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

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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The rollercoaster that is my life has momentarily slowed down in the last few days and I’ve had time to breathe freely after about a month of non stop work.

Thursday was a great day, with the opening ceremony of ‘The Essex Apprentice‘, a competition for which I have been selected. After the ceremony, I went along for a trip that I’d organized for the Photographic Society and British Cultural Society to watch the Fireworks at Colchester Castle Park. Around 40 people turned up and it was great fun! Following that, I had a nice meal with friends in Pizza Hut with lots of laughter and jokes! And to finish off the night, I went to the nightclub on campus with my housemates and had a fantastic time!

Its the end of the weekend now but its been a good week and I feel much better now after having had some well deserved rest. The next week will hopefully be as fun as the last and I probably should get some studying done while I have the time. Lots of events are being planned as I write this and I am quite looking forward to them!

Thats all for this week, but before I leave, here is a recent photo taken of me with my long locks, beard and Tweed jacket!

And in the meanwhile, listen to this, very calm and pleasing.

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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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Tally Ho!

Welcome to the University of Essex for what could possibly become the best three years of your life!

If I got paid for writing this, then the praise for University would be endless. Unfortunately, the geniuses at the marketing department havent yet understood the potential of my blog, which means that this will be quite an honest post about life at University.

When I came to University 2 years ago as a fresher, I came with an open mind, with no expectations and simply hoping to make a few good friends during my time here and get good grades. And here I am today, 2 years later, with more friends than the mind can count, and getting involved in way too many things while getting good grades and most importantly, enjoying myself.

The key words here are not ‘good grades’ or ‘getting involved’. It is Friends. They can make or break your life at University. Since you only have around 12-15 hours of lecture and classes a week, the rest of the time is spent with friends, either lazing in one the bars, or simply having a good chat, and this is the most essential bit of University life.

I did not travel 5000 miles to come to the University of Essex solely to get quality education. I could have got that anywhere in India. I came to experience a new life, learn to live independently, meet similar minds, enrich my knowledge about the world while studying well and having a good time.

There is a quote outside the Vice Chancellor’s office which I cant quite recall now, but it goes something like this ‘University provides an experience for living and an opportunity for learning.’ A layman could simply read the quote and forget it but if you are like me and analyse it, you understand that University is primarily a place to learn to live, a simulation of the real world, while providing with quality education to help you pass the time.

But enough banter about the boring bits! University life is all about having fun, missing lectures, getting involved in sports and societies, waking up at 12 in the afternoon, and being positive!

Some quick tips,

• Make sure you attend all the orientation sessions in the first week, they are immensely helpful towards making your transition into Uni life smooth.
• Try and play as many sports as possible in the first few weeks to see if you fancy any of them.
• Dont be afraid to ask questions, everyone is always friendly and willing to help!
• If you have any issues at all, you can always ask me. Send me an email or add me on Facebook!

Cheers and have a good time! From your friendly Student Trustee!

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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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Its been just a week since I landed in England, and it feels like a month.

A month of catching up with friends. A month of missing home and Biryani. But in reality, its just a week. This is either a good thing or a bad thing, only time will tell.

University has been a bit empty, waiting in eager anticipation to the arrival of freshers.

However, the work has been otherwise, increasing convieniently to fit in with my extra free time. Which I’m not too bothered about since I do like to my calender full.

I was in London for part of the weekend, for Chris Saul’s birthday, which was pretty damn fun!

Back to Colchester now, and the weather is getting colder as the days pass by.

Nothing spectacularly exciting has been happening, but hopefully this will change as the freshers come!

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The fifth floor of the Albert Sloman,
everyday I go and sit at my spot,
the last chair by the window on the left,
and gaze at the lake for hours at end.

Studying I dont, for I find it unrewarding,
staring at the splendour of the lake,
has given me many a knowledge,
that EC111 couldnt have.

The occasional crow that swoops by my window,
the odd phone ringing on the other side of the room,
the fire alarm going off in the distance,
all contribute to this unique experience.

The shuffling of shoes,
the flipping of pages,
the clacking of keyboards,
the scratching of pen on paper,
all break the deathly silence,
so silent that I can hear my heartbeat.

I like my seat on the fifth floor,
I feel like I’m on top of the world,
surveying my territory outside my window,
gazing at the ducks, swans and geese,
and the pretty girl in red feeding them.
I’m transported to another world of solitude and freedom.

So many books around me waiting to be read,
so much knowledge waiting to be gained,
so much literature to put in my head,
but all I want to do,
is sit and stare out of the window instead.

I see a young couple fight and break up,
and another kiss and make up,
I see the ducks fighting over a piece of bread,
and the doves waiting to be fed.

I can see the whole world from here,
from my perch on the 5th floor,
watching life in its finest forms.
If there was one place I could sit forever,
it would be the last chair on the 5th floor.

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I leave tomorrow for India.

And similar to last time, feelings are mixed. Thoroughly excited to go back home. Depressed to say goodbye to all the final year students whom I wont see again for a very long time. But that is how life moves on…

Last week has been reasonably relaxing, I’ve been catching up with as many people as possible to bid farewell to them. I suppose next week might involve a similar exercise of catching up with many friends, not to say goodbye, but to welcome a summer of fun.

I went down to Chelmsford a few days ago to watch Guthrie Govan play live at The Bassment and it was an absolutely amazing experience. He plays the guitar like no one else I’ve ever know and its quite a sight to watch him work his magic on the guitar. The Bassment is a lovely place as well, small, simple, cosy and just the way I like it.

I’ve ensured that I did my usual activities last week, Fish and Chips from Henleys, plenty of meals at the Bengal Spice, relaxing lunches at Sizzlers/Top Bar, and just sitting by the lake enjoying the sun.

My first lunch in India will be, as anyone who knows me can predict, Chicken Biryani at Paradise. It is something my heart has truly longed for the past six months and I’m immensely looking forward to that memorable meal. I must crack on with packing now and my next post will be from India!

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