Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta
@readingkafka
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Additional Chief Secretary & Development Commissioner, Government of Karnataka | Public service | Personal account.
India
Joined August 2015
Sports injury, facial reconstructive surgery, near-total loss of vision in one eye. seven months later, the 16yo ran his second 10k today. Teenagers will teenage! 🌷🌱 #resilience
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When you send us books, this is where they go. To rural libraries where kids read them.
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Rest in peace Suresh Shah, founder of Sapna Book House, who passed away due to Covid. Started life as a railway coolie & headed Bombay Coolie Association. Started Sapna in Majestic. Published Kannada writers. Remarkable life.
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What decentralisation can do: a gram panchayat in Bagalkote installed this special toilet in a public school to help a disabled girl student. Local responses to local needs.
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Spoke to a kid whose mother, a single mom, is in the hospital ICU with Covid, fighting for her life. He asked me to pray for her. I think we can all pray for her.
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Thanks to the terrific kids who collected 750 books for our rural libraries this week.
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A personal milestone: I have been promoted as Additional Chief Secretary & will continue in Panchayat Raj. It's a privilege to serve.
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Nobody needs 10-minute food delivery. Don’t put food delivery staff at risk. These are not the Hunger Games.
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New gram panchayat library in Kaidhale, Davangere. 2000 books, e-library with Internet, computers. Picture shared by Vidya Badadhal.
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A beautiful moment! Grandfather and grandchild in the rural public library. #librariesforall
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I wrote about how India’s anganwadi system is getting some things right despite its many flaws.
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Kids in libraries. That's it, that's the tweet.
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800 more books collected for our rural libraries by 3 committed kids! Thank you boys! .#rurallibraries
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Delighted to be present at the launch of Akka Cafe & Akka Bakery in Devanahalli today. Run entirely by self-help group women. Do visit! Shortly, 48 more such Akka Cafes & 2500 Akka Coffee Kiosks will be started across Karnataka. #womenslivelihoods #womensempowerment
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My mother-in-law, 79, and vaccinated with both doses in March-April, has just recovered from Covid. Her infection was mild, and with the guidance of good and ethical doctors on teleconsult, she has recovered at home.
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Bus driver in Koppal visiting the rural public library every day to read the newspaper. The public library is for everyone. #librariesforall
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Men will never realise how much time and mental bandwidth women use up just in staying safe.
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How cute is this: little kids in line to borrow picture books from the rural public library. #kidsinlibraries 🌿📚🌱🌷
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Little anganwadi kids on their first visit to the rural library! Video shared by Vimala, PDO Girisagar, Bagalkote.
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Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of the very great Ela Bhatt, founder of the Self-Employed Women’s Association, Magsaysay Awardee, and Gandhian. A rare gem and a hero.
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The little hero from Devadurga, Raichur who guided an ambulance across a flooded bridge!
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On International Literacy Day, I'm going to post some pictures of our rural public libraries. We have over 5600 rural public libraries; in the last 10 months, a million children have been enrolled free of charge as new members. #readon
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What a SUPER library at Beedi, Belagavi: 3000 books, a digital library, comfortable sofas for kids, & open-air reading garden around a hundred-year old well! .Wonderful work by Ganesh, panchayat devt officer, guided by Darshan, CEO. #rurallibraries .#thinkingspaces #OduvaBelaku
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Women learning to read and write at this rural library in Kodiyala, Haveri. So beautiful! #librariesforall
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This lady, nearly 80 years old, comes to the rural public library regularly. The rural public libraries are so happy to serve our senior citizens. #librariesforall
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So nice! Senior citizens solving a jigsaw puzzle in the rural public library. #librariesforall
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A new day and a new role. I have been posted as Additional Chief Secretary & Development Commissioner. Very much much looking forward to serving in this role.
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What a joy to see older women learning to use the computer in the rural public library! #librariesforall
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So so so proud of Gautam, a young man with a disability who at the age of 28 has cleared his Class 10 exam (SSLC) after studying in the rural public library. This is what gives meaning to our work. #librariesforall
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Science motifs in this Warli mural at the Muddenahalli govt high school. And I love the stencilling on the border. #details
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How beautiful this Deepavali celebration in the rural public library! . #librariesforall #festivaloflights
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“Two women.” They have names.
JUST IN: Two women share the 2020 Nobel chemistry prize for work in genome editing, a technique described as "rewriting the code of life."
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Got your library card? All rural kids aged 6 to 18 can get library cards free at Karnataka's rural libraries. Read on!
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I wrote about Aruna Roy's memoir and about her remarkable life.
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Reading the daily newspapers. Staying informed. Karnataka's rural public libraries organise activities on different themes every month to help kids stay connected with reading, writing, and reflection. #librariesforall
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The ten enterprising women who will run the Akka Cafe & Bakery at Devanahalli. #womenslivelihoods #smallbusinesses
Get a cup of filter coffee at the Akka Cafe. Have a cupcake at the in-house bakery. Support this small business run by ten enterprising rural women. #womenslivelihoods #womensempowerment
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Glad to be taking concurrent charge as Principal Secretary, Women & Child Devt again, a post I have held earlier. Here's a piece I wrote on the anganwadi system. (Pre-pandemic).
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Experts who say ppl ‘don’t know’ about the benefits of education. Tell that to the domestic worker who works in 8 houses to pay school fees.
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I wrote about public libraries and what they can do for rural communities.
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So much in this story. Illiterate parents who have migrated inter-state for work. An asthmatic govt school teacher. Special 6am classes. Breakfast. A mom who attended all the PTA meetings. And a kid who makes them all proud. #everythingittakes #India.
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Farewell to S G Neginhal, who gave Bangalore its flowering trees.
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First of the Akka Cafes launched today. Hope you will visit soon! Let's support women-run small businesses today and every day! #womenslivelihoods #womensday
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Karnataka's network of about 5900 rural public libraries have enrolled over 4.5 million children as members, completely free of charge. #librariesforall
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So pleased to see this recognition from Govt of India for Karnataka's revitalization of rural public libraries. Rural public libraries can play a key role in their communities as vibrant decentralized learning spaces.
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So much cuteness! Anganwadi kids are back in Karnataka's 66,361 anganwadis! 🌷🌷
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My school geography teacher dropped in to meet me today. She still has my Class 9 workbook. I was so touched.🌷
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"The person who plants trees, knowing that they will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.". - Rabindranath Tagore.
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I have taken concurrent charge as Additional Chief Secretary, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood. Look forward to working in this sector.
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I dislike the term "soft skills". Teamwork, communication, problem solving, emotional intelligence - there's nothing "soft" about these. They are hard and important work, & should be valued as such.
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The rural library as vibrant community space! .Here, a woman Yakshagana artist demonstrates a movement at the Hebri rural library in Udupi. Video shared by Pushpavathi Shetty, librarian. #rurallibraries
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Oh my heart. 💗 .This little Grade 1 kid is guiding his mum's hand to show her how to draw a heart on the computer. 🌿🌷🌿.#librariesforall
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Completing 31 years in the civil service. Grateful.
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Two older women having a chat while their grandkids read in the rural public library. #librariesforall
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708/708. A village that is 100% vaccinated celebrates with street art. Picture shared by Mohan, Executive Officer Gangavathi.
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Whenever I see those listicles of the 5 or 10 or 20 most beautiful libraries in the world, I think of this report about Chinnathambi’s library. The most beautiful libraries are the ones where books are read by people.
P.V. Chinnathambi runs one of the loneliest #libraries in the forested wilderness of #Kerala’s Idukki district. Its 160-#books —all #classics— are regularly borrowed, read, & returned by poor, Muthavan #Adivasis. #WorldBookDay @PSainath_org
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Karnataka’s milk program, giving kids a glass of milk five days of the week, covers 10 million kids aged 6 months to Class 10. Helps dairy farmers, many of them women, with assured income that’s especially helpful in lean periods. #calcium #protein #strongkids
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Govt Higher Primary School, in the Doddajala gram panchayat.
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Unforgettable video from last year. A small group of SHG women learning to read and write in the rural public library. So beautiful and affirming. 🌷🌿
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So thrilled that the govt order for setting up 330 more rural libraries was issued yesterday. This means that every gram panchayat in Karnataka will now have its own public library! . Libraries are knowledge centres for rural communities. #rurallibraries
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While working as a postal worker, this young man used to study in the rural public library every evening. He passed the police entrance exams with 9th rank! . He talks about how rural public libraries help young people like him prepare for exams & for life! .#librariesforall
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“As she discovers the wonders of Karnataka, she is also discovering herself.” #womensempowerment
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On Girl Child Day, sharing this picture of little girls reading picture books at a rural library.
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“I was treated poorly by classmates who saw me as a child of the slums. I also suffered from embarrassment during biology labs because I was very short—due to malnutrition, I suspect—and I had to stand on a chair to see into the microscope.”
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When this is over, we should remember that essential workers aren’t essential only during a lockdown. They are always essential.
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Navalgund dhurrie made by women weavers from Navalgund ("hill of peacocks"), Dharwar. A centuries-old traditional art that traces its roots to Jamkhan Galli in Bijapur.
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Ugadi greetings to everyone. Looking forward to my new assignment as Principal Secretary, Panchayat Raj in the Dept of Rural Development & Panchayat Raj. #localgovernment
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This is heartwarming. Congrats on showing that this is possible!
Not only are Delhi's govt schools doing better than pvt schools in Delhi, they are doing better than pvt schools across the country! (n/n).
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This dad and daughter walked 2 km to the rural library so that the little girl could borrow a book. 🌷🌿🌷
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Bidri paperweight. This elegant art from Bidar in north Karnataka consists of fine silver inlay on darkened zinc-copper alloy. Traditionally, Bidri artists use soil from inside the centuries-old Bidar fort to blacken the surface of the material. #traditionalarts
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This month, we’ve watched 4 great Malayalam films: Kumbalangi Nights, Angamaly Diaries, Maheshinte Prathikaram, and Sudani from Nigeria. Such great cinema from Kerala. And I love the women characters - Baby in Kumbalangi, the two adorable Ammachis in Sudani.
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I spoke to the @NewIndianXpress on Karnataka’s rural libraries initiative, which has enrolled 3.3 million rural children as members. #kidsinlibraries
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When you educate girls, you educate girls - and that itself is one of the most important goals. Girls are individuals. They have a right to education. All the other benefits are also known & good to have, but girls’ education is not just a means to a greater end.
When you educate girls, you help reduce poverty, improve maternal & child health, prevent HIV & AIDS, and raise living standards for everyone!. 📚👧🏽👧🏽👩🏽🎓.#empower #educate #girlchild #WednesdayMotivation #genderequality
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#Covidstories One of the loneliest places in the world is in the back of a Covid ambulance. The driver is in PPE, everyone else is in PPE, & only you are in normal clothes and cloth mask, like a scruffy time traveller from the twentieth century stepping into a dystopian future.
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Library kids keeping track of the number of books they have read. 🌷🌿
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Covid vaccination at the rice fields. Rice transplantation season. Picture shared by Divya Prabhu, CEO Mandya Zilla Panchayat.
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Ranjitsinh Disale is a teacher in a Zilla Parishad school in Maharashtra.
$1 million Global Teacher Prize awarded to Ranjitsinh Disale of India
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Back home from hospital, and it has never felt sweeter to listen to the notes of the 12yo’s piano lesson from my room where I’m still recovering. Thank you all, dear friends, for your wishes.
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At Blossoms today, a woman who had bought a bag of books urged me to bill my 2 bks before her. A teenage boy held the lift for me. I asked how his day had been. He said so-so, but that now, Blossoms would probably make it better. Bengaluru book people are the nicest people.
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Kids getting their library membership cards is my favourite kind of picture. Over 4.5 million kids enrolled free so far. Read on! #librariesforall
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Choose your book. Read. Karnataka has 5900 rural public libraries. The state will set up 6599 more village public libraries this year. 4.8 million children have been enrolled as members free of charge. #librariesforall
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Aristotle said the purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge. And in the words of Perumal Murugan, “There are many who speak, but very few who act.” Aruna Roy has spent her entire lifetime engaged in constructive action. I wrote about her memoir.
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The gram panchayat library at Doddahosale gram panchayat, Kolar. Libraries are normally open for four hours a day.
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A milestone for the state today: announcement of 6599 new village public libraries!.#librariesforall
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