeship Programme has produced 1,058 Maldivian graduates since 2001 and currently offers 14 career pathways, including Marine Conservation. A new, fully funded four-year Marine and Environmental Science apprenticeship with Maldives National University combines academic study with fieldwork at both Kuda Huraa and Landaa Giraavaru. The pathway progresses towards a bachelor’s degree.

“This award belongs to the people who keep doing the work,” says Armando Kraenzlin, Regional Vice President and General Manager. “Our marine biologists, conservation partners, gardeners and trainers turn years of experience into knowledge others can use. Guests and young Maldivians contribute too, learning alongside our teams and helping carry that work forward.”

Science that informs action

Marine Savers, the resorts’ conservation programme, operates from Marine Discovery Centres at Kuda Huraa and Landaa Giraavaru, working with long-term partners including Reefscapers and The Manta Trust.

Reefscapers achieved a Maldives first by collecting coral reproductive cells in the wild, then fertilising them and settling larvae under controlled conditions. During severe bleaching in 2024, teams relocated 28,000 corals to deeper, cooler waters.

The Turtle Rehabilitation Centres at Kuda Huraa and Landaa Giraavaru have cared for over 500 sea turtles. To date, of the many injured by ghost fishing nets carried into Maldivian waters by wider Indian Ocean currents, more than 280 have been released.

Both resorts also support manta research, with studies by Landaa’s onsite Manta Trust scientists identifying the world’s largest-known reef manta population. Their research contributed to Baa Atoll’s designation as the Maldives’ first UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 2011.

Learning through participation

Guest coral sponsorship funds restoration, with guests transplanting fragments alongside marine biologists and following their development on MarineSavers.com.

Marine Discovery Centres connect guests and local schoolchildren with this conservation work. At Kuda Huraa, the Junior Marine Savers introduces younger children to ocean conservation through hands-on marine discovery activities. Landaa’s one-to-one Trainee Marine Biologist Programme gives teenagers practical experience across six specialist modules, while garden tours connect cultivation with food, wellness and composting.

All of the resorts’ research, field reports and findings are shared with the Maldives wider resort community, students, researchers and a global audience via MarineSavers.com. The Reefscapers programme’s selection as a World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance case study further extends its relevance to the hospitality industry.

For more information and ways to participate in award-winning biodiversity conservation and education at Four Seasons Resorts Maldives, visit MarineSavers.com or contact the Resorts at reservations.mal@fourseasons.com or call +960 66 00 888.

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Sun Siyam Iru Veli invites guests to explore Maldives’ underwater world

Published

1 week ago

October 9, 2026

m@ldives

Marine experiences at Sun Siyam Iru Veli begin just beyond the island’s shoreline, from its house reef in Dhaalu Atoll to the waters of Faafu, Meemu and South Ari Atolls. For guests, this geographical reach means the underwater journey can take many forms, from a first guided snorkel close to the island to more advanced diving and encounters farther across the atolls.

The Big Encounters

Among the most notable journeys beyond the waters of Iru Veli is the Whale Shark Excursion to the South Ari Marine Protected Area. The guided snorkelling experience takes guests in search of the world’s largest fish, with the chance to snorkel alongside them when conditions allow. The same waters also offer manta encounters, another remarkable way to venture farther afield and see these graceful ocean giants in their natural environment.

Across the Atolls

The journey continues across Meemu and Faafu Atolls, where full-day explorations move between open-water encounters, quieter lagoons, coral reefs and uninhabited islands. Around Makunueri, guests can snorkel vibrant reefs with the chance to encounter turtles, sharks, rays and a variety of reef life. For those seeking a more exclusive experience, private journeys offer a way to discover coral gardens and lesser-visited stretches of ocean, with some also providing a first introduction to scuba in calm waters.

The House Reef, in Daylight and After Hours

Closer to Iru Veli, the house reef tells a different story. By day, guided snorkelling invites guests to coral formations and resident marine life directly around the island. After sunset, the same waters take on an entirely different character as nocturnal species emerge. The guided night snorkelling offers the chance to encounter nurse sharks and experience the reef from a whole new perspective with the help of fluorescent and blue lights.

A Different Side of the Water

For those looking for something less conventional, the SSI Mermaid programme brings a playful side to underwater exploration. Guests can swap fins for a mermaid tail and learn the techniques needed to move comfortably and confidently through the water. Combined with underwater photography and video, this experience offers a chance to explore a more imaginative side of underwater exploration at Iru Veli.

A Lasting Impact

The marine discovery at Iru Veli also extends beyond observation. Through the resort’s coral planting initiative, guests can contribute to the continued restoration of the house reef and leave a lasting connection beneath the surface. Back on land, the weekly Marine Night brings these stories together, sharing more about marine life, reef conservation and underwater environments surrounding the island.

Beyond the many ways to explore the ocean from the surface, the SSI-certified dive centre at Iru Veli offers adventures for seasoned divers and complete beginners alike. Certified divers can continue exploring the surrounding dive sites with the resort’s professional team, while first-timers can start with an introductory scuba experience. Guests looking to go further can also earn SSI certification during their stay, turning their holiday into the start of a new diving journey.

From the house reef to some of the Maldives’ most remarkable marine encounters, Sun Siyam Iru Veli reveals an island experience shaped as much by what lies beneath the surface as by what surrounds it.

Discover more marine activities, explore the latest Sun Siyam Iru Veli offers.

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Machchafushi Maldives brings Nikon photographers to South Ari Marine Protected Area

Published

1 week ago

October 8, 2026

m@ldives

Machchafushi Island Resort & Spa Maldives, The Centara Collection, is set to host an exclusive underwater photography and media experience from 14 to 17 October 2026, in partnership with Youth Global Program in partnership with Nikon Middle East & Nikon India. The programme is supported by Lexar Middle East and Hollyland Middle East. Led by Nikon’s underwater photographers and welcoming select international media, the programme will offer an immersive exploration of Machchafushi’s exceptional marine environment and the underwater world of the South Ari Atoll.

Set within the South Ari Marine Protected Area (SAMPA), Machchafushi offers an exceptional setting for an exclusive underwater photography experience. The resort’s award-winning house reef, spanning more than five times the area of the island itself, creates an expansive underwater landscape shaped by vibrant coral gardens, diverse marine life, and a series of distinctive dive sites.

The experience will take Nikon underwater photographers and select media beneath the surface of Machchafushi, offering the opportunity to capture the island’s marine environment from a unique perspective. From coral formations and marine life to the deeper waters surrounding the island, the programme will showcase the diversity and character of the South Ari Atoll, including the renowned Kudhi Maa shipwreck, which rests between approximately 12 and 30 metres under the surface and has become an established artificial reef.

Together, Machchafushi’s award winning house reef, vibrant coral gardens, diverse marine life and Kudhi Maa create a compelling underwater canvas, offering visiting photographers and media an opportunity to experience and document a lesser seen perspective of the Maldives.

Beyond the reef, the programme will introduce participants to the wider Machchafushi experience, connecting the underwater environment with the island’s natural surroundings, dining, wellness and slower rhythm of island life. Together, these experiences offer a broader perspective of Machchafushi and its place within the South Ari Atoll.

The collaboration brings together Nikon’s expertise in photography and Machchafushi’s distinctive marine environment, creating an exclusive platform to showcase the underwater character of the South Ari Atoll through the lens of leading underwater photographers and international media, with support from Lexar Middle East and Hollyland Middle East.

Taking place from 14 to 17 October 2026, the experience will offer an opportunity to discover and document Machchafushi beyond the shoreline, from its award-winning house reef and vibrant marine life to the distinctive underwater landscapes surrounding the island. Through the photographers and media attending, the experience will bring a different perspective of the Maldives to audiences around the world.