About the author
In brief
Monika is the author of two travel memoirs written using very picturesque language which goes beyond a simple travel story, putting a reader in a position to make a breakthrough towards new and unexperienced moments, travelling both through India and the Universe as her notes connect the trajectory of soul with thoughts and events.
an indologist and a travel writer was born in 1971. She graduated from The Faculty of Education in Sombor and holds a BA degree in Primary Teacher Education. She has been working as a librarian for more than twenty years. She is employed at the City Library of Novi Sad. Her work as an editor of the cultural programs and the organization of promotions at the Novi Sad library has been widely recognized.
She is very enthusiastic about Indian culture, and everything originating from the Indian soil. She has been passionately researching all related to India; first and foremost the religion, architecture, philosophy and music since childhood. She has visited India 14 times so far. Since recently, she has aimed her adventuristic spirit towards the travels exclusively to India so she could explore the new areas she hasn’t visited yet. She is a solo traveler, and she shares her experiences and impressions with the Serbian audience through the public appearances (TV and radio shows) and lectures considering this call a part of her life mission: bringing the Indian culture and spirituality closer to the Serbian audience.
She has held numerous lectures and Indian cultural evenings in many Serbian towns where she has presented this remote and exotic country, which in many segments carries the prefix multi, to the Serbian audience followed by slides and photographs from the personal collection. The topics of her travel lectures are the following: “In the Brahma’s City — a Guide through Pushkar”, “The Religions of the World — Hinduism”, “Life in Indian Ashrams”, “A Journey to Rajasthan”, “The Descend of the River Ganges”, “A Guide through India”, “The Ancient Indian Temples and their Building”, “A Guide through Pilgrimage”…
She has organized numerous lectures at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, and she is one of the initiators of the Diwali celebration in Novi Sad. She has spoken about Indian poetry through centuries several times. Besides, she has organized The Evening of India dedicated to Hindi language at The City Library of Novi Sad. Thanks to Monika’s lectures, the population of Serbia got a chance to find out more about many places of cultural and religious significance in India, and to hear about the way people in India live, as well as about the local customs and tradition. She selflessly shares her unconditional love for India, and the experiences she has been accumulating for more than a decade with the residents of Serbia.
She is also a photography enthusiast. She has had several solo exhibitions in Novi Sad, Belgrade, Sombor, Subotica and Srbobran. In March 2017, she has dragged attention with the exhibition and performance named The Doors of India held in the cafe–gallery Frida in Novi Sad, inspired by the doors and gates she has photographed in India, as well as with the philosophy of reincarnation.
Extracts from her travel diaries made during travels around India have been published in the youth magazine “Pokret”, published in Sombor, as well as the library magazine “Mozaik”. Her articles have been published in the daily newspapers (Danas, Dnevnik, Novosadski reporter…).
The notes from her sixth voyage to India have got their form in the travelogue named I Will Survive: the Adventures from a Pilgrimage in India where she has introduced the unusual world of the Indian belifs to the readers. This book is her first work of literature, through which she has become known to the Serbian audience, and acquired numerous readers interested in the culture of India. During 2019, she has held more than twenty promotions of her book on India as well as the Evenings of Indian culture.
Apart from writing and photography, Monika has another hobby — glass and ceramic painting. For the World Day of Poetry, Monika has prepared an exhibition of decorative bottles at the Novi Sad City Library, decorated with verses of Indian poets in Hindi. Within the family estate she also has her atelier where she has been actively creating for more than a decade.
She published her second travel book, A Journey to Rajasthan in July, 2021. The book is saturated with strong emotions, sumptuous descriptions of palaces, cities and landscapes, and documented by historical data on events from the cultural heritage of the Indian state of Rajasthan. The book is based on a two-month journey through the cities of Rajasthan: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mandawa, Udaipur, Chittor, Ajmer, Osyian… As on expression of her uncorditional love for India, she is dedicating this book to India and its people.
She lives and works in Novi Sad. She is married with a son, Nikola.