Dear Editor,
Not much is known about Maida Estate, Corentyne, Guyana. An article in the Guyana Chronicle titled, The Little Village of Maida is Taking big steps, January 7, 2024 was void of any history of this coconut plantation which was owned by our great uncles, the Sankar brothers going back to the 1930s.
Early people who moved to Maida were coconut pickers who came to work for the Sankars in the coconut industry. The estate attracted many Muslims since the owners were Muslims.
The Sankars were pushed to open the Estate for settlement when Cheddi came to office. With improvement in drainage and irrigation, rice farming expanded and it is the main economic activity of the village today.
My parents, Esar Chickerie and Zabieda Khan were managers of Maida when they leased the estate owned by the brothers, Amin and Ahmad Sankar in 1957. Our great Grandmother, Batulan Sankar was the sister of the owners. She also lived at Maida for some time of her life with her daughter Bibi Haniffa. Aunt Haniffa and her husband managed the estate for some time before 1955.
Haniffa Khala spoke Standard English, and could also carry on conversations in Dutch and Hindustani. She was a stern lady of class and gentry. For a period, her home accommodated Madrasah where her husband, Uncle Isahaq Awad Hussein Al Hazari of Suriname and her son in law, Mr. Zaman taught Quran and Namaz according to Aunts Ayesha Rojan and Babs Rajab (Sattaur) who attended.
The Sankars originally are from 78 Village Corentyne. They started in humble means as dry goods stores, sawmill mills, cinemas, bus transport then expanded to Suriname where they owned Waterloo Sugar Estate and which employed over 500 workers. Affiance in Essequibo, Park, and Hope they also owned in Guyana. Besides the dry goods stores in Georgetown, they also owned several car dealerships. Burnham confiscated Hope from Joree Mamee (Mrs. Zohorah Sankar, nee Chan) and forced her to accept a fraction of the worth of the property.
Sankar was the son of Ramessar, a Brahim Goldsmith with linkage to Gujrat State, and Kadam, a Muslim from India also. Kadam was one of the founders of the 1863 Number 78 Masjid. Sankar and his wife Sakina had nine children. The Sankar brothers, Amin and Ahmad were their sons.
Prior to my parents managing Maida were my Great Aunt Haniffa and her Husband , Uncle Ishaq Hussein. Also early families who managed the estate were uncle Mack (Mohammed Ashraf Dookie). Some of his children lived at Maida like Uncle Feroze and his sister Hamida Khatoon.
When my father leased Maida he brought many people there and afforded them the opportunity to own house lots and rice land. Mr Amin Sankar gave my father two sections at Maida for rice farming, and that was over 100 acres. The Kissoons at Bush Lot Village received one entire section from Mr. Amin Sankar also, especially that Uncle Alston was married to Ms. Lyla Sankar, daughter of Uncle Amin. Many of my father’s friends from Bush Lot came to Maida to grow rice.
My father broke the lease he signed in Georgetown with the Sankars since the estate made no profit. He then focused more on his rice farming. After my parents quit running the estate, Mr Mohammed Mobin of Bush Lot Village then rented the estate and held it until the 1970s.
The Dalgety Graveyard and the Big House
The Sankar Brothers purchased Maida Estate from the Dalgety family who also had owned Waterloo, Suriname. The Sankars bought both plantations in the 1930s. Maida was owned by Dalgety ancestors in the 1880s.
A younger Dalgety wrote, “My other grandfather owned Plantation Maida, Berbice, he was into cattle and was buried on his land.”
The Maida Big House and its surrounding space stretched from the Maida Ball Field to the Trench opposite where Mr. Kesho Ramlall’s property now stands. This was the said house and property that Aunt Haniffa and her daughter, Aunt Zaiboon (Baba) lived in, and which Mr. Moneer Khan sold. The original plantation house was not a hospital like some thought. It was a grand mansion in early times. The Dalgety family graveyard was in between Mr. Esar Chickerie’s home and what is now Mr. Dipnarine Ramlall’s home. It was all destroyed by Mr. Moneer Khan when he leveled it and sold it off to Mr. Mikey of Kildonan.
Attempt to take over Maida
Mr Moneer surprised us all when he came to Maida claiming that he owned the estate. Evidently, Uncle Moneer’s wife was related to Mrs. Rabbia (Macdoom) Sankar. When the Sankar brothers split holdings, Maida Estate was passed on to Uncle Dino (Ahmad Sankar). Thus, no one knows of any deal Rabbia Sankar made with Mr. Moneer Khan. His ownership of the estate was challenged in court several times and he lost.
The family was shocked when the property was sold and they were more or less evicted. Aunt Baba went to Georgetown and spoke to uncle Dino who was willing to put a stop to the sale. Aunt Baba was too soft and gentle. They did not contest the sale like my father suggested they should. The home had belonged to her mother, our Aunt Haniffa who was the sister of my grandfather Esau Khan.
My father, Esar Chickerie was able to restore Maida Plantation back to the people after several sinister attempts to take it over by several characters. Dad was offered large sums of cash to go to America, and keep his land for his silence.
My parents spoke with excitement about prosperous rice farming during Dr. Cheddi Jagan’s time. He opened Black Bush Polder and improved drainage and irrigation all the way to Burma where we still own rice land. They spoke of how Cheddi opened business opportunities overseas for Guyanese entrepreneurs like the Sankars brothers who left Corentyne for Georgetown to expand in business.
Yours faithfully,
Ray Chickrie
