THEGUIDE
south asia
140
FAHTHAI
STYLE WATCH; AFTER-DARK DIVING ABOVE COLOURFULLY LIT CORALS
MALDIVES COUNTRY CODE
+960
EXCHANGE RATE
MVR15 = US$1
MALƒ FREQUENCY
1 flight per day from Bangkok
Bare
threads
Head to these sartorial spots
for a spell of retail therapy
M A L D I V E S
PRABARTANA
This store and café in Dhaka is committed
to safeguarding the lives and interests of the
weavers and artisans who create its admirable
range of handloom fabrics. Dhaka is famed for
its exquisite muslin and cotton and here you can
choose from among floaty fabrics, soft stoles
and vivid, printed tunics before relaxing with a
cup of tea (you can also pick up some pickles).
The best part is that artisans are on hand to
tell you how and by whom your souvenir
was made. There are a number of branches
throughout the city.
prabartana.com
M U M B A I
M U M B A I
D H A K A
VAYA
The softest, cosiest and silkiest pashminas you
could possibly lay your hands on now have a
new home. Colaba, Mumbai’s artsy shopping
district, has recently seen the opening of Vaya’s
third outlet. The store stocks authentic hand-
woven Kashmiri stoles and shawls. They’re
super soft and very chic – Richard Gere,
Thandie Newton and various Middle Eastern
royals and sheikhs are reported to own a scarf
or two. The rare and intricate hand embroidery
is a work of art.
Colaba Tanna House Annexe,
Nathalal Parekh Marg, Colaba
RAJESH PRATAP SINGH
The late Mario Miranda was one of India’s most
famous cartoonists; his buxom ladies and pot-
bellied men caricatured residents of Goa, the tiny
state on India’s west coast. His work, examples
of which adorn walls across Goa, Mumbai
and throughout the country, caught the eye of
minimalist fashion designer Rajesh Pratap Singh,
who has created a limited-edition line of cotton
T-shirts featuring Miranda’s cartoons. He’s added
a dash of colour and the end product would look
equally at home framed on your wall or stretched
across your torso.
rajeshpratapsingh.com
STYLECOUNCIL
(Clockwise from
top left) Prabartana;
Vaya; RajeshPratap
Singh T-shirts
The rich, colourful coral reefs fringing
the Maldivian archipelago are among
the world’s best. Most resorts offer
diving trips but there are precious
few that can compare to the “fluoro”
dive by night, organised by Filitehyo’s
Werner Lau Dive Centre, where the
house reef is lit up in a colourful
array of neon hues. Diving instructor
Charles offers an overview of this
one-of-a-kind undersea experience:
“We take ultraviolet lights out onto
the house reef for the night dive.
Everyone has special yellow filters
on their masks, so combined with
the UV lights we can see a whole
spectrum of colours that can’t
be seen in normal light. It’s very
beautiful; there are so many colours
and different creatures like lobsters
out at night, while sharks are hunting
and the corals fluoresce. It’s a very
rich reef and there’s so much to see.”
wernerlau.com
Night
moves
Dive master shares highlights of a
night swim
