Welcome to …
A little context
I’ve been self-employed for almost 5 years now, and I guess I have done the ‘traditional’ path backwards - a recurring theme in my life. After leaving university I did a short stint in an office job before diving into the world of digital marketing, writing, and consulting; I caught the fashion/beauty industry in its early stages of attempting ‘diversity’ - wanting to do better but not knowing how.
In many ways, I was the first. I don’t say that in a big-headed way, but in a way that demonstrates how far behind the industry was at the time - for many, I was the first person they saw who represented even a tiny part of themselves. This informed much of the work I went on to do for brands, teaching them that South Asia is not a monolith, their views on ‘brown girls’ were often tokenistic, and trying to create more visibility for one of the biggest demographics in the UK (which also seemed to be the most invisible and ignored?). This work meant I often poured into others before myself because when you’re one of the only ones who look like you in these spaces, you tend to carry the weight of your community on your back.
That was, up until the beginning of 2023.
Over the last two years in particular, mostly because of therapy, journaling, and meditation, I have been on a slow journey back to myself. This newsletter serves as an extension of that, in that I want to come back to my immediate community. To say that the internet is loud isn’t new information to anyone, but I feel like the more I come back to myself the harder I find it to listen to the online noise (perhaps this is to do with getting older, but let’s park that one for a minute).
When you’re trying to find your purpose (big solar return vibes) they often say that you should look back at what you used to enjoy as a kid/teenager. I immediately thought of two things: journaling and my old blog. When I was 17 I had a little blog that was inspired by the sociology classes I was taking at college - I remember discussing topics such as social justice, race, class, and ethnicity shocked that my peers weren’t able to articulate issues that directly impacted so many of our lives.
In a world where it’s hard to even have a hobby without someone encouraging you to turn it into a ‘side hustle’ I’ve really tried hard this year to just enjoy hobbies. Pilates, learning Spanish, and now, coming back to writing. I think this is all part of me coming back to who I was/am, and I’m really excited to share this space with you.
Sukh (spelt ਸੁਖ in Punjabi) is a word that roughly translates to peace and happiness, a feeling I hope to translate through this newsletter - to give you a space to reflect, learn from my lessons, talk back to me and encourage you to take a midweek pause. I hope that sharing stories will help you to gain a little clarity on your world, as I have always been invested in giving young women the tools to articulate their own experiences better.
I'm so looking forward to sharing with you! That said … here are some things I've been loving lately.
Currently eating this Alphonso Mango Cheesecake from Pahli Hill. Alphonso mangoes are notoriously short in season, but to me, signal an official entry into spring. The second Avi announces this cheesecake is back on the menu I RUN to Fitzrovia, I've eaten this diligently for 3 years in a row and have no plans to stop anytime soon.
Spring = Sun = basically summer = Notting Hill Carnival. At least, that's how it works in my brain. I've been listening to Soca to get me in my ~summer mindset~ and this song is my current fave. May or may not be trying to make Trinidad Carnival 2024 happen 😜
I really, really, really enjoyed Easter this year - for the first time ever. Nothing to recommend but the vibes this past bank holiday were immaculate.
