Chicago’s Mandala Makers Festival is celebrating South Asian arts this month

Pranita Nayar wanted to give young South Asians in Chicago a platform to express themselves and their culture through art and music. So, in 2014, she created Mandala South Asian Performing Arts, and five years later, the organization kicked off the first Mandala Makers Festival, a celebration of that art and culture happening in June at locations across Chicago.Nayar, a decorated Indian classical dancer, and multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Chethan Anant sat down with The Rundown podcast host Erin Allen to talk about some of the upcoming events, including the unveiling of a Devon Community Mural on June 16 and a finale concert featuring violinist Ambi Subramaniam and the Mandala Music Circle in downtown Chicago on June 27. Nayar and Anant also explain how their respective work is so intertwined and how the festival helps bring the South Asian community in Chicago closer together.