Durga across Indonesia, Murugan at Batu Caves, Loi Krathong in Thailand — India’s cultural fingerprint on Southeast Asia runs deep.

Author, artist, and Indologist Anita Bose discusses her book Festivals of Southeast Asia, tracing the living Indic heritage across Thailand, Indonesia, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. She walks through Songkran and the ploughing ceremony (Halokarshan in Sanskrit), the Mahishasura Mardini Durga sculptures scattered across Java and Jakarta’s national museum, and how a 19th-century Chinese opera company’s encounter with the Nine Emperor Gods in Phuket preserved Indic austerity traditions in a completely unexpected setting. Her key argument: India didn’t impose its culture on Southeast Asia — the region actively drew it in over millennia.

About the Speaker:

Anita Bose is an author, researcher, educator, and artist specializing in Indology, Indian Art, and cultural heritage. Pursuing her PhD at Silpakorn University, Thailand, she is affiliated with institutions like Chulalongkorn University and IGNCA Delhi. She has authored acclaimed works on Southeast Asian and Indian history and serves as a language trainer in Asian Studies. A dedicated social worker, devoted followers of Swami Vivekananda, she supports underprivileged women and children in India and Thailand.
Her artistic works have been exhibited globally, her expertise in Indian traditional art form and contemporary art remarkably enriching of new artistic traditions and she has received honours like the Bengal Pride Global Award (2023) and Fox Story India’s Most Influential Women of 2023.
Her books include ‘ Ramayana Footprints in South-East Asian Culture and Heritage’, ‘ ‘Patachitra of Odisha’ and ‘Saptapadi and Other Stories’.
Balancing scholarship, creativity, and social impact, she continues to bridge cultures worldwide.