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ndia, which has more than 2,000 years of trade and cultural links with Southeast Asia, is planning to retrace the ancient route taken by Indian traders to Southeast Asia through a newly-inducted sail training ship, the INS Sudarshini.

“The Sudarshini will commence its sailing odyssey on Saturday in India’s port city of Kochi. It will sail to 13 ports, including Padang, Bali and Manado in Indonesia, and nine ASEAN member states,” Indian Embassy second secretary N. Ramakrishnan told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

In the presence of ambassadors from ASEAN member nations, Indian navy chief Adm. D.K. Joshi, and Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony, the ship will begin its 127-day journey in Kochi, India, on Saturday.

“The ship will connect young people from Indonesia and India, and connect them to the youth of ASEAN. The ship will follow the trade winds of yore and provide a 21st century interface through people-to-people connectivity,” Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Gurjit Singh said in a press release.

“The main purpose of the journey will be to build bridges across the oceans. In fact, this event is being organized to mark two decades of ASEAN-India relations,” Ramakrishnan added.

The Sudarshini will arrive in Padang, West Sumatra, on Oct. 12, and continue on to Bali and Manado. It will leave Indonesian waters on Nov. 13. The ship is expected to travel 12,217 nautical miles during its entire journey.

To coincide with the Sudarshini’s journey, India will be bringing a five-member Sattriya dance troupe that will perform in Bali, Lombok, Jakarta, Bandung, Surakarta and Purwakarta.

India has also prepared several business-related activities such as seminars and investment forums in various major Indonesian cities such as Jakarta, Bali and Manado to mark the occasion.

As part of events marking two decades of India-ASEAN relations, India will organize an ASEAN-India Car Rally in November. “It will be flagged off in Yogyakarta on Nov. 26. The participants will reach New Delhi on Dec. 20 after traveling 8,000 kilometers,” Ramakrishnan said.

India is also planning to invite 250 students from all 10 ASEAN member nations to New Delhi to witness the rally’s closing ceremony.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other leaders of ASEAN member nations will attend the Special ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in December in New Delhi.

Ever since the establishment of its “Look East Policy” in the early 1990s, India has increased it interaction with ASEAN member nations.

Indonesia is India’s biggest trading partner in Southeast Asia. In the first six months of this year, bilateral trade, based on Central Statistics Agency data, reached US$8.42 billion.

The nation’s trade with India is one of the most beneficial to Indonesia, as Indonesia exported $6.05 billion worth of goods to India and imported $2.37 billion in goods.