Ramdas, sometimes spelled Ram Dass in English materials, is a young Indian man who serves in the London household of Mr. Chrisford, a wealthy English gentleman living in the house next to Miss Minchin's boarding school. He has accompanied his employer from India to England and is described as handsome and athletic, with dark hair and dark eyes. A capable and observant attendant, he also keeps a small pet monkey named Surya, which has come with him from his homeland.

In personality, Ramdas is calm, discreet, loyal, and quietly compassionate. He is highly skilled in physical tasks and moves with the agility of someone accustomed to difficult conditions, a talent that becomes central to his role in the story. Although he remains mostly in the background, he shows genuine concern for the suffering of others and is willing to take personal risks to help them. His devotion to his employer is balanced by his own sense of right and wrong, and he carries out his duties without seeking recognition or praise.

Ramdas enters Sara Crewe's story as the hidden agent of what she experiences as a kind of miracle. After Mr. Chrisford becomes interested in the orphaned girl who has been reduced to working as a servant at the seminary, he orders that she be helped in secret. Ramdas is the one who puts this plan into action. Using the rooftops that link the two buildings, he crosses over to Sara's cold attic room at night, bringing warm meals, blankets, clothing, books, and other small comforts. These secret gifts appear to Sara and her friend Becky as if by magic, giving them warmth and renewed hope during their hardest days. His careful efforts continue for some time, and this mysterious generosity changes Sara's life long before she understands where it comes from. The plan also carries risk: when Miss Minchin eventually discovers the luxury in the attic, Sara is accused of theft and punished, which shows that Ramdas's kindness, however well intended, cannot fully shield her from the hostility of her situation.

Ramdas's most important relationship is with Mr. Chrisford, whose trusted servant he is. He understands his employer's search for the lost daughter of Ralph Crewe, a friend from India, and he faithfully supports that search. His connection to Sara grows through the monkey Surya, whose wandering into the attic creates the first direct link between the two households. When Sara later visits the house to return the monkey, she comes face to face with Mr. Chrisford, and the discovery is made that she is the girl he has been searching for. In this way, Ramdas plays an important part in the story's turning point: his daring nightly errands, his reports to his employer, and his gentle treatment of Sara all help bring about the recognition that restores her identity and her fortune.

Ramdas does not undergo a dramatic personal transformation over the course of the series. His significance is instead shown through his actions and through the bond that forms between the neighboring households. His notable abilities include extraordinary agility, climbing and balancing skills, the ability to move unseen at night, and the practical cleverness needed to arrange such elaborate secret gifts. Above all, he represents loyalty and unobtrusive kindness, and his willingness to move through the darkness between two very different worlds makes him a quiet but essential figure in Sara's story.