A night with the shooting star – Maldives

You know since childhood I have always heard about a shooting star, and how we should pray if we ever get a sight of the shooting star, and to confirm this theory it was also shown in many Hollywood and Bollywood movies. Remember the scene in Kuch Kuch Hota Hain where Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Kajol all three witness a shooting star, and we were like wow they so lucky. so these things excited us being kids. It still does to me.

When you read my upcoming blogs, you will read that there is some interesting story or an interesting thing that occurred and those particular incidents made my whole trip memorable.

One such unforgettable trip of my life was my trip to the Maldives. so this was basically to attend the wedding or better-called Destination Wedding of my friend Rashmi to her beau James, ya still unbelievable and sweet Little Marathi Indian Mulgi (girl) married a smart handsome Australian Boy. I always get excited about seeing cross cultures getting married. ya so even though this was a pre-planned all settled trip, due to business commitments in Hong Kong I was gonna be unable to attend the wedding, so two days prior to my arrival as courtesy sake I decided to send her a text saying sorry I wouldn’t be able to make it to which the reply came “if you don’t arrive to tere gharpe gus ke marungi (if you don’t arrive then I will come to your house and kill you.” and lol she could so I decided to take the trip. I called my travel agent and asked if we have any flights from Hong Kong to the Maldives and she is like the only best way is to proceed as per plans and I should first land into Mumbai and then take my usual booked flight to the Maldives to reach on time for the wedding.

I will share the awesome time at the wedding in my other blog, this I would keep it short to the title.

So I was busy asking the hotel staff and Rashmi’s few friends to keep clicking me at places, and this was silently been seen by Asad who was the photographer who was hired by Rashmi to do the wedding photography and videography. and to my good luck, we sat for lunch at the same table and it was my first interaction with me and a good one. after few minutes of knowing each other and chatting, he started off saying that “hey I was seeing you clicking so many multiple pics but still you ain’t satisfied why?” – to which I replied I ain’t yet got what I wanted. Asad – What do you want? Me- A picture which at one sight describes the Maldives. Asad – For that you need to wake up in the night and shoot. Me – I am all good to go. Asad – If you are able to be sober after the wedding after-party then wake me up at 2 am and then I would help you achieve a shot of your lifetime. Me – ok wow locked deal.

Trust me guys I did not know what I was getting into, so I did not get high drinking as I wanted to shoot later in the night, and exactly after struggles of waking Asad at 2 am I managed to get him out by 2.45 am and then we managed to reach to the beach in that darkness by 3 am as we were shooting within the island. and when I was walking towards the beach it was an unforgettable scene, the beach is lit up with the moonlight and there are stars so bright and shining. Asad – Look at the top Romeer, that is the milky way and that can be seen through naked eyes, I was simply mesmerized. Me – so what’s the plan tell me? Asad – To shoot you with this picturesque. I was excited that Asad said we would have to wait for some time as there are clouds and won’t get a clear shot. and we had to wait till 4 am to get the clouds to get cleared. so we both decided to sip in coffee’s and that’s when I inquired more about the picture he is planning to take and then he showed me his old references and I was dancing that yes yes yes that’s what I want. And there we got the green signal from mother nature and the clouds left for the clean clear sky.

The SHOT – we positioned the chair close enough to the edge of the sea but not to close enough, and he dug up a place to put his one phone with the camera torch through which light would create a shadow of my body and then he set his camera on his tripod and the show began with the clicks. at the end of those 10 mins, he called me and said Romeer you are very lucky, I said why? He said to look for yourself and when I saw in the camera lens I could see the shooting star photo bomb my picture and I couldn’t get happier and hugged the man. And then we continued with few more shots and in the end, got around 5 to 6 pictures which today are happily hanging on my walls. You don’t believe it? Neither did I in the beginning and said it might be an airplane, to which he said this is my country I know when it’s a shooting star and when it’s a plane, still the pictures would prove it to you that in one picture there is absolutely nothing, and from the second one you see the shooting star, and I was awestruck. please look at the pictures below and enjoy it. so I believe it was a shooting star. my moment of memory in the Maldives.

Those were my perfect TRAVELPOSTCARDS from the Maldives thanks to Asad. So guys if you are in the Maldives and if you are looking at a photographer to give you a perfect memorable picture please contact Asad through his Instagram handle: @asad.photo and his email: asad@thundi.com