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“Every week, a person who used to live in Kitty would come back to see the market. Up to recently, a woman come and said she ain’t been here in 25 years and she come to see the market. She said she can’t believe what she see…eople does come back but they don’t like what they see; it’s not a pretty sight.”By Desilon DanielsThe Kitty Market can be found at the corner of Barr and Alexander Streets and extends along Shell Road.Filled with bright colours, pleasing aromas and infinite possibilities, markets are Georgetown’s oldest attractions.Decades ago, the Georgetown markets would draw the admiration of anyone who saw them. The city’s oldest markets date back more than a century when Guyana was still British Guiana. Within the city limits there are five markets, all named after the wards in which they can be found – the Stabroek Market, Bourda Market, Kitty Market, the Albouystown Market (or the La Penitence Market), and the East Ruimveldt Market.Indeed, Guyana’s markets are filled with rich history. However, while there is rich documented history on the ever-popular Stabroek Market and the less popular, but also well-known, Bourda Market, the histories of the smaller markets are sketchy at best.The Kitty Market, in particular, is one somewhat shrouded in mystery.Thanks to modern technology, information is constantly at our fingerprints. However, technology is useless in finding a comprehensive history of the Kitty Market. More traditional means also reap little fruit; checks at the National Library will have you rummaging through old newspapers for just a few mentions of the Kitty Market; checks at City Council, which took over the market in 1970, would also leave you empty-handed. The National Archive was similarly devoid of information.However, that does not mean the Kitty Market is lost from memory. Indeed, the market’s past can better be found in the memories of old timers than in the pages of a history book.The Kitty Market was established in 1882, two years after the Bourda Market came into being. Kitty Market began at the railway line near the abattoir. There, vendors plied their goods from sunrise until sunset. Over time, the initial site extended until 1970 when it was taken over by the City Council. Like the Bourda Market, Kitty Market is timber-framed. It was meant to serve Georgetown’s Atlantic Coast neighbourhoods in the city’s east end. That end also contained Campbellville, Bel Air and Prashad Nagar.Physically, the Kitty Market was a beautiful structure. Like other markets at the time, Kitty Market had a clock. Its clock was one of the two electric public clocks to be found in Georgetown. This clock was centrally located above the market’s offices. To date, the manufacture date of the clock is not known but it is known that the clock was made by the English firm, Gillett and Johnston.Meanwhile, though it was smaller and less popular than the Stabroek and Bourda Markets, Kitty Market nonetheless thrived.Those who witnessed Kitty Market in its glory days recall that, like its predecessors, Kitty Market was always in abundance of goods and services. It did not matter what your needs were; from shoe repairs,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, to clothing, to furniture – Kitty Market had it all. Each day, throngs would flock to the market, drawn to the seemingly endless options offered by the market.But the market went beyond simply providing goods and services. For many, it was the opportunity to converse with others and to make lifelong friends. At a time when televisions did not exist, the market provided all the entertainment one could need. Even later when televisions made an appearance, the market had the edge because it provided human interactions,Cheap NFL Jerseys Store, something that was more appreciated decades ago.The market also presented a forum for the average citizen to discuss what was happening in the country, whether it was in the realm of politics or sports. Even when the conversations sometimes became too heated, you would nonetheless see the arguers back at the market again together soon afterwards, ready for another discussion.These days, things are much different at the Kitty Market. What was once a bustling commercial area now resembles a ghost town – save for the homeless persons, of course; what was once a source of pride is a common eyesore.The change is particularly difficult for vendors who depend on their earnings from the market to sustain their families.When Kaieteur News recently visited the Kitty Market, only a handful of vendors were around. Inside, three vendors sat, peering out for customers. A few others tried their hands at selling fruits and vegetables outside.Amongst the few vendors around was Chandrashekar Persaud, who has been working in the Kitty Market for about 30 years. He explained that for him, vending was in his blood; he had taken over the business from his parents about a decade ago.He sells a variety of items, including clothing and cosmetics.For him, a reversion to the market’s golden days would be much welcomed.“You see now; look at this,” he said, gesturing around him at the empty market, “time like this here suh we woulda had people in here.”He lamented that business had “dropped plenty” for a number of reasons.He explained that years ago the market had housed the Kitty Health Clinic upstairs. The clinic and the market had somewhat of a symbiotic relationship. He explained that each day persons would flock to the clinic. These persons, he said, would spend hours there waiting and would often venture downstairs to the market to pass the time and also to do some shopping.“Now it [the clinic] deh til at the next corner. Now, if it deh at the next corner, when people come out of there they nah gon’ decide to come in the market. They just going to decide to head home,” he said. “When they went here is another story; time like this they woulda come in.”He also noted that the Kitty Post Office had previously been located nearby and pensioners who would have received their monies from there would head over to the Kitty Market. However, he indicated that the post office is under renovations until “we ain’t know when”.Reminiscing on the “good ole days”, Persaud said the market always had patrons, no matter the day. He indicated that “all down Shell Road had stalls” and, while competition was fierce, each vendor was able to make a decent living.“Back then, half day time you done mek a money that you can survive on; you would done make your profit and make your money to buy your stocks back. Now that’s gone.”He related that the market had seen a variety of customers, from parents doing the shopping for the house to children buying sweeties.Now, Saturday and Sunday are the days when Kitty Market vendors see the most action.“Saturday is the best time to come here to vend. The whole garage does full and at the side and in front more people gonna be here,” he said. “Generally, Saturday and the weekends are the shopping days but before every day was a busy day.”“Is a chance you taking”Chandrashekar Persaud, vendor in the Kitty Market, in front of his stall.Besides the move of the post office and the clinic, Persaud said that the physical appearance of the market has also not helped the situation.“The outlook of this market, nobody ain’t want come in here and shop. That [the appearance] hold back everything,” Persaud said.According to Persaud, the Kitty Market is not only a hazard to the vendors but a hazard to anyone who comes near it. He recalled one occasion when a customer drove up beside an outside stall to make a purchase. However, before the purchase was completed, a window fell out from above, smashing into the car.“The man seh it ain’t make no sense going to the Council for anything so he just repair the thing himself. So, when you coming here is a chance you taking,” Persaud said. “Phagwah day, another piece fall out and the wood land on the road; it coulda knock anybody,” he added.So dangerous is the Kitty Market that the Guyana Fire Service previously deemed it a fire hazard. The market has also been condemned.However, despite the hazard the market poses, Persaud said that he will stay. After all, he said, his options are limited. He also has another job to supplement the income made from vending.“I don’t have a choice,” Persaud said, before adding, “I have two kids so I don’t have a choice.”He continued, “The outlook of the entire market is what is holding it back; nobody ain’t wan’ come here now.”He said the situation is worsened during the rainy season.“Is lucky is dry season now because if the rain fall nobody can’t open. If the rain fall, everybody does got to lock up because is not like a roof deh anymore; all over leaking. We need a new outlook for this market completely. If this place rebuilt or they do something with the roof, we’d see some real changes.”He further said the fact that officials could simply remove them at any time is a constant concern to all of the vendors.“If they just come in here to move us, we ain’t know what we gon’ do,” Persaud admitted.Security concerns“There is no security; there is no constable during the day or in the night,Nike Jerseys Wholesale Store,” Persaud said.Another elderly vendor, commonly known as “Aunty Mary”, chimed into the conversation. She had lost goods to thieves before.“This same year they break in my shop. They ain’t even leff a thing for me; not even a pair of panties,” she said with a slight shake of her head.“Imagine the door lock back safely and nobody around here see a thing,” Persaud added. “All them junkies that does be sleeping on the corner ain’t see nothing.”He indicated that things were different when the market was run by the municipality and not by the City Council. Since the shift in power, Kitty Market has lost its grandeur to neglect.He said that the market has many rotten parts, making entry into it easy, even when it is presumably secured. The proximity of the Kitty Police Station offers no comfort to the vendors, Persaud added. He recalled an incident when a thief was spotted but, when help was sought from the police station, there was no police officer on duty.“The man just walked his way up Shell Road and gone with everything,” he said. “That was everything that woman had. Well, she closed down after that ’cause she had nothing left.”He indicated that security concerns coupled with the other factors have kept prospective vendors away from the market.Pointing to a nearby stall,Cheap NHL Jerseys China, Persaud said, “About four times that stall open and close down. People come in, they sell for a week and they can’t handle it.”He said too that the market is much more underdeveloped than other markets. While markets such as Stabroek Market and Bourda Market hold stalls that cater to modern needs such as cellphone repairs, he said no such thing is present in the Kitty Market.“That’s a major business that is kicking in Guyana right now but you ain’t seeing that in here,” he said.He indicated that persons interested in such ventures would have made their way to the Kitty Market but were told that no repairs could be done on the stalls.“They didn’t want anyone repair anything on the stall because remember,China NFL Jerseys Cheap, the building done condemn. Why spend money and go and repair when you might have to leave at any time?”Currently, he said, the number of vendors is far below what the market can house. Persaud showed this newspaper a register of vendors who would have occupied the market some years ago. While the list contained nearly 50 vendors, less than a dozen are now fixtures in the market.Nonetheless, he said that despite the slowdown in business, he stays for his loyal customers.“I got a lot of customers who come here looking forward to me in here,” he said. “The people in here now are regular people and people know we. So, customers does come looking for us. Some customers come because their parents used to come to the market before and know the older vendors.”However, despite the loyal customers, Persaud said that business even within the last two years has not been what it was before.Meanwhile, Persaud further said that he is more than prepared to handle the consequences linked to repairing the market. Even if the vendors are forced to relocate during renovations, the relocation would be worth it, he said.“It is a possibility that we have to move but I am prepared for that because I want to see something better,” he insisted. “We know that it can’t do piece by piece cause that would take longer but we can relocate as close to Barr Street on the roadside. After all, the road is the council own.”Persaud has a simple wish: to see the Kitty Market returned to its former splendour. He said that he had once felt a sense of pride at being a vendor in the market. Now, that pride is gone. Instead, it has been replaced with the stress to supply basic needs for his family.Meanwhile,NFL Jerseys Online, as a vendor, Persaud said he meets many people, both new faces and old ones. He said he also meets many persons who would have been away for years and would not have known what the Kitty Market had become.“Every week, a person who used to live in Kitty would come back to see the market. Up to recently, a woman come and said she ain’t been here in 25 years and she come to see the market. She said she can’t believe what she see,” he related. He added, “People does come back but they don’t like what they see; it’s not a pretty sight.”