Suddenly I could hear a violin

Prague, Czech RepublicMarch 21, 1996
Hana SyslovaRomany Studies ProgramCharles UniversityPrague
In the Stories Exchange Project we had meetings every moth in Ina’s place. And it was beautiful: everyone was telling his story, or what he heard, or what happened. And sometimes we were discussing how we perceived things as Roms or whites.
I tried to remember how I used to see Roms in the past. I saw them in a very romantic way.
I used to go to see a schoolmate of mine in a different part of my neighborhood. And whenever I walked to her, I had to pass a Romany, a Gypsy house: we used to call it a Gypsy house.
It was a big house and it used to be full of Roms. And I remember that day, it was summer. It was a beautiful, sunny day and while I was passing the house suddenly I could hear a violin: for the first time in my life I heard the Gypsy violin. And I remember I stopped, I couldn’t move because I was so touched by their music. I was thinking that if someone plays the violin like that, he can’t be stupid.