– grandmother of 24, the great grandmother of 31 and the great great grandmother of 10
– attributes longevity to living a peaceful life
QUOTE“I never quarrelled or fight anybody, and I feel happy and glad that I have all my family around me.”
AS the loud music spread throughout the house, mixed with the laughter of children running about and the sound of chatter coming from the kitchen, Etwaria Persaud sat in her corner of the house dressed in her most comfortable outfit humming quietly to herself “There was a woman who lives in a shoe, she had so many children she didn’t know what to do…” Surrounded by five generations, Etwaria Persaud, also fondly known as Maa, celebrated her hundredth birthday on Saturday which began with a three-day “yagna” which was held at the Uitvlugt Hindu Mandir to celebrate her life.
She was born on January 22, 1911 to Seecharran and Sukrie at the Leonora Cottage Hospital.
According to one of her daughters, Etwaria spent her childhood in Leonora and was a pupil of Hague Roman Catholic School, and since young ladies at that time were not given the opportunity to attain a complete education, she started working on the Leonora Estate at the tender age of eleven.
She was just 15 when her parents got her married to Puran Persaud on April 24, 1926.
This union produced her first child at age 20 when she quit her job on the estate in order to manage the household.
Over the years the Centenarian raised six children and was involved in subsistence agriculture; rearing cows and planting domestic crops to assist in maintaining her family.
Family members related that when she was younger she was hard working and maintains that she is today a good-spirited individual who enjoys poetry and listening to filmy Indian songs “bhajans”.
This vibrant personality is also the grandmother of 24, the great grandmother of 31 and the great great grandmother of 10.
Being the eldest of the family, she is able-bodied and can still move around in her home on her own, however, she is unable to engage in energy draining activities.
She now lives with her daughter after her husband had passed away 14 years ago.
The centenarian’s daughter, who related her life story described that “Maa” was a peaceful and loving woman and that she felt happy her mother is able to be with them until now.
When asked what she attributes to her longevity, the very spritely centenarian replied: “I never quarrelled or fight anybody and I feel happy and glad that I have all my family around me.”
During the time of the visit the family was not only celebrating the milestone achieved by the matriarch but they were preparing to usher in the beginning of a new generation as one of Etwaria’s  great grandsons was getting married, a sign that the lineage would continue.