At the end of our project in Kunming, we both naturally agreed to keep exploring the province together and booked a flight to Dali, a city which used to be part of the Chinese Silk Road. For three days we roamed the olds streets of the town, visited temples and hiked up a small mountain at the edge of the mythical Shangri-La. We had realized we both shared an interest for remote mountains and to the stories attached to expeditions. I remember one of his stories as he recalled a night hike in Northern India some years ago, someone on the trip had said to him he liked the mountains because they were places we could get closer to the stars, Ani found the thought poetic and it stuck with him.
 
Upon our return to Boston, although the highlight of the project was behind us, Ani kept on pressing the team forward so we could come up with meaningful recommendations to our host company, showing another side of his personality I admired as he was able to turn serious in an instant and stay focused on results. I remember an episode when I was sitting next to him on a bus going back to our dorm at night, we were probably discussing trivial things after a long day of classes when somebody next to us started prompting him on the subject of his current thesis. In an instant I saw Ani switching to his serious mode, talking passionately about his ongoing research, communicating the complexity of his theories and their potential business applications. At the end of the semester I remember him taking ownership of the project we had just completed as he presented the conclusions of our work in front of an audience of MIT students. He was proud to communicate the work he did in China and what he had learned, I admired how he stood up full of confidence in front of the whole class to deliver his speech.
 
I will miss Ani as a true life companion. More than anything I liked about him, Ani was most respectful of the people around him. Ani was a kind soul and a true gentleman.


Ani and I flew together to Yunnan, in China to work on a local project during our studies at MIT. From the moment I knew I would be flying overseas with him and we would spend two weeks together abroad, I knew the trip would be one to remember. Ani was that perfect travel companion.
 
As a vegetarian, food would sometimes be scarce for him to eat in China, rather than being frustrated, he took it as a challenge to find off-road places to eat at, always making concessions, never have I heard him complain about a thing. Problems didn’t seem to get to him, he would calmly wait for them to go away and he always made great efforts to stay positive in every situation. In China, I also remember him trying to fit into the customs of the region, ordering the Chinese breakfast made of spicy noodles every time he had the chance when most of the team stuck with the strawberry marmalade. Ani was deeply curious and eager to learn.
 
I loved every minute of my time in Yunnan with Ani, together we went from eating in small street stalls in paddy fields, to participating in dances with an entire village at nightfall and drinking wine which had macerated in silkworms cocoons. Whatever the situation, Ani was always calm and at ease. I came to think of him as a very old soul with a playful character. Whenever you were around him, you knew a smile was never far away. 


I remember the first day we met, it was magical.  I fell in love with his smile. You will always have a special place in my heart. 

OBITUARY

Anirudh Krishnan

October 29, 1986 – March 2, 2019

Green Acres Mortuary & Cemetery

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