AT the ripe age of 104, Mohamed Ramjohn Khan of Aurora village on the Essequibo Coast still walks unaided and remembers life in his earlier days.Born on August 16, 1912, to Indian indentured servants who came to work on the Aurora Estate in 1898, Khan has spent practically this entire life in the village, except for a brief period when he migrated to Canada to live with his children there.
At father of 12 children, seven sons and five daughters, Khan told the Guyana Chronicle that in his young days he was a farmer and from time to time worked on a number of Government sea defence projects in the region.
“I really worked hard when I was young,” he said, recounting that he was the first person to own a cottage in the village where Indians lived in logies.
Being a hardworking young man and the owner of a respectable home at a young age, the former rice farmer said many young ladies in and out of the village used to go to great lengths to be his companion.
But of the multitude, he said with laughter, only two of them captured his attention.
Khan, who is cared for by three of his sons, all of whom reside in Aurora, related that he was first “married” at age 22 to a beautiful girl named Katie, but the marriage was not registered.
He was not certain if that was on omen, because Katie was quarrelsome, verbally abusive and used to threatened him “physically.”
Notwithstanding being a man of “peace”, “love” and “tolerance”, he told the Guyana Chronicle that he managed to survive only Katie who bore him two children, for three years, before calling quits on their relationship.
Form his account, his first wife soon after separation remarried, this time “legally” and moved to live at Wakenaam.
And he too, not intentionally matching pace with Katie, found another beautiful girl named Betty and they also cemented their marriage by registering it and it was a bond that lasted a lifetime.
It was only a few years ago after Betty had died in Canada that Khan, who was close to 100, decided to return to his homeland to celebrate his 100th birthday and to die in his village.
But after the passage of more than five years and Khan has eased past a 100 and has not died, he told the Guyana Chronicle that since he still has the energy to recite verses of the Koran, eats, showers, fixes his bed and walks by himself, Allah the Merciful could grant him another 10 years.
The centenarian suffers from no major illness and credits his longevity to the physical work he did in his younger days on his farm, no smoking and drinking, eating less meat and more ground provisions, faith in Allah the Merciful and a good night’s rest.
At age 78, he gave up farming as the effects of old age began to step in. At that age, he used to walk two miles to the backdam twice every day to tend to his cattle and his cash crop farm.
Apart from his experience with Katie, Khan said his only other regret was his named was wrongly spelt when his mother went to register his birth.
He related that he was told that his mother told the “English” registration officials that his middle name was Ramzan, an Arabic name, but they wrote Ramjohn, and since it was not immediately corrected, it remained Ramjohn to this day.
Khan served the Aurora Masjid for 48 years in the capacity of deputy Imaam and subsequently Imaam.
He has outlived both of his wives and his eldest son. None of his sons fell by the wayside and have taken up careers in farming, accountancy, teaching, law and management. They have all contributed to making Khan the happy old soul he is today.