The Blogger has left the Building!

Hey folks!
As you can see, this blog isn't really what I was hoping it would be. I have lost interest in writing this blog, but I still want to continue writing. I'm starting afresh at http://hardlyexistential.wordpress.com
Please do come and visit. It'll take time to set up, esp since I have my exams going on right now, but hopefully it will be all that I was hoping Umbrellas and Leaves would be. That being said, I am not importing ay posts so this blog will still be here.

Thanks for being so nice to me. Please do visit my new place,

Love, Taurme

Label, Actually

NOTE: Sorry about the long break. I didn't expect it to last so long. I guess after a while laziness just sets in. Anyhoo, I'm back now. For good. Missed you guys :D

***

I have a story to tell. It's not fiction, but its probably not as non-fiction-y as I'd like it to be. So I'm gonna call it an Exaggerated Non-Fiction Account of Things that Probably Happened This Way But I'm Not Sure 'Cos I Have Bad Long-Term (and Short Term) Memory.

Once upon a time there was a girl who didn't belong anywhere. She was too bengali to be odiya, too odiya to be bengali. She was too old to hang out with her peers and too young to play with kids older than her. She wasn't as  nerdy as nerds are expected to be and she wasn't a big enough slacker to be called one. She was neither girly nor tomboy-ish. She was smart, but not the smartest. She had talent, but there were people much better than her. So basically, no matter what the clique, she felt like an outsider, hoping to be a part of something. 

Then, one day, an epiphany slapped  her across her face like a large, cold, dead fish. She came to her senses. That's when she realized the following:

a. Cliques sucked.

b. It was perfectly fine to not belong to anything.

c. People in some cliques seemed like mindless painted zombies.

d. Not being in any group = no stereotyping.

e. Adorable misfits are always make the best characters.

Thus, a new She was born. One that didn't care about what other people thought of her.

Being different was easier than she'd thought it would be. Mainstream entertainment, particularly music had never really meant much to her. She had an old soul and loved songs and movies that belonged to the bygone eras. When she discovered internet forums, she met people from all over the world. Most of these awesome people were in their thirties or older. So when her friends started listening to linkin park and coldplay, she was humming tunes by the Everly brothers and the Carpenters. 

Somewhere during that time she discovered indie cinema. Then she found Wes Anderson. She was in love. Wes introduced her to Nick Drake. More love.

And so it went on till October 2011.

What happened in October?

Well I (I'm bored of the narrative style) realized that the "hipsters" online articles kept referring to were more than just neo-hippes. 

I think I might be one.

Awh-My-Gahd.

My google image search gave me this:

SAAAVE ME BEFORE I TURN INTO ONE OF THEM

(BTW, Is that guy holding a man-purse?)

Aug. '11 #1

During my month long vacations,we (mum, dad and I) traveled to Kerela, a lovely state in the southernmost part of the Indian subcontinent. 

Bbay---> Kerela

My mum thought that it would be great to travel by train. She was thinking of lazy mornings and seeing the countryside through the large tinted windows while enjoying delicious food all day long. The train we had booked in was Duronto, an express that goes from one city to another without stopping anywhere in between.

That part of the trip wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. Duronto is a terrible train. We were supposed to reach by 5.30. Instead we got there three hours later. The train also had a nasty habit of stopping every hour in the middle of nowhere.

When we finally reached Ernakulum city, it was almost nine. My mum was unwell and we all were tired. But our journey had just begun. We were supposed to take a car to the town of Munnar, a lovely little place in the hills that was three hours away.

Except that it wasn’t three hours away.

We thought that we would reach our hotel by midnight. We reached by two (That too because the driver was a maniac).

The roads were slippery and serpentine. They took us away from the sea-level with potholes and dangerous turns. They weren’t even wide enough to let two cars pass! It was pitch black and there was no soul in sight. The Eucalyptus trees that were growing on the slopes looked eerily sinister as the light from our car bounced off their slender bodies.

Our expectations were rather high

And if all this wasn’t enough, the driver was speeding! The car kept bouncing off the frequent potholes and the guy kept going faster and faster...that was the first time I got carsick in India. Somehow we managed to reach Munnar before two a.m. We checked in tired and terrified, made our way to our cottage and got ready to hit the sack. 

The first impression of Kerela wasn't exactly good. Would things get better or was it all downhill from here? Thinking along these lines I drifted off to sleep.

Realism.

During one of his famous dinner-time lectures, my father looked at me. A a small, sad smile touched the edges of his lips and he said - "you were talking about reality that day, I have seen reality. I know what realism is. My son died in my hands. Nothing in life perturbs me now."

I didn't know what to say to that.

Happy moments and fond memories

My two best friends came to my place Friday evening and stayed the night. Guess you can call it a slumber party - after all there were PJ's, ice creams, rom-coms, sort of junk food, boy-talk, general gossip and a fairly controlled amount of alcohol involved. Its funny how meeting old friends takes years off your actual age.

Yesterday we sat and talked, laughing and bitching about life, sharing the pain of uncertainty, reflecting on achievements too high and failures too low and simply catching up with each other, becoming active members of each others lives like we once were.

I've known one of them (the infamous Nirvana) for almost twelve years now and the other one (Lets call her Sera) for 9 years. We have spent most of our lives knowing one another and although all three of us chose completely different streams, even now when we meet, we feel as though we are still thirteen, rude, awkward and quirky. I'm so lucky to have friends like these two, I don't know what I would do without them.

When I woke up the next day, I looked up to see these two kids sleeping peacefully, a thought occured to me "Always remember this day and this time. You are the luckiest girl in the world. You have everything one could ask for - a loving family, good friends, a good college... this may be the happiest you will ever be. Cherish this moment."

Does that sound a little too lame? Huh. Seven months away from home are seven months too long I guess.

Later we went to Powai, had coffee at Aromas, where Nirvana very brilliantly used a wet tissue as her visiting card and filled the questionnaire under the pseudonym Peggy Lane. Somewhere over the rainbow, John Lennon must be beaming. Or freaking out.

It was a beautiful day. I've gone to Powai three times now and I have even clicked some pictures. Will probably post them soon.

In other news, Shammi Kapoor has passed away. Although I can't call myself a true fan, I must say, Shammiji, you were brilliant. The rebel of the Hindi cinema, you defined the 60's. You have given us many unforgettable movies and songs that will live in our hearts forever. Every time I hear chahe koi mujhe janglee kahe or baar baar dekho or oh haseena zulfon waali, I will remember you fondly, as the legend, the hero, the actor and the man that you were. No matter how many years pass, Shammi Kapoor will always be synonymous with the word Yahoo! :)

R.I.P Shammi Kapoor

Oh, its past midnight! Which means its 15th August -

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

New theme/design

Yeah, I was bored of the prev. background. I decided to go back to one of my favourite colour combos - black & white.

As you can see, I'm still going with TaurMe's Originals as backgrounds. I guess I'd rather have my readers see awful doodles as opposed to gorgeous photography by someone else.

Ah well, I was never known for my niceness :P

THIS BLOG MAKES ME SAD.

It needs a new look. Maybe an awesome background.

More pictures.

Better fonts maybe?


Huh. Now I'm just feeling lazy.

P.S. GOING HOME ON THE 6TH!!! WOOOHOOOO! AFTER SIX MONTHS OF well...I don't know, really...I'M FINALLY GOING HOME! Oh Mumbai, my baby, my love, I am so close! I coming! Yaaaay! I'm going HOME!!!

Well, had to get that out of my system.