15 June,2024 08:22 AM IST | Mumbai | Aastha Atray Banan
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Heartwarming, candid and real, Now and Zen is a newsletter that will make you think deeper about everyday feelings that you haven't been able to articulate. Journalist Nishita Jha dwells into what's inside, and puts it in context with what's happening outside. "I started the newsletter because as a journalist, graphic designer and illustrator I was only seeing jobs that tried to fit me into one box or the other. I was tired of waiting for an employer who would realise. Hey, this person can write and illustrate and knows how to tell a great story. I want to make graphic novels and so I decided to stop waiting and just tell a story every week the way that I want to," says the London-based writer.
She talks about heartbreak, rejections, imposter syndrome, grief and other emotions that humans feel every second with such sensitivity and insight that we can't help lose ourselves in her words. What adds to the uniqueness of it all are the illustrations Jha makes to drive her point home. "I wasn't sure if I would find an audience, but the response has been so incredible and encouraging. People write in every week saying how much they love the art, or how the writing really spoke to them. People feel encouraged to tell me about their own experiences which is the greatest gift for me as a storyteller. Encouraging people to tell their own stories! My newsletter is free but despite that, readers have also sent in tips for the amount of effort I put in, which feels very nice." If you subscribe to this newsletter, you are promised a dose of love, self-love, thoughtfulness and a quest for deeper understanding into the self. It's worth it.
nishswish.substack.com