By Shabna Ullah
A Supply, Mahaica resident celebrated her 106th birthday on Monday but her perfect memory of family members who came from India to work on the sugar plantations here and her strong voice belies her age.
Sadaran Seebadan fondly known as ‘Shorty’ by all because of her petite features recalled vividly that her parents and other relatives came from India to work on the sugar plantation and were all “bound” to different estates.
At a tender age she was given a job in the creole gang at La Bonne Mere Estate at Mahaica and part of her duties involved applying fertilizer to the cane. But her job at the estate did not last long as she got married at age 10.
She moved with her husband to De Hoop, Mahaica for a short while before relocating to her present address at Supply. She gave birth to four children, three of whom are alive. Her early days were also spent making “jalebi” and other sweetmeats to sell at the Kitty market.
Her daughter Bhagmattie Persaud who takes care of her told this newspaper that “my mother worked hard in her days.” She said while her mother went away to work in the rice field with her father she had to remain at home “and do all the housework…” and take care of her three siblings.
Sadaran is so accustomed to working hard that she still loves to take her cutlass and weed the grass from her yard. She even told Bhagmattie that whenever she weeds she would sleep soundly at night.
But her grandson, Trevor who resides nearby ensures that he keeps the grass short so that she would not be tempted to weed and has even hidden the cutlass from her.
Bhagmattie said that apart from her mother not being able to hear and see too well she is generally in good health.
At the time of this newspaper’s visit horticulturist Boyo Ramsaroop – who said the woman was his “chachi” (aunt) – presented her with a bouquet of fresh flowers, apples and grapes on behalf of the Global Organization of Peoples of Indian Origin (GOPIO).
He pointed out that the woman was said to be the oldest Indian living in Guyana and the honorary president of GOPIO, Yesu Persaud and other members were expected to visit her again to make another presentation.
He boasted that she made the “best jalebis” and jokingly asked her whether she was willing to make some for him. But she promptly responded, “jalebi days done.”
Ramsaroop then asked her to sing a song for this reporter and she started to laugh heartily before bursting into a tune. Bhagmattie recalled that she “used to knock tassa drum and sing at wedding house… My father was the president of the mandir and was very respectable.” She reminisced too that her mother was quite a disciplinarian. Ramsaroop urged his aunt to tell him more stories about the family and he too was amazed at how good her memory was. It was hilarious when she wasted no time to tell him that he “was the bad man; you used to get away and bathe at the sea…”
Sadaran was sitting in her hammock, enjoying a bowl of jello and after learning that Ramsaroop had brought her grapes which she loves as well as apples, she immediately put away the jello.
She held the grapes up and remarked “mmm grapes…look how dem fat” and started to munch on them after he told her they had already been washed.
