Ramdat Sookraj has the wizened appearance of a man who has been a fixture on Guyana’s commercial landscape for more years than he cares to remember. Still, he continues to serve, like a dutiful sentry, showing up at his post and putting in his fair share of effort, albeit at a lesser level of intensity than in times past.
Some of the memories of his landmark years in business have faded somewhat. That is not altogether surprising. This is his 43rd year in business as the proprietor of R Sookraj & Sons on Regent Street. Prior to that, he had been in the business of selling merchandise, primarily fabrics, for over two decades. Ramdat Sookraj is in his 77th year.
At the age of 12, he was pulled from school by his older brother and pressed into service as an apprentice at a dry goods store at Uitvlugt, West Bank Demerara. That was the only store on the West Bank that sold textiles and Sookraj says it
