The 96-yr-old who blogs

Understand the meaning of the words of Randall on his 96th year.

"I am a learner. I believe that when one stops learning he ceases to live and that it is never too late to learn,"

These words are nice and encouraging me to do what I am hided in myself.


Randall Butisingh

At an age when people begin to lose interest in many aspects of the world around them, 96-year-old Randall Butisingh not only mastered the intricacies of the internet but also began his own blog, which describes him as one of the world's oldest bloggers and shows him as a man with a remarkable catholicity of interests.

The grandson of indentured workers who were taken to Guyana to work on sugar plantations, Butisingh has watched the world transform many times over in the past nine decades and has adjusted himself to the changes.


"I am a learner. I believe that when one stops learning he ceases to live and that it is never too late to learn," Butisingh said.

At the age of 80, he learnt Arabic so he could read the Quran. At 95, he began studying Spanish and he is doing it "poco a poco" (little by little). Butisingh has an agile mind and an eager interest in life and at present he is studying the Hindu religion and philosophy.

Butisingh's blog is versatile. Its subject categories vary from Buxton (his home town), economics, world politics, environment, history, philosophy, poetry, psychology, religion and an inspiring thought for the day.

In April, Butisingh posted a blog on his website that stressed the need to keep the internet an open arena and out of the hands of those who wished to place restrictions on this free medium. He responds to every comment or response to his popular blog.

Born in Buxton, Demerara, in what is now Guyana, Butisingh has never visited India since he does not like travelling, but he has followed Indian history and geography.


"The person I admire most is Mahatma Gandhi, the architect of India's freedom. Although I never saw him, I wept when he died as many did all over the world," he said.

He has three collections of poems to his credit - "Love's Light", "Wild Flowers" and "Love's Balm". His poems were written in the 1970s and he was inspired to pen them after reading about the life of the late blind and deaf humanitarian, Helen Keller.

Explaining his daily routine, Butisingh said: "At my age, I do not work strictly as per routine. I cannot read for very long although I have good eyesight. You may find me in the day resting for hours and at nights up until two or three reading or typing up my blog.