I grew up in the area where there were a lot of Romanies and they were, and still are my best friends. So, kind of naturally, I started to learn their language. When I moved to Novi Sad, I was again in the area where the Romanies lived. Here I met a very young poet (born in the same year and same month as me), Trifun Dimic who was a Romany 

(unfortunately, he died in January 2002). The two of us were studying literature together. Thanks to him I systematically learned Romany language and culture. For a long time I was working seriously on that and helping Trifun with the first anthology of Romany oral ballads, and with the dictionary of Romany language. He was more interested in linguistics and the global culture of Romanies, a I was more interested in the oral tradition. And so, Trifun managed to translate the Bible into Romany language (this translation is considered official by both Orthodox and Catholic Church).

Meanwhile, I was into systematization of the Romany oral ballads and I published many articles and studies on this topic. For one of them I got the prestigious yearly award ‘Branko’s Award of Matica Srpska’ (1980). Here I present 10 Romany ballads and am giving an additional comment to each, to help you better understand them. By publishing these ballads on the web site, my wish is to help as many people as possible to get familiar with the magnificent Romany culture. My wish is for you to understand what great people they are. I also think that each one of us should contribute to their emancipation. If you want to host these ballads on your web site, please inform me about that. If your web site is in accordance with the Statement of Privacy of this site, I would be glad to approve them for publication.