“pag ghunghroo bandh mira nachi re”
“tying anklets to her feet, in abandon mira dances”
― mira bai
Miranda Rachel (Mira) is an unconventional Indo-Guyanese writer, director, actor, performance artist, storyteller and healer who combines art and activism to increase meaningful representation and visibility for the Indo-Caribbean and Indentured Indian Diasporas.
Born and raised in Guyana, she is proud of her immigrant identity and roots and heritage from both the Caribbean and the South Asian continent.
An advocate for underrepresented voices not yet heard and the stories not yet told, she is passionate about the arts and their ability to create change in the world, and hopes to make her own contributions to uplift her community through her pursuits and interests. Her art is for her people, first and foremost, and all those with whom it resonates.
Mira made her stage debut in May 2017 in Yoni ki Raat – an annual showcase inspired by Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues which centers the stories and experiences of South Asian and Indo-Caribbean peoples – performing a 10-minute monologue she wrote and self-directed. In 2018, she starred in the leading role in the original stage production Jahajees Rising, written and directed by Taij Moteelall, alongside members of Jahajee Sisters. She appeared in the 2018 documentary film Double Diaspora: Indo-Caribbeans in New York, directed by filmmaker Lissa Deonarain, and has been a featured performer and co-producer of various Jahajee Sisters productions. Mira made her directorial debut in 2019, co-directing the 5th annual production of YKR (formerly Yoni ki Raat).
Her writing has been featured in The Huffington Post, Brown Girl Magazine, Women at Warp, and Avaaz Media.
In recognition of her cultural leadership within the Indo-Caribbean community, she was selected as a 2019 Honoree for Ignite Caribbean’s 30 Under 30 Changemakers Awards. She also received the 2021 The New York Foundation for the Arts City Corps Arts Grant Award.
A graduate of Columbia University’s School of Social Work, Mira is a licensed mental health therapist in NYC whose work addresses ancestral and intergenerational trauma healing for the indentured Indian diaspora.
Her interests include smashing glass ceilings, spending evenings at the theatre, reenacting choreography from Lady Gaga’s music videos, pursuing her circus career dreams as a flying trapeze artist, and making all kinds of magic happen.
Miranda Rachel 