Ľudovit Petík

My grandfather from my mother's side was the best cimbalo player in the region. He went to school for 12 years and he spoke hungarian as well. I don't know where he came from but they were a musical family. His younger brother was a violin player and he was a cimbalo player. One hungarian woman got married to some noble man in Lipany. She only spoke hungarian. Before she had played cimbalo in Hungary as well and she was looking for a cimbalo teacher. She hired my grandfather. Thus Jozef Dužda who spoke hungarian bcause he taught in Sabinog an his brother as well. My grandfather's cimbalo was broken and when the baroness came to him, because sometimes she had to come to his place and when she saw the broken cimbalo she took care of it. She talked to her parents and explained them that my grandfather was her teacher and that she would neet a new cymbalo for herself. They brought two cymbalos – one for her and one for my grandfather.

When I was in the boarding school I met another Roma from Greece. He lived with us. They sent him for the mechanical training. By a coincidence we share a room. He didn't know I was Roma and I didn't know he was one either. Only once when we drank together he took his guitar and started to sing. He mixed some words in roma in it. Then he sang a song all in Roma. I asked him: 'Are u Roma?' He nodded. 'And you?' I said me too. He looked at be very surprised and me back at him.... He was schocked. Me, I wasn't.

During WWII they worked in the both places. My grandmother, my cousins who were 10 years old at that timehad to work in Branisko, carrying stones to build the road. The romas from Hanušovce, Bystré as well. The Romas from Sabinov, Chmiňany, Ražňany, Veľký Šariš were transported to work on the road in Branisko.