Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta Profile picture
Additional Chief Secretary & Development Commissioner, Government of Karnataka | ACS Panchayat Raj, Skill, Livelihoods | Public service | Personal account.
Mar 23, 2022 23 tweets 3 min read
A personal thread.

Ceto came to our home after losing her family in the second wave of Covid-19. She was our pandemic dog. And what a dog! A large, long-limbed black Labrador, slightly deaf, with tranquil red-brown eyes and a greying muzzle. We discovered that the name Ceto was Greek for a primordial sea goddess in charge of all the dangers of the ocean. In mythology, Ceto was the mother of Echidna, the Gorgons, the Nemean lion, and the Sphinx; Wikipedia said the name could also mean ‘sea monster’.
Mar 21, 2022 4 tweets 4 min read
New digital inclusion program of Karnataka’s rural libraries launched by the Honble Chief Minister in the beautiful Banquet Hall, Vidhana Soudha today, in the presence of distinguished guests including 400 gram panchayat presidents. #rurallibraries ImageImageImageImage And kids watching the program from rural libraries across the state. This picture from Antharasanthe. #rurallibraries #digitalinclusion Image
Sep 8, 2021 27 tweets 11 min read
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 Library in Bilikere, Mysuru with a 'bayalu granthalaya' (open-air library) and a lovely garden.
May 26, 2021 6 tweets 2 min read
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. Sapna wasn't a fancy bookstore, no frills but plain vanilla. Something for everyone: exam prep, dictionaries, comics. Lots of books for rural libraries were sourced from there. I found a beautiful new translation of Anna Karenina at the Residency Road store.