Rohan Chandan
“While I was a trailblazer and I made the sacrifices, in my university days, I could not afford to buy law books, so I had to live in the library— that was a great sacrifice.”
By Leon Suseran
Rohan Chandan knows what it is to make sacrifices. He did so when he had to leave his young wife and month-old daughter in order to educate himself in a strange country, and later returned to these shores to reap the benefits of his sweat and labour. He had to live on what he called a “limited, shoe-string budget” while studying. As similar stories often go…it all turned out well.
Rohan was born to cane-harvester, Willie, and housewife, Phulmattie Chandan, at Vryheid, West Canje, Berbice. Growing up in the rural community back then, he was involved in pretty much every activity that country-boys of his age were, such as cutting cane, cultivating rice and tending to the cows as well as kitchen gardens.
“We caught fish too…Life was very simple but very satisfying also.” He attended Lochaber Primary School after which he wrote the College of Preceptors (CP) Exams and was awarded a place at Berbice High in 1965 in the Lower Fifth Form. He graduated in 1967 and started to work as a Pupil Teacher at the St. Thomas Primary School (now Lochaber Primary). In 1969, he gained employment in the Public Service and worked as a clerk at the Magistrate department at both Georgetown and N/A Deeds Registry “and there I got this idea about studying law.”
Rohan Chandan dealt a lot with checking Deeds, documents, transports as well as indexing those records. It was during this time that he developed a yearning and desire for the law field.
“I was checking lawyers’ work and I saw so many errors in their work then, especially with the preparation of Transports…and I said to myself, ‘Why can I not be somebody like these [people] who are preparing these documents?’”
In 1979, he commenced studies at the University of Guyana and pursued Law. But before he entered the university, Chandan stated that he met his life-long partner, Vidyawattie, and described what happened thereon as “the tough part.”
“I had one child— my eldest child Geeta was born then, and that was one of the tough decisions: a family or my education/career. So it was very challenging, but I made the sacrifice for the family.” His children have all made themselves into reputable citizens. Geeta is a Magistrate practicing in the local justice system, while Priya is an Accountant; Vishal is a Medical Doctor and Smita, a Pharmacist.
“While I was a trailblazer and I made the sacrifices, in my university days, I could not afford to buy law books, so I had to live in the library— that was a great sacrifice.”
Then in order to ‘stretch the dollar’ and make ends meet Chandan left his wife and baby daughter to pursue his studies.
“I was going for betterment and would be separated from my young family. But I knew my wife was from a good, noble, Hindu background and she is a very simple person.”
Since the law Programme was linked to that of the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Trinidad, he graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Laws Degree from UG and left Guyana to complete those studies at Hugh Wooding Law School in 1983, after which he graduated in 1985 with a Certificate in Legal Education.
A family portrait
He recalled the “trial and tribulation times” but he did manage to succeed. Upon his return to Guyana, he was admitted to the bar in 1985 and worked at the Deeds Registry at the High Court of Berbice. It was the first time that the registry had a lawyer in its employ. In 1986, he worked as a Legal Officer/Secretary at the then Guyana Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank for two years, after which he was offered a position as Legal Officer at the Guyana Sugar Corporation in 1987 until 1990. Having good potential in the legal system, Chandan assumed the Magistracy in 1990.
“I always wanted to get into the mainstream of law, but as a Magistrate, your mind is like a pendulum…It is a unique experience in that when you are listening to cases, you cannot come to a decision— but those were good days in Berbice.”
Magistrate Chandan’s humungous task was running all the courts in Berbice from 1992 onwards; eleven courts!
“Sometimes, I had to run three courts per day! But after awhile it leveled out. All the possible crimes came before me: murder, manslaughter, common law offences, narcotics— the whole gamut— traffic cases…and then we were few magistrates in the 1990s…those were terrible times, too, to work on the bench…Most times when you submitted for your traveling allowances, there were no funds to pay and we had to wait a long time.”
When asked if he was a “strict”, “no- nonsense” magistrate, Chandan stated that with the stroke of a pen, “a man’s liberty could have been taken away, but I was always cautious in doing my job and you had to be balanced.”
Chandan is also a Mediator, trained by the Carter Centre in 2003 “… then I continued in 2011 with the Jamaican Mediation Institute (JMI) and also did the Advanced Certificate in Mediation last year. Mediation, he stated, helps alleviate the build-up of cases. However, the legal practitioner believes that there is also opposition to mediation, whereby some lawyers believe that it would “take bread out of their pockets.”
With a plaque received at the Guyana Cricket Board Annual Awards 2009 for his contribution to cricket in Berbice as a Match Referee
He demitted the office of Magistrate in 1997 and left the bench as Senior Magistrate after which he went into private practice.
During 1993, having a deep love for the game of cricket and wanting to make a contribution to the field, he became an Administrator of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) and also functioned as a fully-qualified First Class Umpire. After umpiring, he also functioned as a Regional Cricket Match Referee and for his services he was awarded by the BCB as well as the Berbice Cricket Umpires Association. At its annual awards in 2009, the Guyana Cricket Board also awarded him for the dedication and commitment he showed as a match referee.
In September 2012, he received an award from the BCB for his services as a Cricket Administrator. Earlier this year, too, the Berbice Umpires’ Association presented him with a Certificate of Appreciation for his work. Chandan recalled that he stood as umpire in a lot of big matches in Berbice, “and the most troublesome matches were between Albion and Port Mourant…both teams had star players and you know, the contest was tremendous and sometimes you did not want to make errors…especially if it was a final being played.”
While being Attorney-at-Law, he was appointed Chairman of the Region 6 Rice Assessment Committee. He also lectured at the University of Guyana Berbice Campus (UGBC) from 2000-2007 and taught Commercial Law to Accounting and Marketing students.
“I enjoyed those years because there is an old saying that ‘a teacher who ceases to learn loses the power to teach’.”
Chandan and his family lost everything in a fire which destroyed their home at Albion, Corentyne in 2004.
“I don’t like to talk about this, but it is a part of my history. All my worldly possessions had gone, but I always believe that as long as you are talented, you will succeed and manage to pick up the pieces and come back again.”
Luckily, a few days before the fire, the Chandans had purchased a property in New Amsterdam. He had to start fresh.
“Mostly, the children were traumatized…but I am a strong believer in the Almighty God and I believe that when you do the right thing, God will show you a way out of your difficulties and I have instilled religious principles in my children.”
His father, he stated, stressed the importance of education.
“He said that without an education, you would be like a dog among doctors, a misfit in society, and that is why I blazed the trail and balanced family life to get a tertiary education, and I am very proud that my children have followed in my footsteps.” He thanked his wife, “the great woman beside me”, who has been with him throughout all the tragedies, happiness and sacrifices.
“Life is a balancing act and sometimes we lose faith in life, but we have to keep focus and when tragedies meet you, you don’t throw up your hands in despair, your prayers will see you through.”
Chandan describes himself as an “omnivorous” reader who has read “thousands” of books in his lifetime “…and I also like to write.” One of his dreams, he stated, is to write a book about his life experiences, traveling and of course, law.
“I think that I have read so much and now it is time that I put something for posterity,” he stated.
His daughter being a young Magistrate in the judicial system, Chandan stated that “she is a chip off the block and is a good researcher.” “Theoretically, she may ask a few questions— I am always there, but she is the only one that has followed me. I thought my son would have followed me, but he has gone in a different direction.”
When asked what life has taught him, he said that it is “to be a simple and educated man”.
“You might mix with powerful people in society, but do not lose the common touch, because you might travel the whole world, but will have to come back to the same people who nurtured you.”
Chandan stated that his commitment and love for books as well as discipline brought him to where he is today.
“Keep focused; don’t worry with too much frills and ribbons; be punctual and be present….try and be a rounded person…sports is very important and don’t forget your God.”
He enjoys giving motivational talks to young people at Mandirs and Churches as well as counseling people. “Some people come on a Saturday morning…they might have a problem and I pass on a lot of the knowledge I gained from life.” He enjoys cricket as well and watching boxing on television.
Family, he stressed, is the bedrock of any civilization and strong families result in stronger communities. Being a lawyer, he stated that a lot of family disputes come before him, but he tries his utmost to resolve them before moving in the direction of the courts.
“I sometimes try to get the parties to reconcile, and there have been times where I filed the case but they reconcile before the matter comes up….and I feel good about it when people, whose homes are broken, are joined again. I feel that I have accomplished something.”
He lives by the philosophy: “Be simple. Be truthful. Be moral. Do the things the Lord would want you to do in life. Whatever you live by, be like a mirror, so when people look at you, you can be a good role model for society. In my book, family is the most important unit. We must always cherish family and family values at all times. There’s an old saying, ‘The family who prays together, stays together’, and I sincerely believe in unity among families.”
BY KAIETEUR NEWS