Day: May 10, 2013

In 1955 Harry Ramanand created cricket history by becoming the first schoolboy and the youngest player ever to be called to Berbice trials.  Before that, you don’t allow a youngster to be more than two miles to the cricket ground. But wait until you hear the juiciest part of the story. The diminutive Harry was the only player who turned up at Mental Hospital ground in short pants. It was rather unusual those days for someone, anyone to play in short pants. I too was in short pants, but as…

On May 5th 1838, the very year of final slave emancipation in the British West Indies, a small batch of 396 Indian immigrants popularly known as the ‘Gladstone Coolies’ landed in British Guiana (Guyana) from Calcutta. This was the beginning of the indenture system which was to continue for over three-quarters of a century and whose essential features were very reminiscent of slavery. Within a decade Indian immigration was largely responsible for changing the fortunes of the sugar industry, the mainstay of the economy, from the predicted ‘ruin’ to prosperity.…

In response to a request by his granddaughter, overseas-based Guyanese author Chetram Singh was inspired to travel all the way to India to research and document his ancestral heritage, in helping his family connect with their roots. “The idea about writing this book came from my late eldest grandchild Deepa Devi Singh. She asked me if I could provide her with some information about our family; who they were; where they came from and how they ended up in Guyana. She was doing an assignment for her school that required…

An overseas based organisation which seeks to increase the popularity of common interests in the international Indian community is the Indo-Caribbean Federation (ICF). Under the presidency of Guyanese Ralph Tamesh, ICF’s focus is to raise awareness of the needs of the Indo-Caribbean people residing in the U.S., while keeping their rich culture and heritage alive. The organisation was established in 1985, and since its conception is involved in numerous projects in fulfilling its mission. It is part of many humanitarian efforts within the Guyanese community and abroad. Speaking with Guyana…

Eighty-three-year-old Ameena Ishmail’s story is one of endurance through hardship on tough sugar estates, and developing resilience to face up to others in a society where women were not bestowed with the recognition they deserved. In an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, Ameena, born August 1930, disclosed that she could not afford to attend school because her family was very poor, and she had to work in the “backdam” with her mother from just 12 years old. “I worked at such an early age because my father died when…