The girl behind Chanders
From Diane Lumsden-Brandis in Guyana
Amy Shivnaraine, the future wife of West Indies batsman, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul has a youthful look of innocence that makes it difficult to picture her amidst controversy. But this 16-year-old Guyanese born Hindu from Atlantic Gardens in Georgetown was the schoolgirl at the side of Chanderpaul on that fateful night at the sea walls in Guyana when the lefthander shot a policeman. Coincidentally, Amy’s last name is the same as Chanderpaul’s first name. Of the shooting incident, she said: “It was really scary. We were eating some Kentucky Fried Chicken on the sea wall, then out of nowhere appeared these men. The sea wall was somewhere that Chanderpaul used to love to go a lot at one time, but since the incident, he does not want to go back.” Chanderpaul, who was also at hand during the interview with the Daily Nation at Bourda Cricket Ground, refused to comment on the incident, stating: “I would love to talk and clear things up, but my lawyer has advised me not to talk to anyone until the case is settled.” The pair got engaged last October. “Our engagement was kind of different. Shivnaraine gave me the ring first, then asked me to marry him after he consulted my father and some of the elders of our Hindu community,” Amy said. They have not set a date yet, but according to Amy, they will wed within the next two years. “I am going to finish school before we get married,” said the fourth form secondary school student. And while her studies are now foremost on her mind, the only career she is looking forward to in the future is being Mrs. Chanderpaul. “I do not think that he would approve of me working,” she said. 
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