South Asian arts group shines light on queer, trans and neurodiverse stories

When Visal Anandakumar moved from New Jersey to Minnesota in the summer of 2022, the 24-year-old South India native experienced a sense of cultural dislocation.

“I was really missing the heavy influence of South Asian folks that I had always been around in New Jersey,” he said.

Searching for a community that matched his heritage and creative passions, he quickly found an anchor at the South Asian Arts and Theater House (SAATH) during last year’s production of “AKS — Acceptance, Kindness and Support.”

The show, which highlighted the challenges and joys of the South Asian queer and trans community, became a turning point for him.

“I went from having no one in the state that I identified with creatively and culturally to meeting 80 people in one day,” he said.

Anandakumar was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during college at Rutgers Business School in New Jersey. He felt misunderstood and isolated in traditional academic settings.

“From K through 12 and the first two years of college, I just felt like I was either the smartest person in the room or that I was somehow broken or just constantly missing what was going on,” he said.

Andakumar sought a diagnosis and treatment, and with the right support, he went from nearly failing out of college to graduating cum laude. Now, as a part of the Twin Cities arts community, he felt inspired to bring attention to the experiences of neurodivergent individuals.

After last year’s production, he messaged SAATH co-founder Divya Maiya .

“I was like, ‘It would be super cool to tell a story of neurodiversity in the context of the South Asian community.’ I just felt like SAATH was one of those places where I felt like my way of thinking was embraced and accommodated for effortlessly.”

SAATH, which means togetherness in Hindi, has spent the last decade building community for artists and raising awareness of social justice issues within the South Asian diaspora. Founded in 2012 by Maiya, Jinal Vakil and Rashi Mangalick as Bollywood Dance Scene, the nonprofit was established to address the lack of South Asian visibility in the Twin Cities art scene.

“When I moved to Minnesota as an immigrant, I didn’t have a lot of friends or community here,” said Maiya, who is originally from Bangalore, India.

Dance became her bridge to building community and contributing to this new place.

The founders began with weekly dance classes at Tapestry Folkdance Center in Minneapolis, and soon decided that there needed to be a dedicated space for South Asian folk arts. The organization produced its first large-scale show, “Hi! Hello! Namaste?” at the Minnesota Fringe Festival in 2014.

Over the years, their productions have tackled a range of issues from the experiences of immigrants on work visas in “Home Sweet Ghar” to the exploration of a Black and Indian relationship in “Desi Heart Crust.”

After “AKS,” Maiya received several pitches for a show that would raise awareness about neurodiversity, including one from Anandakumar, who had previously worked on sound and lighting for “AKS” and would serve as the technical director for this new project.

Anandakumar said he originally wanted to dance in the “AKS” show, but quickly switched to the production side.

“I have been a production guy since freshman year of college, so it’s a huge passion of mine,” he said. “This year, it’s been super cool to be involved in the show so early on.”

The development of the show began with a panel discussion involving neurodivergent individuals from the SAATH community, who shared their experiences and helped shape the production’s narrative. Participants included artist Nishanth Peters, who was diagnosed with autism at age 4, and actor Pamela Singh, whose daughter was recently diagnosed with autism.

“Neurodivergence is a little more sensitive and kind of brushed under the rug, especially in the South Asian community,” Maiya said. “We really wanted to bring that a little more front and center, so that it becomes easier for parents and children with neurodivergence who feel like they’re being isolated in the community, to talk about it openly and create a common space for everyone to play.”

The resulting production, “Karma – A Bollywood Circus,” staged earlier this month, blended Bollywood dance with circus acts in collaboration with Queer Circus MN . The show explored the everyday experiences of neurodivergent individuals. Its cast of more than 60 performers included queer artists and 30% who identified as neurodivergent, Maiya said.

“It’s been a great learning experience to build a community with neurodivergent people and create this really safe space for people on the spectrum to showcase their talent, which generally, artists of color don’t have a lot of opportunities for,” she said.

The show explored coping mechanisms such as masking — where neurodivergent individuals conceal their natural behaviors or suppress stimming (repetitive movements or sounds) to conform to social norms — and body doubling, a technique in which having another person present while working on a task aids in maintaining focus.

The performances featured stories such as a circus performer and their apprentice, Peters (playing the character Hari) navigating romantic relationships and job interviews, as well as a mother-son relationship that closely reflects the real-life experiences of lead actor Singh and her 5-year-old daughter, Arya.

Singh, who moved from Mumbai to Minnesota in 2016, recently joined SAATH after taking time off to care for Arya. When she auditioned for “Karma,” she was just beginning to navigate the complexities of her daughter’s diagnosis.

“When I walked in for the audition, I told them that I have a neurodivergent kid and she would be coming with me for rehearsals,” Singh said. “Especially in the South Asian community, I had expected that I would see a couple of people roll their eyes if my child had a meltdown.”

The environment at SAATH allowed her to continue pursuing her passion while balancing her responsibilities as a mother, Singh said.

In the dance act titled, “This is all because of your Karma!,”  Singh portrayed a mother receiving an autism diagnosis for her child. It was difficult because it was so close to her actual experience.

While some friends were supportive, others dismissed the need for therapy or specialized care.

“We had to walk away from a few friends because our social life was not the same as before and they couldn’t understand the time and commitment required for Arya,” she said.

The rehearsal process required her to confront emotions she has often had to suppress for the sake of her daughter.

“Arya’s a keen observer so if I get sad or cry, she notices the change in mood and very quickly, she’ll become frustrated or sad,” she said. “So, I try not to let that out as much in front of her but the rehearsals have been a little intense for me.”

Despite these challenges, she found comfort and strength at SAATH as she watched her daughter form her own connections with the cast, often mimicking the circus performers’ moves.

“Even when we had days where Arya was very disregulated, howling or screaming, I had not seen anyone roll their eyes even once at rehearsals,” she said. “The choreographers would pause and then continue once she calmed down.”

For Singh and many others in the South Asian community, the concept of karma often carries a weight of judgment and societal expectations. It’s a term that the South Asian community has historically used to rationalize the challenges or hardships as the result of one’s actions in a past life or even in the present. In the show, the idea of karma becomes a focal point, as Singh’s character and others grapple with the judgment that can accompany a neurodivergent diagnosis.

“Society kind of blames the parents, saying, ‘This diagnosis is your karma,’ but there are also a lot of parents who blame themselves, that, ‘Maybe I did something bad in the past and that’s why my kid is suffering,’” she said. “If people can try and overcome that hurdle or have more conversations, and be a little more accommodating to neurodivergent people, then navigating these experiences would be so much easier.”

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