TGLife
The latest book ‘Song Sung Blue’ by Goan writer Savia Viegas and inaugurated by Jugneeta at GALF 2018 is a symphony in blue, a story of two sisters and the choices they make in life and their life trajectories. As a writer, Savia has long been portraying Goa in the hinterlands and exploring the psychological aspirations of the characters, weaving the fabric of the novel.
Portraying the prevailing myths and superstitions of the society and the impact of the caste on the growing up of the children in the villages, Savia asserts that caste is a social hierarchy and is considered in marriages. Mentioning of Romania in Russia, where fear and melancholia gave rise to silence which became a way of communication there, the author recalls a comparison of castes in Goa with baker’s bread. “Some are white and soft, others brown and still others, burnt to black, a parish priest once told in a sermon,” she deliberates.
Speaking of the two sisters in her novel, she observes, “The virtuous and righteous moral values are drilled into you since childhood and when these kids come of age, it’s difficult for them to handle their sexuality or how to deal with their emotions. The two sisters in my novel show two different mindsets - one is religious and pious while the other is rebellious, defiant who loves life and approaches it in a much positive way,” shares the author whose 500-year-old village has big empty homes, as people have migrated elsewhere in search of jobs, livelihoods and better lifestyles.
While asserting that Goa is beginning to manifest personalities and people from across the globe are making it their home for the quiet, lifestyle it offers, the Senior Fulbright Scholar and Ministry of Culture (India) Fellow Savia states that Goa affords them a lifestyle, a place to enjoy in a feudal home. “Goans are not migrating but shifting to other kinds of jobs and Goa is fast losing its character,” she claims.
The novel has 100 paintings. Graphic novels are expensive but graffic narratives make bigger impacts, feels the author. Replying to a question by writer and literary critic Jugneeta, ‘what happens when you fall out of line,’ Savia cites the example of bullfights which are common in South Goa. “There is another side to bullfight,” she says and explains how it is symbolic of the muscle power and how betting on the bull gives a sense of belonging to the migrant labourers who make a living out of maintaining the bull or walking him around the village daily.
What happens in a village is being incorporated in the novel. “I am privileged to be a part of that society and hence I understand what’s being churning in the societal mindset,” claims Savia. Pointing out that Goa is a melting pot of cultures and that many have come and settled here, as we ourselves go and settle somewhere else. What a state must do is to accept such mingling gracefully and not show any disrespect towards those who come in for the sake of jobs and livelihoods. It should be an assimilation of people of different faiths, cultures and religions - all living at one place joyfully and with dignity. The book is peppered with these people, incidents and thoughts.
