The 3rd Asean-India Music Festival

As the Delhi chill picked up, and winter jackets rolled out, bands from 15 ASEAN countries took to a majestic stage set against the backdrop of the Purana Qila, a centuries’ old fort that stands in the heart of New Delhi.

The three-day ASEAN-India music festival, which was organized by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with SEHER from the 29th of November to the 1st of December 2024, showcased 15 bands, 10 from ASEAN member states and 5 from India. In it’s third edition, it attracted a crowd of thousands. The inspiration behind this free-for-all festival, was to create friendship and cultural understanding, born out of a common love for music. What’s more unifying than singing together, and dancing together to songs known and familiar, and also discovering new songs that you come to love and enjoy. This year saw artists such as Shaan, Jasleen Royal, and Western Ghats from India and Buc Tuong from Viet Nam, Television Off from Thailand and Kaia from Philippines among others. 

This coming together on one common platform, with music as a thread running through, joining artists and public in invisible bonds of friendship, created the most unique opportunity for connection. An opportunity to discover how one is more similar than dissimilar to the other. How one is more alike than unalike. How “they are like us”. And how, a kinship between countries. is not only possible, but perhaps inevitable? This is the power of soft diplomacy.


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