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

It kills you. It consumes you. It takes over your life.

All your desires, wants, wishes, all transformed by the thirst of power. Your life will never be the same. Don’t do it.

Beautiful women, fast cars, fancy gadgets, all will falter with the ambition of power. You will sell your soul for it, your friendships, everything you’ve owned, everyone you’ve loved. Don’t do it.

But in the end, I love it all. All the controversy, all the stupidity, all the lies, all the sleepless nights, all the unnecessary shouting, all the endless stress. All for those few seconds of fame.

The challenge of obtaining the unobtainable excites beyond anything else. The thrill of raising your arms and hearing a thousand people chanting your name is beyond what words can describe.

But is it worth it?

Power. Don’t do it.

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After 2 weeks of campaigning, smiling, and forming a personal relationship with 1200 people, I needed a break. My trip to the Warwick Economics Summit 2010 was simply an excuse to go to a place where I was a nobody, another anonymous figure who nobody cared for, and could get away with doing whatever I wanted to do. Sitting in their bar and getting drunk in the afternoon was one of the best things I’ve done in a while and then proceeding to walk around their Students Union corridors, while still tipsy, and take photos to “borrow” their ideas.

The Summit was fantastic, dont get me wrong, we had a whole range of high profile speakers from Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer a.k.a Finance Minister to Kevin Kallaugher, known as KAL, the resident cartoonist of The Economist. I did miss around half of the talks but the time I spent sitting in the bar pondering nothing was well worth it. The Dinner and Dance on the final night lived up to my expectations. Even though I had pledged not to talk to anyone unless they spoke to me first, I managed to meet a lot of people on that night and we even came 3rd in the Quiz! The final day had a short video where they went to several prominent Economists around the country and asked them ‘What is Economics to you?’. The video gave me a fresh insight into why I had chosen to study Economics in the first place, why it was a subject that I truly enjoyed studying, and why I felt it would help me in my life’s goals.

From a more philosophical perspective, the weekend was enjoyable because I took a completely opposite approach to attitude when compared to the past two weeks. I didn’t care what they thought of me, I didn’t have to talk to everyone I met, I didn’t have to be the centre of attention, I didn’t have to be a massive politician. I could be myself, a lone little Indian boy without anyone caring what I did, without anyone noticing who I was, and without a responsibility in this world.

I loved it so much. Too much maybe. But I did miss my University, that sense of power when I walk into the bar, that feeling when all eyes hover upon me, that moment when I could go upto anyone in the bar and they would know that I was their President-elect.

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One Year of planning.

2 weeks of campaigning.

3 days of voting.

2593 voters.

One Landslide Victory.

All those endless meetings, sleepless nights, meagre meals, and pure passion paid off on Friday night when I was elected as the President of the Students Union with a record breaking 1276 votes. And to add to the joy, the entire of my team ‘Mission Essex’ were voted in as well to lead the Students Union in 2010/11.

I am truly thrilled that we managed to save our Students Union from the crazy leftists and the incapable populists. However, the fact that I just got elected President is yet to kick in. So yes, I’ve been elected President, great, well done. What next? Whats the next challenge? Where do I channel my energy?

Nevertheless, I can give you my word that I, along with my team, will do all I can to take our Students Union to the next level, and strive to make it a leader around the country.

MISSION ESSEX ACCOMPLISHED!

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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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‘What goes around, comes around‘, sang Justin Timberlake. And as much as it kills me inside to agree with him, I will admit that he was correct. Such is life, my friends. The endless circle of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, and life and death.

My pleasures in life have decreased to eating good food, playing multiplayer Mario on Wii, spending time in the darkroom, talking to my family and counting the days to getting back home. Not comprehensive, not elaborate, just simple and straightforward.

The other day I sat pondering as to what actually ‘hard work’ means. Its something that I’ve heard all my life and something I know that leads to success if used correctly. Can my activities be termed as ‘hard work’? Or is it something that truly requires everything a man has to offer? This question will probably taunt me till the end of time.

People often tell me ‘Kishor, you do too much.’ to which I usually cheekily reply ‘You have to keep running, you can never stop. They’ll catch you if you stop.’

In some ways, it is true. You have to keep innovating forever if you want to stay on top of the others.  In other ways, its only half the truth. Success  has its price. Time, effort, friendships, and your soul. You have that one goal in mind and channel your life towards it. The rest of life becomes a blur.

I have discovered that my best friend in life is myself. Someone who is there for me, understands me, supports me, and takes care of me. Talking to myself on long walks is my new pastime, and even though it is sometimes viewed as a sign of madness by the public, it is a refreshing experience and helps me gain a better insight into myself.

Music is a solace, as is spending hours setting up an elaborate photo shoot for that one perfect shot. Women, funnily enough, only help to alleviate the grief of the moment by being themselves.

I have also learnt a valuable lesson from my housemates. That life is lived the best when you’re on the edge, the thrill from not knowing what will happen next is really something else. And being highly organized essentially gets rid of the high of venturing into the unknown. Life is sometimes too short, an opportunity once gone is lost forever.  As was once said in the movie Braveheart, “Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it.”

In more joyous news, I am eagerly looking forward to the Xmas Beer Festival on Saturday, it has take a decent bit of organization and logistics on my part and I do hope that it will turn out to be a grand success.

To end on a positive note, as the great U2 once sang, ‘Some days are better than others‘.

Currently listening to – Bilqis by Rabbi Shergill

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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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Michael Jackson’s famous song, now my newest motto.

Life in the fast lane is tough. So much to do, so much to learn, so many people to meet and only 24 hours a day. And plus you need to sleep, although I have been doing lesser and lesser of that recently.

I have been literally rushing through every day, leaving home by 10 in the morning and only getting back 10 – 12 hours later. Packed lunches are my saviour, as is Coca Cola and more recently, Pepsi RAW.

There are days when I love it and there are days when I think to myself why do I even bother. C’est la vie.

It isnt easy doing all the things I do, but if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Survival of the fittest.

People never fail to surprise me. Sometimes with intelligence but it mostly turns out to be ignorance or stupidity.

Perspective in life is very important but very tough and hence probably why it is important. Again, I quote myself, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it and it would essentially lose its importance. It is only important because a precious few have it.

Music has been vital to my survival and well being. To the members of U2 & Coldplay, I could never thank you enough.

Photography has unfortunately slowed down drastically due to lack of time, trips with the Photographic Society are my only opportunity to shoot and my 365 Day Project is slightly lagging with the rate of uploading.

Funnily enough, I dont really want free time. I love being busy and having a full calender. It may kill me by the end of each day but I still love it.

I only hope that one day in my life, I can look back at these days and feel proud of my effort and perseverance.

And I miss my dad, my mom, my sister and my Paradise Biryani.

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A marathon against time, work, pleasure and leisure.

The first teaching week of University officially started yesterday with an eventful Political Economy seminar.

The seminar did a ridiculously good job of kicking me back into routine by reminding me that I have a degree to do and a dissertation to write.

Freshers Fair went off well on Saturday with both my societies and my club getting a lot of attention from freshers and old students alike. While this is a good, it is also a bad thing which means I’m going to have to dedicate quite some time to running of them.

Sunday was a good relaxation day, it almost felt like term was over but it was just the beginning of a busy term.

I have so many things I want to do and are just sitting on my to-do list staring at me as I type this out but the limit of 24hours of time and a minimum of 5-6hours of sleep everyday is  a bit restricting. Perhaps I need to work on saying no to something and yes to others.

My music taste has varied over the last month and now I’m listening to a lot of Ambient music by either Harold Budd or Brian Eno on Spotify.

I think that is pretty much all for this update, short and sweet as I like it. More later.

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Its the last quarter of the game.

The opposition is in possession of the ball and they are drawing close to our goal. As defence, I grip my lacrosse stick harder and get ready to face the opponent.

Number 88. He is already two thirds of the way across the field. He slips, and the ball bounces out of his stick and rolls a few feet away from me.

I run towards the ball and try to scoop it. I miss on my first try, and before I can try again, I hear a whoosh and look up to see a giant of a man charging at me  and BAM!

Blackout.

My eyelids flicker open and I can see that the game is in play again. I had only been knocked out for a millisecond but it felt like an eternity. I stand up with ease and see that the game has moved to the other end of the field and we are in possession of the ball.

Alex Reily moves up from behind the goal, dives and scores! We are still down by a few goals but it was a great shot.

And that, my friends, is a summary of the Lacrosse match I played yesterday against the East Coast Lacrosse Team after just 2 training sessions. I’m not going to lie, I didnt really play that well and did miss quite a lot of the throws, but I did try my best and I’m sure with more practice, I can definitely do much better. The team was very encouraging, all through the game, and even though we lost, we still felt like winners.

It was the first ‘manly’ sport that I’ve ever played. Donning shoulder pads, chest pads, elbow pads, gloves and a helmet, and with everyone given a lacrosse stick, it is as violent as games get. It was massive fun even though I got rugby tackled twice during the  game and my legs still ache.

The game taught me to learn to be aggressive and to man-up and do what must be done rather than cower in a corner waiting for someone else to do something.  It taught me to make quick decisions on  the field, alter game play to adjust to  the situation rather than strictly follow the instructions you were given at the start of the match. It also taught me that the objective of the defense was very simple ‘Dont let the ball get through’ but very tough to follow.

I definitely enjoyed playing Sports, after a very long time, and I can honestly say that I will be going back for more!

Life has been fine, its been 2 weeks since I got here but it feels like 3 days. I have settled back in well, and spending tons of quality time with my housemates since once term starts, I know I’ll be crazily busy. I do occasionally miss home, but  thats a part of life here and as U2 once said ‘Walk On’.

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