tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201542792009-12-30T15:34:34.111ZSunday Posts isn't, and never was, about ideas thought up on idle Sundays. It intended to be, but Sundays never appeared. I always thought in essays. I was a natural with long-winded grand ideas. But, in a holiday-less world and under the watch of a sleepless God, words came to me. Fragmented. Momentary. But, nonetheless, carried the moment.Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.comBlogger501125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-30766151264865030312009-12-29T08:09:00.002Z2009-12-29T08:30:19.426Z

Shashi Tharoor's tweets have been extremely popular, candid and humorous. But somehow the government manages to make itself embarrassed on these, and the recent statement by S M Krishna, Tharoor's boss and the Foreign Minister, that he should discuss his 'perceptions' within the 'Four Walls' of the government and not tweet is a clear reflection how uncomfortable the powers that be are.I am little

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-34017508026092344472009-12-28T20:44:00.001Z2009-12-28T21:35:55.839Z

I found this article by Paul Krugman and ended up agreeing to most of what it says. I reproduce the article in full below.----------------------------------------------------------------Maybe we knew, at some unconscious, instinctive level, that it would be an era best forgotten. Whatever the reason, we got through the first decade of the new millennium without ever agreeing on what to call it.

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-47656041955041694912009-12-26T16:26:00.003Z2009-12-26T17:23:43.541Z

Let's call it a manifesto. I must make 2010 very different from 2009, and nothing short of a mini-revolution help me achieve what I want. Here are my thoughts on what I am going to do.But before I get to that, a few words on my long term plans.First, I shall definitely stay in Britain for next three years, but head out, to Asia perhaps, in December 2012. I gather I need three years to complete

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-23136272878226965742009-12-25T21:21:00.003Z2009-12-25T22:08:11.800Z

The Christmas Day is now over. My tenth Christmas away from home, of which the last six were in London. One always feels a bit sad to be away from everyone else on Christmas Day, particularly because, all shops are closed, there are no trains or buses and everyone else is busy with family. So, I spent time catching up on some reading and watching the tele, something I usually never manage to do.

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-74452560309821848932009-12-25T16:15:00.002Z2009-12-25T16:47:59.824Z

The more I think about it, I become more convinced that universities have already started morphing into the User Network model, adopting the role of a guide and mentor to the seekers of knowledge, rather than trying to be the fountainhead of knowledge creation. One may as well argue some of the best research and innovation come out of universities. This is indeed true, and in that function,

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-4438348218671121992009-12-22T21:23:00.008Z2009-12-24T17:54:45.246Z

I have previous mentioned about a Facilitated Network Model of education, where modern learning technology - of cheap communication and rich media - transform the education to a more asynchronous, personalized yet collaborative process. I argued that the model of education as we have it today, is increasingly out of sync with our life.This is not just because of technology. I say this because of

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-78985672653601819132009-12-21T11:05:00.011Z2009-12-24T17:34:38.926Z

I am preparing to write the Open College idea down over the Christmas holidays and hence, doing some reading and review of ideas. There could not have been a better place to start the journey than Clayton Christensen's DISRUPTING CLASS [with Michael Horn and Curtis Johnson], where the effect of disruptive innovation on how education is delivered has been examined. The book is full of concepts

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-14565874994326592642009-12-21T10:12:00.004Z2009-12-21T13:08:40.311Z

With my business connections in Hyderabad, I am increasingly worried about the state of affairs in Andhra Pradesh and the political tension surrounding the formation of the Telengana state. I can see the Congress Party is split in two, with the coastal MPs fasting unto death and agitating with all their life's worth against the decision, and the ones from Northern regions quietly basking in the

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-2954879230796789252009-12-20T11:21:00.004Z2009-12-20T14:13:35.406Z

The last Sunday before Christmas - the year feels like over. It is brilliantly sunny and bitterly cold outside. So cold that the snow won't melt even in the full glare of the Sun. The road in front of us is unusually quiet, but I know that the traffic would build up soon, after Lunch, when everyone would head for shops one last time. The newspapers report that Britain had one of the biggest

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-75915847190259680702009-12-19T08:20:00.005Z2009-12-25T15:18:26.097Z

Across the world, public education is on its way out. It is definitely out of fashion in all of the Anglo-Saxon world, and increasingly the developing countries, which are burdened by out of date education systems, mostly out of touch academics and out of proportion education bureaucracies, are following that lead. It indeed looks like an easy solution: let the private entrepreneurs make money

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-80239241376406739282009-12-19T07:32:00.004Z2009-12-25T15:19:07.271Z

Idealism does not get you far in life, my teachers advised me. This is an advice I have not heeded, to my peril. I get excited by ideas, and not often care to assess the benefits, of personal and material kind, before pursuing one. And, so I have done many times before.However, for all my day-dreaming habits and undying optimism, I have possibly not worked for anything even closely exciting as

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-75311713639979412612009-12-18T19:28:00.003Z2009-12-19T08:47:17.364Z

This is an old joke, about the Four Dimensions of Happiness.So, a happy man hasAn American SalaryA British HouseA Chinese CookAndA Japanese Wife.The other end of the maxim, the four dimensions of unhappiness, is also spelt out as well:A Chinese SalaryA British CookA Japanese HouseAndAn American Wife.Apologies, because, this is very male and lots of stereotypes here [some are also dated, because

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-69637724859012661442009-12-18T19:12:00.000Z2009-12-18T19:13:30.029Z

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-50915889635730440812009-12-17T22:51:00.005Z2009-12-17T23:00:01.767Z

This advert, put out on billboards by St Matthew-in-the-City Church in Auckland, is causing a bit of a debate. Many residents are angry, they think the advert shows disrespect. The church wanted to do this to, yes to draw attention, and to spark a debate on Jesus' birth. But, what a timing?But, then, I guess fundamentalists are everywhere and they always miss the point. And, the irony, indeed.

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-72036836194599031762009-12-17T22:24:00.002Z2009-12-17T22:43:56.973Z

It is a great day for British Airways. It won an injunction on strikes called by Cabin Crew. This will keep the airline flying during the holidays, much to the relief of many passengers. It will possibly save the airline, for now. It will also possibly be the last nail in the coffin of the Trade Union movement in Britain, because the judgement was based on a technicality, which could have been

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-42805041874982652582009-12-16T07:01:00.000Z2009-12-16T10:44:39.723Z

In the context of the discussion about the East Asian Union, there is a lot of unease in America and Europe. It almost appears that there is some kind of conspiracy against them, by some socialist powers, though the idea is generating in Japan and the adherents, countries like South Korea and Taiwan, are strong American allies. I have been told that the scheme is to undermine American hegemony,

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-37203488269479406252009-12-16T00:25:00.000Z2009-12-16T00:25:00.074Z

In the light of the Hatoyama doctrine and the shifting world economics and politics, it is time for us to rethink our plans in India and how this country should develop in the next decade. I am a great believer that India has the potential to develop into a powerful economy, but I do not think this is a given, and a lot will depend on the choices we make with regard to our development model. I am

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-82021658254553129102009-12-15T00:17:00.003Z2009-12-15T06:30:05.712Z

In the context of my recent comment regarding the East Asian Community, I decided to post Yukio Hatoyama's article from International Herald Tribune, where it appeared in English. This article, understandably, created so much anxiety in the Washington Policy circles. However, it is said that there is less to worry about Hatoyama's intent than is currently thought. His comments about the failure

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-23356527033296661182009-12-14T20:01:00.003Z2009-12-15T06:32:58.101Z

This article in Foreign Affairs was worth reproducing here, in the context of what I wrote about Obama's Nobel Speech and the requirements of pragmatism as John Gibb pointed out to me. This is written by ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI, who was the U.S. National Security Adviser from 1977 to 1981. His most recent book is Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower.From Hope to

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-3471936694562050152009-12-14T17:59:00.002Z2009-12-14T18:43:25.057Z

The idea of an East Asian Union is suddenly real. The idea has a long history: Been proposed by Count Okakura in the early Twentieth century, and championed by Rabindranath Tagore and Sun Yet Sen in India and China respectively. But the idea died its death with the emergence of imperial, fascist Japan, which cruelly enslaved the rest of East Asia and reached India. Since then, the idea became

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-87654764981563702682009-12-13T18:50:00.002Z2009-12-13T19:29:52.929Z

The world is divided on what President Obama said, and did not say, in his Nobel Lecture. An unlikely recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, he felt hard pressed to present a justification for his various wars, but he should not have. The prize, in the world's eyes, was given to Obama The Symbol - of culmination of a long struggle of rights and dignity of the African-Americans - than Obama The Man.

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-50345262474003950282009-12-12T20:42:00.009Z2009-12-15T07:58:49.922Z

Krakow: Where History Envelops EverythingThe Market Square & St Mary's: Where the trumpet stops halfwayGates to the old, walled cityThe Palace of the Polish Kings in KrakowThe Market StreetsThe River Vistula from the Palace: Where the dragon lives

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-63778485433879184702009-12-12T20:34:00.007Z2009-12-15T07:55:17.866Z

Warsaw: Where History Was Wiped Out and Was Built Brick by BrickStanislas Poniatowski: The Last King of PolandUniversity of WarsawThe Old Warsaw: Not The Concrete Jungle like the RestThe Polish Academy of Sciences

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-18350934112268120442009-12-12T16:27:00.007Z2009-12-15T07:46:51.340Z

Wootz: Where History is best forgottenUl. Piotrkowska - Lifeline for Lodz, and Europe's Longest StreetAs obvious, a Gas Station without Gas And, a ghostly side streetThe New Lodz, Infosys and all that

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20154279.post-70472507496896120472009-12-11T13:47:00.006Z2009-12-11T21:54:24.385Z

I am in Krakow now, and just having a free morning. This is the last day of a quite demanding visit, but a thoroughly illuminating one. It was also quite a bit of travelling - flew in Krakow [pronounced Krakuv], took a train to Lodz [pronounced Wootz] and then on to Warsaw [pronounced Varsava] - all by train and with a lot of walking around. That always helps, as I am getting a hang of Polish

Supriyo Chaudhurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05447230684750188797supriyozown@gmail.com2