Triumph

Yogeeta Singh and her son, behind her stall

Story and photos by Samaria Deonauth

Sandwiched between the much larger villages of Mon Repos and Beterverwag-ting is the breezy little settlement known as Triumph. Even though the area is small, there are quite a lot of people resident there, all of whom seem to agree that Triumph is one of the most peaceful places to live.

The village which has been in existence for many decades accommodates residents from different ethnic and social backgrounds. There was, however, one resident who stood out from the others; this was a frail old lady known to everyone as “Maa.” The 90-year-old woman moved to Triumph from Berbice when she got married at the age of thirteen and has lived there ever since. Maa has seen the village grow larger, accommodating more people as the families of the residents grew. She told of the times when the houses were ‘bush lots’ and how this slowly changed as the village crept into modern times.

For Maa, Triumph is the only home she knows; it is where she spent her entire married life and where she