He does not resort to personal attack. Saby de Divar prefers to expose the evil in the political arena through his mind-blowing political songs.
Saby Dias popularly known as Saby de Divar on the tiatr stage hails from the picturesque and serene island of Divar in the Tiswadi taluka. Born on January 18, 1977 to Maria Dias and late Tome Pascoal Dias, his father was a tiatrist, who would stage tiatrs in the village on the feast of Our Lady of Candelaria on February 2 and the feast of the Holy Spirit in the month of May.
After his education, Saby de Divar decided to go in for a one-year course-cum-training in hotel management at Taj Village, Sinquerim. Thereafter, placement followed in 4 leading hotels across Goa in the production department.
“Active involvement in school co-curricular activities,” revealed Saby de Divar, “and participation in singing competitions and one-act plays only initiated the growth of the inborn qualities.” “Various cultural programmes held in the parish, as part of the Catechetical activities, throughout the year was a big boost to talents,” he said.
Garnering enough experience for almost 5 years in various hotels, in 1997 Saby de Divar decided to move to the Gulf to share his expertise as the Goan Continental Chef in Palm Beach Hotel in Dubai. After two years stay in Dubai, he returned to his roots in 1999, only to take the next step of joining ‘Celebrity Cruises’ as a seafarer in 2000.
Saby de Divar admitted that he was still not a full-fledged tiatrist as the entry on stage would take place only when he would return home for vacation, after 9 months service on the ship. “It was mostly for the tiatr competitions that the feeling and mood of coming back on stage as a full-fledged tiatrist got created in me. And then, assisting the troupe with the composition of comedy songs and renditions on social issues continued,” he added.
Quitting as a seafarer in 2009, Saby de Divar joined Alfi de Divar’s troupe for tiatr ‘Puro Ami Tras Kaddleat Te’ staged at KA’s tiatr competition. “The same production was later presented in various villages across Goa, thus completing 36 shows,” he said.
Saby de Divar was supposed to release his new monsoon tiatr in 2020, with a huge cast comprising of comedians Ben Evangelisto, Sally, Selvy and Aveena, cast featuring Roseferns, Antonette de Maina, Vishal Gawas, Cajie de Cacora, singers Marcus Vaz, Xavier Gomes and others. “But the unexpected pandemic sabotaged the show,” he said, but was hopeful of releasing it next monsoon.
The spread of coronavirus and the lockdown that followed in Goa in March 2020 did not deter Saby de Divar from showcasing his vocal talent. Grabbing the golden opportunity, he first released his YouTube channel on April 16, 2020 and uploaded altogether 20 songs, among those are 10 new releases, namely ‘Seafarers’, ‘Goychea Saibachi Igorz Moddot Konn Zobabdar’, ‘Azunui Bhiepachi Goroz Na?’, ‘Lockdown Korun Dilem Bhorun’, ‘Goa Kelam Watermelon’, ‘Prime Minister’, ‘Sot Tem Sot’, Ho Uzo Assemblyin Pavlear?’, ‘Serkar 30-40’ and ‘Corona Virus vo Business?’.
Although he wouldn’t mind assisting in acting in moments of emergency, rendition of comedy songs, songs on social issues and political songs is Saby de Divar’s forte. “ There are a lot of illegalities around the place, but there is no word called ‘opposition’,” he says, “and with a bill passed, central projects are being carried out with no objection. With this thought in mind, the only way to give vent to feelings is political songs, thus making people aware of the illegalities.”