Tunjariko sas came about when the Nikolić family - Ruža, her husband Mišo and their two first-born children - were travelling by car and with their tent to trade with carpets. They were travelling in Germany with a group of Kelderara, a Romani group that specializes in the craft of coppersmithing. Ruža and Mišo were sitting in their tent in the dark, it was raining, and the lights of the caravans were shining all around them. Everyone else was more comfortable, they were the only ones with just a tent. They looked out into the darkness, Ruža had the baby in her arms, Mišo picked up his guitar and the melody of Tunjariko sas slowly emerged. The lyrics are based on the motif of rain. With tears in their eyes, they recorded the song for the first time on the spot.

In an interview with Christa Stippinger in 1993, the singer remembers this time:

“We travelled from town to town with the Kelderara in Germany with carpets. They all had caravans and we only had a tent. We always spent the night at the campsites. And once it rained and my daughter was still small. I was still breastfeeding her. My heart hurt so much because I saw that they could cook something warm in the caravan and it was dry. I thought to myself, we are actually the most miserable of them all.”

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