Feature Video: A Seedy Love Story

Getting The Story

By Katlyn

It was 9.30 am in the morning when our group met at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station.

We went straight from the MRT station to Fort Canning Park to hunt for the saga tree there as well as potential interviewees.

At the park's visitor center, all the staffs were out for some important event, and thus we were unable to get an interview.

Unwilling to give up so easily, we went to look for our tree.

We were fortunate enough to get an interview just next to the Saga tree, and after some picture taking and videoing, we head to our next destination - the Singapore Botanic Garden.

The weather took a turn for the worst when it starts to pour heavily.

We managed to reach the visitor center, but once again, we were unable to catch hold of any staff who was willing to give us an interview.

It was not all for naught though, as the rain soon stopped, and we got to take some pictures and collect some saga seeds.

After we are done, we decided to go back and get our parents and relatives who have experience with the Saga seeds to give us an interview instead.

The Legend behind the Saga Seeds

By Rachel

Legend has it that there was a great war in a certain country, and a brave man has to leave his wife behind to defend his homeland.

The wife sat on top of a mountain, and cried as she prayed for the safe return of her loved one.

However, he never returned.

Day after day she cried, until her tears ran dry.

She started to cry blood in place of tears, and these drops of blood became red coloured seeds as they fell onto the earth.

These seeds grew into huge trees full of fruits with the same beautiful red seeds.

The seeds were then known as the “remembrance beans”, as they represent the wife reminiscing of her time with her husband and her longing for him to return.

This leads to the formerly popular tradition in Singapore, where people give a bottle full of saga seeds to their beloved other half, especially when the latter is going for distant trips.