Members of the Roma community are said to be the descendants of nomadic Indian groups like the Banjaras and share traditions similar to ours. Shrabasti Mallik learns from them how they have preserved bits and pieces of the Indian heritage
We have all jived to the rock and roll music of Elvis Presley, admired the works of Pablo Picasso, laughed at the antics of Charlie Chaplin and enjoyed the movies of Sir Michael Caine, but not many of us would know that these global icons belong to the Roma community.
If history is to be believed, members of Roma community are said to be descendants of nomadic groups in India like the Banjara, Gujjar, Sansi and many more from North West India. Their link to India is unmistakable. When Greek scholar, Paspati heard the Roma call the Cross Trushul in Constantinople, he realised that it refers to Trishul or the Trident of Shiva. And it does not end there. The speech of Roma is strewn with Indian dialects. For example, their yag translates to aag in Hindi and rashai to rishi. In fact, it is an early phase of the Hindi language which has been carefully preserved by them. “Their basic vocabulary is the same as that of Hindi,” said professor lokesh Chandra and pointed out their numericals yek (ek or one), dui (do or two), trin (teen or three), panch (panch or five) and desh (dus or ten). “They are making all efforts to preserve their linguistic culture in a responsive dynamism to new challenges. The English word pal meaning friend is the Roma phal meaning brother or friend, which is derived from the Sanskrit word bhrata,” he added, addressing the ICCR’s International Roma Conference and Cultural Festival.
Even in the way they celebrate festivals and the way they pray, speaks a lot about their association with India. For example, a Roma bride would have a mehendi ceremony before her marriage. We came to know that the Roma congregate at the church of St. Maries-de-la-mer in the south of France from May 23 to 25 to offer prayers to their patron Goddess St. Sarah, the Black or Goddess Kali. On the last day, she is carried by devotees on their shoulders and immersed in the Mediterranean Sea. This tradition in particular resonates with our own concept of visarjan.
“The belief that Romani people once upon a time belonged to the northern India, and continued to show similarities in their customs and manners with the cultural heritage of India, offers scope for a very interesting study in human development and migration of people from one part of the world to another. The study should be particularly fascinating when one considers that these migrations took place in far-off days across the globe,” said C Rajasekhar, director general ICCR.
A 20 million strong Roma community is spread across more than 30 countries, covering West Asia, Europe, America and Australia. There is compelling evidence that their westward migration from India happened from fifth century onwards. Some scholars state that the first migration followed the invasion by Alexander the Great, who carried iron smiths in large number who were skilled in making weapons. Many Roma scholars, anthropologists and historians who have been searching and researching their origins approved their roots in India.
After leaving northern parts of India, most Romani went to Europe. In some Eastern European countries such as Romania and Bulgaria they form up to 12 per cent of the total population.
Jovan Damjanovic, president of World Roma Organisation, said that he does not feel like an outsider when he is in India. “I feel happy when I am here because there is a sense of familiarity that I find and the way of life. Even the dialect of our words are the same,” he said explaining the similarity in the words describing the ears, eyes and nose. “This clearly shows that the language is related and also that we come from this land. It would be nice to be accepted,” he added.
Romani are born artists and their folk songs are realistic, naïve and repetitive. When they are weaved into a story, a ballad is formed around it. They love music and the rhythms that resonate one’s heart. A Roma woman claims that she does not need training because she is born with the talent and some are excellent dancers.
The poetry that comes from the community is full of joys of life, love for India, romance, the agony and anger of being hunted. Roma believe in magic and symbols are a part of their beliefs. A circle with a wavy line alongside the door of a house means that someone has died there and the mark of TT symbolises a house of policeman or an official. Roma adopted religions of the countries of their adoption. But some of them still believe in the magical power of sun, moon, Shivlinga and Kali.
People from the community are there in every continent of the world are still trying to find their roots in the land we call home.