http://jang.com.pk/thenews/dec2010-weekly/nos-19-12-2010/foo.htm#2
It is not a pastime or a result of certain circumstances — it is a chosen path
By Moeed ur Rehman Abbasi
At the beginning of every winter, 40-year-old gypsy Noor Mohammad from Upper Kaghan Valley, using main Karakoram Highway starts his journey along with his family and cattle on foot. He leaves snowbound Musa Ka Musalla Peak (4,100m) on the outskirts of Punjab for warmer plains as he finds it difficult to live in these areas due to heavy snowfall in every winter.
Noor’s life revolves around his cattle — mainly sheep, goat and donkeys. His family and other people of his tribe, mainly Syeds and Gujjars, lead a nomadic life. With the makeshift dwellings, these gypsies’ scanty possessions and rustic dialect make them appear to have descended from the Stone Age.
These nomads travel the countryside carrying their belongings and pitching tents wherever they stop. It is a deliberate, chosen way of life.
Resting on a roadside vacant area and puffing a cigarette Noor says, "We stay in RYK till the end of winter and start our journey back by April.
“We have no permanent house nor do we have any other source of communication. We have never used any means of transport for travel. I don’t know why people look at us with surprise. We are happy and satisfied with our lifestyle. We never beg of our living, we have meals three times a day and we rarely sleep on an empty stomach,” he adds.
The gypsies, under the leadership of Noor, start pouring the various cities of Punjab including the outskirts of Rawalpindi/Islamabad. The gypsy families that inhabit the area continue to live life as they did years ago.
“We came to Islamabad from Balakot (Hazara division) and are headed down to RYK and Bhawalpur where we shall stay till the end of winter with some of our old contacts and relatives who work in the fields of some landlord,” says Bostan Ali leader of another family hailing from Babusar.
“Usually, we sell honey, homemade edible oil and goats or sheep to earn living. We will come back in April or May to our areas located in the mountains of upper Naran and Kaghan as winter must have passed by then,” he says.
Interestingly, these gypsy families which come from the hills of Kohistan and Mansehra districts, are quite different from the gypsies of Punjab and Sindh. Gypsies from Punjab and Sindh have primitive lifestyle. Their men usually spend their days sleeping and herd cattle by night. The women are often seen collecting twigs to burn or engaging in “entertainment” work even at the roadsides. People usually associate them with either music and dance or theft and laziness. As a result, they face prejudice. On the other hand, the gypsies from upper Hazara division don’t indulge in these activities.
Government and other social welfare organisations have attempted to help these gypsies to settle down, get education and conform to society’s norms, but ultimately failed because the gypsies themselves choose to continue with primitive traditions that have been passed down by their ancestors.
However, given proper facilities, they can be very useful for the country as they are not only the protector of old traditions but they also know a lot of medical treatments.
Re: The Gypsy way of Life
Technically speaking Noor Mohammad and people like him are not Gypsys they are ancient Nomads.
Gypsys is a term originally used to refer to the Hungarian nomadic peoples and thier spread across Europe… often also known as Romanies.
I spent my youth with traveling Nomads of the Naiman people in Northern Pakistan, in fact my own tribe is originally of Naiman allaince… and I long to be let loose again… trouble is I doubt I will ever get that chance.
I have a deep passion for Nomadic people across the world from the Native Americans to the “Sea Gypsies” of the Far East.
Sadly wherever such people are thier numbers are ever dwindling… a sad fact really becuase these very people are the sorts of people that we all descend from really.
Thing is to a complete outsider the passion and simplicity of such a way of life is not at all apealing… at least to begin with…
I remember in my childhood I could hear my voice echo back of the mountains and ride plains that stretched for miles as far as the eye could see… those sorts of experiences will live with me forever…
Re: The Gypsy way of Life
I have a deep passion for Nomadic people across the world from the Native Americans to the "Sea Gypsies" of the Far East. :
Ditto that. Not a gypsy/nomadic (Or the way I like to call is "Mountain people) myself but my grandparents lived their lives in the mountains and I have had the privilege to spend sometime among this sec. Their simplicity and way of living life is just incredible. How they are so looped in Nature and the repect they have for it. I just feel there is so much to learn from these people. The whole wave of sustainable living that's been doing the rounds in US/Europe: come to think of it ties right back to the nomadic way of living. Living using what resources you have in your surrounding and making the most out of it.
I wish I could travel among these people. (I guess easy said then done for some one who hasn't "roughed it out" for so long and traveling with these people can really take a toll for how much wonderful it may sound, it is quite difficult way fo live in this day and age).
True that the term Gypsy does originate from "Roma", the people themselves migrated from Asia to the current Europe now. There culture and heritage is rich, but I feel they have now been caught up in the mainstream lifestyle of these countries forcing them to earn a livelihood from not so great sources. (And not to mention the fact that they are being forced to return to their countries of origin which is a oxymoron considering they are Gypsies and that term in-itself would mean they don't belong to one place)
Re: The Gypsy way of Life
Re: The Gypsy way of Life
^ Kya baath hain Bhai… 
Re: The Gypsy way of Life
i'm still reading :)