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

I spent the majority of this week at NUS (National Union of Students) Active Political Leadership Training where I learnt a lot about not only being a more effective leader but being a better person as well.

One thing the training made me was to question myself, what I was doing, why I was doing it, for whose benefit was I doing it and did I really need to do it? They sound like fairly simple and straight forward questions but sometimes, we get so caught up in routine and its important to step back and take a look at the bigger picture in life. It is a refreshing exercise whose answers may not immediately occur but stirs up a chain of reactions which make us improve ourselves.

Several other modules of the training were rather useful as well, such as the workshop on public speaking where we were shown inspirational speeches every 10 minutes and had to write a speech in the break of 10 minutes and by the end of an hour, we all read out our speeches to each other and gave anonymous feedback which was brilliant. The simulation of a Students’ Union executive, also known as Fibchester did not quite live up to its name from my point of view but it was still a fun group exercise. Learning the history of Students’ Union was eye-opening as was techniques for lobbying and influencing. Recognizing your style of leadership was rather interesting as we tried to differentiate from what style we wanted to be and style we actually were.

The networking opportunities were fantastic and I definitely learnt a lot from meeting all the various officers from other Unions. The sad state of affairs at a surprisingly large number of other Students’ Union suddenly made me appreciate ours much more. And the fact that a lot of people don’t feel a sense of duty and dedication to their job was genuinely disheartening. I personally feel that one requires dedication and commitment to a cause to do a god job resulting in a successful result. But each to their own I suppose.

Overall, it was definitely a great four days filled with plenty of learning and plenty of drinking! I would fully recommend this training to any future Sabbatical officers.

Currently listening to – Lately by The Helio Sequence

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Many of you may know that I won the elections for the President of my Students’ Union earlier this year.

What most of you will not know is the sheer amount of effort that went into this election. Sleepless nights, hours of phone calls, endless brainstorming. All the blood, sweat and caffeine did pay off in the end with a record breaking victory. Now whether victory was worth it or not is another question.

Was it worth my degree? Only time will tell. I got my final year results today and only got a 2.1 degree. Not the 1st degree that I had dreamed of when I came to University. Not the 1st degree I had in mind whenever I studied. But a 2.1. It is disappointing, I’m not going to argue that and I am solely to blame for it. For not knowing how to balance my extra curricular activities and my academics, this is what I get. A very expensive lesson. Then again, I think, maybe it was worth it? Learning more about life than a classroom could ever teach and meeting people from all walks of life may have made me a better man. Again, I dont know, only time will tell. But I can say one thing for certain – this wont stop me from achieving what I want to do. Passion and perseverance can take a man much farther in life than a mere degree can.

My 3 memorable weeks in India have also come to an end. I enjoyed every single moment I spent at home and I was rather reluctant to leave for England but hey, that’s life. I’m back in sunny England now and I’m already missing the smiling faces of Hyderabad. I honestly dont believe that I will be able to settle in England in the long term of life. Even though it can promise riches beyond my dreams, it cannot give me the simple pleasures of India. And I’ve learnt that in life, its the small things that make the big differences.

Currently listening to – Your Blue Room by U2/Brian Eno

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We started a bonfire in our backyard last night to burn dried plants and weeds. The bonfire had been on the books for a few months now and yesterday, we finally thought we should get down to it before it starts raining again.

Fire is such a mystical phenomenon. It brings the most refined of us back to our Neanderthal instincts. We stood there, mystified by its beauty, by its ethereal dancing flame, by its magical property to produce heat. We threw wood, cardboard, Ouzo and every inflammable object we could find into it. We scoured the house looking for any old bits of cardboard and wood lying around. We discovered that Dominoes pizza boxes burn green and wood was by the far the only material that kept burning forever. The crude but beautiful fire made me feel like a man, as we stood around it, topless watching the flame burn higher and higher.

As the flame settled itself into a rhythm, we sat around with a couple of pints talking about life and its mysterious ways, we spoke about things we normally never talk about, revealed secrets to each other, we bonded. We felt like cavemen sitting about a fire making ourselves warm in the chill of the night but we loved it so much. It was an experience unlike any other. It was an experience of manliness, bonding and becoming friends all over again.

It was not anything extravagant, it cost us nothing except a couple of drinks and some matchsticks but I can honestly say that it was one of the most pleasant nights of my life.

Time flew and before we realized it, we had been sitting there for three hours and it was nearly midnight. Watching the flame burn, rise and fall turned out be a surprisingly captivating activity, its funny how the smartest of brains still continue to be confounded by one of nature’s simple elements. The embers slowly kindled before we finally decided to call it a day and put the fire out by creatively pissing on it.

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I’ve removed the ‘Wishlist’ page since I decided that it was not required any more. I’ve grown up now (or at least I think so), and material wants are hardly at the top of my wishlist. A realistic wishlist would probably involve an African Photo Safari or spending quality time with family and friends. Its interesting to see how growing up and maturing changes so much of a person, for the better of course.

In place of the ‘Wishlist’ page, I have introduced a new page ‘Projects‘, which is a list of projects, both photographic and otherwise that I have completed or currently doing. It is essentially a place for people to keep updated with what I’m pursuing, what I’ve already done and a reminder for myself to continue with current projects.

Furthermore, I managed to break my Canon 50mm f/1.8, which is well known for its fragile nature but after some keen observation, I managed to snap it back together and its working fine now! The debate between digital and film has been continuing at the back of my head for all eternity and I still stand without an answer. I’ve decided that due to the cost and hassle of scanning film, I’ll leave the film to use solely on any projects I undertake and continue to use digital for my daily needs. I have a large collection of films that are waiting to be scanned and that collection seems to be increasing as I shoot more and more film. This has also inevitable led to gadget lust, namely the 5D MkII & 24-105mm lens which is absolutely fantastic to use and has stunning image quality.

Exams have begun and I had my first exam earlier this week, Econometrics, and it went on surprisingly well, much to my pleasure. The next on is on Thursday. I finish by June 4th and I am eagerly waiting to finish my undergraduate degree.

I’ve been reading a plethora of books, still continuing to read ‘Cosmos‘ as well as ‘This Matter of Culture‘ and ‘The English‘ simultaneously. All of them provide for an enjoyable read and a mixed experience as I jump from reading about the origins of the Universe to why the English hate the French.

The weather has improved considerably and is now sunny and warm, reaching temperatures of 20C. I’ve been spending time with my housemates sitting out in the backgarden revising and enjoying the warmth, while reminiscing about the past 3 years at University.

And I have finally received my passport! This obviously means I’ll be going home to Hyderabad in June, I cannot wait!

Currently Listening to – Me and You and a dog named Boo – Lobo

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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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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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