Kishor Krishnamoorthi’s WebsiteKishor a.k.a Mjuboy’s Blog

Some would say 3 weeks is plenty of time to explore a city as vast as Hyderabad. I’d say even 3 years is too short. Even though I’ve spent most of my life in this glorious city, I keep discovering new things to keep me amused every now and then. The past 20 days at home have been a well deserved break from the mad pace of life at University and a time to reminisce with friends. Few things I’ve rediscovered include -

- Ramser Cafe
One kirrack place it is. Sipping chai for hours at end while discussing everything from where to get the best Biryani to how we are going to spend our first million. Then munching on delicious & unhygienic Chinese Bandi food, the place provides for a blissful experience. It was here that I realized that you dont choose your favourite hangout spot, it chooses you.

- Jaablessness (Joblessness)
Life doesnt get any better than sitting in Paradise with old friends talking about school days and eating Biryani for 3 hours, laughing out loud like madmen while everyone around stares at us reprehensibly. (Paradise can be replaced by Nanking, Minerva or any other economical restaurant depending on prevailing culinary preferences.)
And when run out of money to eat more food, sitting around with friends, lazing in the sun, reading novels, and going on random long drives are fantastic substitutes.

- No worries about the rest of the world
India’s bothered box is India. 1 billion people is enough to worry about. While this may sound a harsh initially, it is hard enough to survive in this sea of people, let alone be concerned about people you’ve never met. This system seems to work, and keeps everyone cracking of with their lives.

- Great Weather. Eternally
The English are known for their constant qualms about the weather. If only they came to India, they would run out of complaints. While England is facing its worst winter in 30 years with temperatures touching -15C, the situation in Hyderabad is completely under control with the lowest temperature being around 15C and a pleasant 25C during noon.

- The cheap alcohol
The clubbing scene in India can be likened to a teenage kid going through an identity crisis. Since good manners does not automatically come when you get lots of cash, you end up seeing some crazy stuff at some of the poshest nightclubs in town. But this makes things convenient for us. We can do stupid stuff and get away with it too! And put that together with the fact you can get alcohol at the store for about 10% the price you would pay for it in England, you’ve the opportunity for a great night out!

- The hot girls
Okay, I was lying with this one. But not completely! While I can testify to the fact that there is a much higher percentage of good looking girls in England, the situation is different in India. Due to my Indian origin, I seem to possess this natural attraction towards Indian girls which makes home the best place to be for me.

- It’s home.
Regardless of all the madness that goes around and all the unncessary swearing that comes with it, it is a place I call home. Its a place that has sheltered me & my family for more than a decade. It has made me who I am. Its home.

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“Lets dance ah?”, asked Ranjith as we stood on the dance floor of the Emerald Room.Without hesitation, I eagerly shouted over the din of the music “Okay mama!”.

And thus began our tirade into 2010, a fresh decade promising new opportunities to explore, new lessons to learn, new girls to befriend and old friends to reminisce with.

Our plans for New Year’s Eve were uncertain until a few hours before the start of the night. Having managed to get our hands on passes for Taj Krishna, a classy 5* hotel in the city, the night began with our sober and impatient selves waiting in line for entry into the nightclub. After what seemed like eternity, we were inside. And with wristbands for unlimited drinks, it was the beginning of a night whose madness knew no bounds.

We finished the first few drinks rather quickly in our eagerness to start partying and as the alcohol kicked in, everyone’s face was plastered with broad grins. Time flew, drinks flowed, glasses became empty and soon the countdown to 2010 began. As the clock struck 12, a roar could be heard from the dance floor as the DJ wished everyone a happy new year.

The situation in our group was a bit different to the crowd. Kalyan was laughing uncontrollably. Naveen was hugging a random white man and refused to let go of him. Upendra was doing his traditional dance and smiling away to glory. Vivek was the happiest man around since it was his birthday as well. Ranjith was ordering more drinks. Nakul was in the bathroom. Tharun was nowhere to be seen. Rama was cursing the world and her ancestors loudly. But this was only the beginning.

It didnt take long for us to get bored of Ahala (the first nightclub) so we moved to the adjacent nightclub (Emerald Room) which was bigger but also very crowded. We came across some “interesting sights” as we walked around the place and bumped into a lot of known faces, all of whom we hugged and wished happy new year.

By around 2:30AM, a select group of us were still ready to party more but a few others of our group had passed out completely. So after much deliberation, the decision was made to drive them to our friend’s house which was base camp for the night. Unfortunately, his house was on the 4th floor and the building didnt have a lift, which meant we had to lift three drunken bodies up 4 flights of stairs. Fun times.

And then came the hunger. The crazy yearning for food. So six of got into 2 cars and drove to Y2K, the only restaurant which would be open at 3 in the morning and got ourselves some Biryani, the staple food of Hyderabadis. And now that the hunger was satisfied, the thirst for thrill was next. One of our designated driver’s was convieniently sleepy, I took up the challenge of driving one car. And we were off to Novotel which was on the other end of the city, and we didnt we even know why we were going there. We sat by the pool at Novotel for 15 minutes before getting bored and back to base camp it was. It was nearly 6 in the morning and as much as we wanted to stay awake for the breakfast in Taj Krishna at 7, our bodies got the better of us and we fell asleep in the cars itself. Another glorious night of the most random things had come to an end.

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I’m back in Hyderabad for Christmas! And boy, does it feel good to be back!

The trip back home had no lack of exciting events, with me picking up a Canon 5D Mk II on loan from Canon for 3 weeks literally a few hours before I got my plane back. After handling the glorious device that it is, my first plane journey was an hour late, with the plane being de-iced as I sat inside and watched the process from my window. At this point, I was quite confident that I would miss my connecting flight to Hyderabad from Frankfurt but by some random grace of god, I managed to catch the plane in the nick of time and was the last passenger to board the plane.

This plane journey was quite nice, and possibly one of the most pleasant ones I’ve had in a while, with no crying babies, good food, and plenty of sleep. Infact, it almost seemed too good to be true and I was proven right when my checked-in luggage didnt turn up. I spent a couple of hours at the airport, filling out forms and doing other necessary beaurcratic procedures before finally getting back home at 4 in the morning instead of 1, as I had originally planned.

To add to the woes, there has been a ‘bandh‘ (citywide strike) for a couple of days and this has resulted in me not being able to have my traditional Paradise Biryani meal with Fatik. While this caused me immense frustration with the local politics, it has also provided me with a lot of entertainment, watching local MLAs getting beaten up by students and the likes and a direct insight to the politics at the world’s largest democracy.

But all that bad news aside, they’ve found my bag and its being flown to India as I type this and should hopefully be with me tomorrow evening! I’ve also enjoyed using the 5D Mk II a lot, and it is truly a revolutionary camera. I havent got much planned for the next couple of weeks which is fantastic since I can continue to get 14 hours of sleep everyday…

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Starring Kishor Krishnamoorthi, supported by his Family, with music by U2 & Ilaiyaraaja and art direction by God.

Directed by Society, this feature film stars newcomer Kishor Krishnamoorthi in the lead role portraying a 1000 different people. Several of the personalities come together during different times in the 876,000 hour film and even though the  lead actor tries his best to do a good job interweaving between them but there are many points when there are just too many characters at mingling at once and it would confuse any first time watcher.

It is still a great watch, maybe a tad bit too long but the level of detail is insane. Background score is perfectly timed in nearly all situations and fits in well with the plethora of plots. The story is clearly quite complex but it can definitely pulled off flawlessly with more effort by the director, Society.

Some of the roles are outlined below -

The Student
One of the central characters in the movie is a student who doesnt like to be free. Doing more things than the average office goer, the student keeps himself well busy and occupied while also managing to excel academically. Juggling the academic and extra curricular lives like a tight rope walker, the student lives life on the edge and never stops.

The Photographer
The role of the Photographer is an interesting one. Torn between film and digital, work and pleasure, commercial and art, the role does much to show the world that it is not easy to be a good photographer. Money is scarce, clients are demanding and economic conditions are bad, leaving the photographer hardly any time to indulge in the expressive medium of film photography which he loves.

The Mentor
Learned and smart, the mentor is one that many people look up to and come to for valuable advise and input. While the mentor definitely enjoys improving everyone’s lives and never hesitates to help, it has taken a toll on his personal life, making him a public man with little time to spend with family.

The Politician
He quotes Lord Chesterfield “Politicians neither love nor hate. Interest, not sentiment, directs them.” The politician is seen by everyone as a pleasant character. While this works well for his public image, he has a confession to make. Its a hard job being a politician, it slowly kills your emotions inside. It changes your perception of life. And the common man will never understand that you need to be bad to be good. As much as he loves the fame and name, he sometimes sits and wonders to himself, is it worth it all?

The Food lover
He would give up a meeting with Bill Gates for lobster. The food lover is a person everyone can associate themselves with. Fitness can go through the window and food gets first priority in life. He lives to eat and travels around the world in search of delicacies to tickle his taste buds. A well known good critique among international hospitality services, his word is enough to make or break a restaurant.

The Family Guy
Nothing would make his day more than seeing his kids smile. The family guy would give everything up just to keep his family happy. Dedicated and loving, the family guy is a hard working man and expects the same from others. He has immense respect for his parents and deeply loves his wife and children.

This is only a small preview of the plenty of the different characters in the movie. It is filled with a ton of different emotions, making you laugh crazily, cry, moan, get depressed and laugh again.

The movie does not have a lead female actress but there are a few that appear now and then but none occupy a significant position. There are a small group of friends which have a prominent role in the movie appearing with all the different characters of the lead actor.

Overall, the movie gets a 8/10.

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Today is AP Formation Day, when 53 years ago, the state of Andhra Pradesh was formed on the 1st of November.

Its a Sunday today but it brings back so many memories of school, when it used to be in the middle of the week and I used get a holiday from school. But the more important part was that my father used to get a holiday from work as well and we used to spend the day together, helping my mother cook, fixing things around the house (even if they were working perfectly), going for a walk and have long conversations about life which have been essential to my well being today.

This week has been hellish, with truckloads of work and nothing to look forward to. Spending quality time with my housemates has been my only redemption and the occasional calls to my parents make my day.

These two lists have been invaluable in making me crack on with life without stuttering -

• 20 Things I Wish I Had Known When Starting Out in Life
• 20 Things I’m Glad Life Taught Me

I strongly recommend that everyone reads them, its worth the read even if one or two points are useful to you.

And with this, I sign off to do some reading for my dissertation. God Bless Andhra Pradhesh! I miss you…

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Its that time of the year again.

The time for me to leave home for England after spending 3 glorious months traveling, relaxing, and laughing in India.

And the  usual feeling kicks in again, the feeling of being torn between 2 worlds, the feeling of not wanting to leave the safety and comfort of home and the feeling of wanting to go back to Uni. But regardless of what I feel, time will move on, and the world will roll on and I must flow with the river or be left back while civilization flows past.

After 1 week in England, I know I’ll settle in and things will become normal, but its that one week which I dread. One week of wanting to go home and have Biryani. Admittedly, a majority of the time will be spent missing Indian food, and yes, my friends and family too

Nevertheless, I will be back in 3 months for winter vacations, and then head back to England before I even realize that I’m back home. But thats for another post, another time.

Goodbye for now.

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I spent a week in my native place near Kanyakumari when I’d gone there a week ago due to the sudden and unfortunate demise of my grandmother.

As the necessary ceremonies and rituals for the funeral did not take too long, I decided to make the most of my time there and look around the place as much as possible.

Going back to my birthplace brought about a strange sense of nostalgia within me. Even though I had’nt spent much time as a kid there, I felt a connection with the place. As I walked about the streets watching the old men have their evening coffee while poring over the newspaper, the women hanging out clothes to dry, kids jumping about playfully and the cows returning from grazing, I realized that these people lived in their own world, a world far away from others, far enough from civilization to be ignorant and happy but also close enough to get your hands on technology should you wish to.

Long drives in narrow roads with the wind rushing at your face while watching coconut trees gently swaying in rhythm, and stopping off for a drink of ‘Paini’ (a natural drink made from Palm trees more refreshing than Pepsi) is an experience that the mind can never forget.

I had my first waterfall bath, unlike any other shower or bath I’ve ever had before. With the water falling directly on you from a height of 20+ feet, after wading through rocks, its better than a hand massage and its supposed to good for health too. Quite addictive too since once you’ve felt the joy of taking a bath there, you want to keep going back for more.

My mother’s native village was filled with tons on interesting people with lots of stories to share.  Half of the village men were perpetually drunk, while the other half debated about my choice of facial hair. It was otherwise a lovely village where everyone was terribly friendly and helpful.

My father’s native village was equally lovely but there was a distinct lack of drunken men although that may just have been my ignorance. A nightime stroll around the village with my cousin as tour guide was great, getting to know the place inside out.

We did a reasonable amount of sightseeing and relative meeting over the course of the week, and a surprisingly large amount of people who said that they remember seeing me when I was “so small” and now I’d grown up with a “fancy moustache” and all. Fun times.

And with my travels to the northern and southern ends of India, I learnt a valuable lesson. That this is my country. This will always be my country. And nothing I say or do will ever change that. And you can take me out of India but I will forever be an Indian.

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Last week, just when I was applying the final touches to my previous post, my father rushed into my room and said, “Go and check your grandmom’s pulse.”

His words triggered me to jump from my chair and run to my grandmother’s room where my mother was now seated by her holding her hand. As I lifted my grandmother’s hand to check her pulse, I felt the chill of her body and realized that she had already left this world. As the thought dawned upon me, a series of emotions came across me, emotions I’d never felt before, and I burst into tears. I wept like a little kid remembering how only an hour ago she was hale and healthy and this sudden tragedy was something that nobody had expected.

God works in mysterious ways, we were just 20 days short of my late grandfather’s 5th death anniversary when my grandmother decided to join him in the heavens above.

It was quite a shock to me, a shock I’m slowly recovering from. We buried her body and performed the final rites at my native place in Tamil Nadu where I spent the entire of last week.

Photos and another post about my trip will be coming soon. Uploading of Delhi photos has been delayed due to the unexpected event but I assure you I shall upload them as soon as I can.

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I turned 19 on Wednesday. Yep, nineteen years of life have already passed by. Nineteen is  a strange age to be. Its the in-between age of youth and adult. Eighteen is always regarded as the “fun” age to be and all that jazz. Twenty is the big “no longer a teen” grown up age of responsibility and other things I dont want to talk about. And nineteen is stuck between these two biggies, not knowing what to do, and just hanging about trying to be cool and not “kewl”.

My birthday started off like every other day in the history of mankind. Dull and boring. Never did I expect for a single second that it would turn out the way it did. Lunch was good, with a surprise from two close friends, and tons of laughter. After reluctantly bidding farewell to them, it was back home to reading ‘The Economist’. The usual, the usual.

The fun kicked in after dinner. Another random surprise from some friends, with whom I ended up going on a second show movie at 11 at night, followed by some consumption of certain, lets say, beverages and then a trip to Charminar at 2 in the morning to have what is possibly the best Biryani and Chai I’ve ever had but I suspect that the beverages we consumed earlier may have enhanced the taste. And thats how my birthday ended. Riding shotgun on a Bullet on Necklace road. A very memorable birthday, something I probably will never forget and something I definitely want to do again!

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Been just over a week since I’ve got home. The daily routine has mostly consisted of eat, read, watch TV, check teh interwebz with a considerable amount of sleep between these activities. Other stuff included were catching up with lots of friends which was quite nice, definitely good to see some old faces again, have some good meals at our old favourites, and the likes.

On a sadder note, the world has lost two things this week, both of which/whom I have respected. The first one is the legendary Kodak film, Kodachrome, a transparency film which has been manufactured for nearly 75 years before Kodak took the decision to stop production earlier this week. From the point of view of Kodak, it seems reasonable since it accounted for less than 1% of its sales and there is only one lab left in the world which has the capability to process this film since it is quite complex, and Dwayne’s Photo in Kansas has said that they will continue to process the film until late 2010. However, it will definitely be missed by many film enthusiasts including me, who revered the film like a god. It was the same film used to capture the world famous Afghan girl photo by Steve McCurry in 1984. And this momentous calls for Paul Simon’s classic song ‘Mama, dont take my Kodachrome away’.

The other loss was  a man, although some say otherwise, nevertheless, known as the ‘King of Pop’. I must admit his death came as quite a shock to me, I somehow took his existence for granted and regardless of all the controversies he has been in, I’m sure everyone agrees that he made some pretty damn awesome music. My playlist for today has simply been all of the King’s albums on shuffle. May his soul rest if peace.

On a more positive note, I got my exam results earlier this week and I somehow managed to scrape a 70.7% overall, which is a  1st Class and all I wanted. Next year will be tougher, with a 10,000 word dissertation and all, but it’ll be the test of my mettle to score a 1st Class next year too.

Watched Terminator: Salvation today, barely worth the visit. Just 2 hours of mindless violence and action wrapped around a weak excuse for a story. Christian Bale is a normally a good actor but he doesnt come close to Arnie as the classic Terminator, and Terminator 2 still remains my favourite of the series.

Also played Max Payne 2 today, such a beautiful game to play, I do hope Max Payne 3 doesnt turn out as a bad as it looks.

And thats all for now folks, more updates on life and the world soon!

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