I WAS shopping in Massy Supermarket last Wednesday. This man in advanced age said, “hi.” Of course, you encounter that welcome all the time and you respond courteously. I did just that and went on my way to the banana shelf. His voice was very low, but I heard when he said, “come.”
I turned around and saw him beckoning to me. I went to him. He asked if I recognised him. I didn’t. He told me who he was, and I was stunned. He identified himself as Raymond Mandle, lecturer in the Faculty of Arts in the mid 1970s. I could not picture him. That was over 50 years ago, and I was in my second year at UG.
But I recognised the name, Raymond Mandle. He was one of the prominent names at UG in a pantheon of starred UG lecturers who were the crème de la crème of the UG lecture circuit. The names are too numerous to mention, but nationally popular ones were Father Malcolm Rodrigues, Dr Josh Ramsammy, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, Dr Clive Thomas, Dr Maurice Odle, Professor Bill Carr, Dr Neville Trotz, Sister Mary Noel Menezes
That was the 1970s when democratic thoughts and vision of a just and equal society permeated the UG campus and the nation of Guyana. This was a time when every endeavour of life was centred on the democratisation of Guyana. It was an age of high moral responsibility of those who were against the Burnham dictatorship.
Today in 2025, I look around Guyana and the hypocrisy I see in journalism and civil society and in politics, we in the 1970s would have denounced with furious emotions. The entire UG campus back then was devoted to the cause of Walter Rodney and Rodney was the new kid on the block to admire and adore.
When Raymond Mandle told me who he was, I didn’t recognise the face, but I knew the name well. He was one of the innovative academics on campus who started a local press in Queenstown. His company published a quarterly journal titled, RELEASE, edited by Mr Mandle himself. One of the books his company produced was titled, “Temples and Mosques: An illustrated Study of East Indian Places of Worship in Guyana.”
I have that book, and it has a bright memory for me because when my daughter was growing up, my wife and I would take her to see each of the mosques and temples named in the book. We actually took the book with us, but did not visit those listed in Region Two.
I have a photograph of my daughter and my friend from our old days in the PPP in the late 1960s: Ronald Gordon (now a practising Muslim priest) in front of the Hindu Temple at Woodley Park built in 1902. If you are a Hindu or Muslim, you should get the book (though maybe out of print). And thanks to UG lecturer, Raymond Mandle, back in those days in the 70s for publishing it.
When I faced Mr Mandle in Massy Supermarket, so many memories of the 70s came tumbling down. The 1970s was a glorious moment in Guyana and I am elated forever to have been part of it. In speaking to Mr Mandle, he told me that Dr Herman Ramsammy of that period is dead. He was the brother of one of my favourite 1970s personalities – Dr Josh Ramsamy. When Josh died, I dedicated the song below to him.
Those were the days – Mary Hopkins
Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
And think of all the great things we would do?
Those were the days, my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose
We’d fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way

Then the busy years went rushing by us
We lost our starry notions on the way
If by chance I’d see you in the tavern
We’d smile at one another and we’d say
Those were the days, my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose
We’d fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days

Just tonight I stood before the tavern
Nothing seemed the way it used to be
In the glass I saw a strange reflection
Was that lonely person really me?

Through the door, there came familiar laughter
I saw your face and heard you call my name
Oh, my friend, we’re older but no wiser
For in our hearts, the dreams are still the same
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.