A miracle of rare device

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree :
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man

Down to a sunless sea.

 Maldives is a modern day Paradise; that is the considered opinion of the millions of tourists around the world. Even the critics of the country are agreed on this. Meanwhile poets and writers are not hesitant to refer to the country as Xanadu, the mythical land immortalized in literary form by S.T. Coleridge.

 It is indeed a Xanadu to one and all. Visitors have enjoyed the rich natural bounty of the country and benefited from the gracious hospitality that comes so naturally to all Maldivians, young and old. The people of the country has used the natural wealth of the nation and developed a country that is a haven of peace and tranquility amidst the troubles waters of our Indian Ocean neighbors. A country and an economy where

 … twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round :
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree ;

Yet, there is one aspect of Xanadu that has always been of concern to thinkers and writers viz. their fragile nature. The sensitive and delicate nature of balance, that keep Xanadu alive and functioning.

 Maldives too, is of a fragile nature, a nation of geographically disbursed small islands with no natural land based wealth. Yet we have transformed Maldives into a prosperous home for all us. “.. a miracle of rare device, a sunny pleasure dome …”

 Its geography is eco-sensitive. Sea-level rise and many other such eco-concerns impact us greatly. It’s economic miracle is dependant on very limited marine based resources, the sustainability have to assured. The very survival of the country is dependant on prudent and careful action. By Maldivians and others.

 The growth of the Maldives, from a small sea-faring nation of fishermen to the economic miracle of today, is also dependent on the political and social harmony that prevailed. It is the careful balance of separate and individual themes that had resulted in symphony of today.

 Therefore, the different components that forged the nation of today, the combination, is one that need to be protected and preserved. Otherwise, Paradise Lost would just not be a title of a poem by Milton and Paradise Regained would be a near impossibility.

 Coleridge’s Xanadu, the  ‘pleasure dome … of twice five miles of fertile ground … forest ancient as the hills enfolding sunny spots of greenery’ suffered immensely, suddenly and without recovery.

 And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently 

The destruction of paradise, by foolishness and human weakness is a theme explored by many a writer and philosopher. Yet, Xanadu is a sensitive arrangement; a humpty dumpty like format. A miracle of rare device which once fiddled with may not be put together again. All the Kings’ horsemen and all the Kings’ men, may not, for all their best intentions, be able to piece it together again.

 I have lived in this land. This god graced bounty of natural wealth and human charm. This is a nation crafted lovingly by the wisdom and toil of our forefathers, a custody in trust to our children. We have heard and seen the effort it took.

 Coleridge is an optimistic man, for after all he is a romantic poet. A confirmed Lotus Eater.

 Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight ‘twould win me,

That with music loud and long,

 

Yet, it might not be so easier for us. Coleridge, too promised to re-build Xanadu only in the air. In his imagination. What has been lost in Xanadu may not be re-gained which would leave us with Coleridge’s last words.

 And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware ! Beware !
His flashing eyes, his floating hair !
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.