What do trains, cows, elephants, unexpected adventures and an early morning bath have in common? India, of course. And on June 9, 2026, we brought a little piece of this vast and diverse country to Zagreb at a travel talk held at the HDK Napredak Hall at Bogovićeva 1.

The occasion was the expansion of our sponsorship programme Godparent to India. We wanted to introduce our audience to the country where we are now also supporting children and young people. Sharing their experiences of travelling in India were Kolajna ljubavi President Luka Posilović, Board Member Petra Ivančić and Kolajna’s Project Manager Ivana Sutić, all volunteers with our organisation.

The first part of the talk was led by Luka and Petra, who spent a month in India shortly after the COVID restrictions were lifted. As they were among the few tourists traveling there at the time, their journey was filled with spontaneous conversations and encounters with local people. They travelled without a strict itinerary, used local transport, met people along the way and simply went wherever the journey took them. And there was certainly no shortage of stories, from unexpected encounters and new friendships to situations that were definitely not part of the original travel plan.

Ivana then took the audience south to Kerala, the Indian state she visited as a backpacker some fifteen years ago. Kerala is particularly close to us today, as some of the children supported through our Godparent programme live there.

Unlike northern India, where cows are an almost unavoidable part of everyday life, Kerala is greener and more lush, with palm trees, tropical vegetation and, of course, elephants. One of Ivana’s fondest memories from her trip was watching elephants bathe in a river in the morning while their handlers scrubbed them with coconuts.

For one afternoon, the participants of Kolajna’s travel talk travelled through India with our volunteers, through their personal stories, photographs, videos and memories. But a very different kind of journey is just beginning. Because now, in addition to having stories to tell about India, we also have sponsored children there.

Until the next journey with Kolajna ljubavi.