‘The world beyond Georgetown’ means a lot to Guyanese who left the homeland a long time ago

Dear Editor,

It was a very beautiful surprise to me to read the article by Stabroek News reporter, Joanna Dhanraj, in her June 19th column ‘The World beyond Georgetown’ that focused on Aurora, and her subsequent column on July 2nd on Adventure. By a strange coincidence, both these articles contain references to my grandfathers, Harry Sahoy, my paternal grandfather, and Rashbeharry, my maternal grandfather.

I am the oldest grandchild of Harry Sahoy, the individual who had owned Aurora estate. My brother and I grew up in the huge plantation house near the rice factory where the chimney, described in the article, still stands. My brother and I were brought up on stories of jumbies, and more so because there was talk of the Dutchman who had killed himself in the big house, so when night came, we were always scared. The mention of Mr Pajay was really a thing for me to recall. The photograph of the tree and the mention of the great variety of fruit found on the road to the chimney is a true reminder of my Aaja’s (paternal grandfather) love of experimenting and grafting the different types of mangoes. He had a big orchard with several kinds of fruit trees.

We knew everyone on the estate and everyone knew us and looked out for us and everyone else. Your article says they still do. The interview with Mr Ramjohn Khan and his sons brought back a lot of memories. We passed his house every day on our way to and from school and everyone called him Johnno. He is a very great testimony to the relationship of the Aurora people.

The article on Adventure was another trip down memory lane for me. Although Rashbeharry died when my mom was very young, we grew up on stories of him. The picture of the breadfruit tree full of breadfruit was so very beautiful. I remem- ber there were lots of those trees across the road from Rashbeharry’s house (where the other Mr Khan now lives) at the junction of the Public Road and the Stelling Road. My brother was born in that house and we spent a lot of time there also. Rashbeharry and his wife, my grandmother, are buried at that corner near breadfruit trees. I do not know if the graves there are still visible.

My parents lived in another of my Naana’s (maternal grandfather) house near the ‘Truck Line’ that was mentioned in Ms Dhanraj’s very great description of life at Adventure. The ‘Sand Top’ is where my mom’s brothers and her sister lie at peace after they passed on. When we were kids a few people lived there in thatched houses.

Incidentally, the hotel near the Stelling was owned by my mother. It was the brainchild of her older brother. It consisted of the rooms on the upper floor and a bar and restaurant on the lower floor. When my uncle passed away, it was left to my mother. As a business venture, it did very well because of the daily arrival of the steamer, and of course on Saturdays, the shopping day for villagers.

Adventure is not the same since the steamer stelling was moved, but the memories are not gone.

Your publishing of these stories and the concept of ‘The World beyond Georgetown’ means a lot to us Guyanese who left our homeland such a long time ago. I thank you for letting us remember those times with the help of your brilliant reporter, Ms Dhanraj. We can reminisce on the memories and refer to them when chatting with the younger generation.

Yours faithfully, Jeanette Sahoy Singh