Ľudovit Petík

My grand-grandfather lived in Sabinov. From what the old residents remember he was coach driver of the baroness Sabina. He had his band, they played in banquets. He was a good violinist. My grand-father was even better in playing the violin and finally my father was the best of them all. He was talented. My father visited Cemjat when he was 15 years old, a place where the Prešov posh inhabitants from upper class were meeting. Already back then they knew he was a really good violinis including other musicians from Prešov and Chmiňany.

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.