Wednesday, 25 November 2015

MB:TheGuide : THE MILKMAN OF INDIA

MB:TheGuide : THE MILKMAN OF INDIA: November 26, 2015, Thursday Verghese Kurien: The Milk Man of India Today is the birth anniversary of the legendary master, l...

THE MILKMAN OF INDIA




November 26, 2015, Thursday

Verghese Kurien: The Milk Man of India

Today is the birth anniversary of the legendary master, late Verghese Kurien.

Please send some time reading these  - http://www.drkurien.com/   and   http://www.amul.com/ - this would be a perfect tribute to the great man, whom I had an opportunity to meet and interact after a press conference.  In his trademark safari suit, he was simplicity thy name Verghese Kurien.

Kurian (November 26, 1921 - September 9, 2012) led the milk revolution of India - often referred to as the Operation Flood – and he is credited as Father of Milk Revolution or Milkman of India.  He founded several organisations including the robust Amul.

But, he is not considered a Bharat Ratna. Why?

The work of Dr Kurien is second to none – and whether he gets a Bharat Ratna award or not, he would always be a Bharat Ratna in the hearts of Indians.

He transformed India from a milk-deficient nation to the world's largest milk producer, surpassing the United States of America in 1998, with about 17 percent of global output in 2010–11, which in 30 years doubled milk available to every person.[5] Dairy farming became India's largest self-sustaining industry. He made the country self-sufficient in edible oils too later on, taking the powerful and entrenched oil supplying lobby, head-on.

Dr. Verghese Kurien was born on November 26, 1921 to an affluent Syrian Christian family in Calicut (now Kozhikode), Kerala. His father Puthenparakkal Kurien was a civil surgeon in British Cochin and his mother was a highly educated woman as well an exceptional piano player. He was named after his uncle Rao Sahib P.K Verghese. Dr Kurien joined Loyola College in Madras and attained his degree in B.Sc in Physics. He was also very active in sports and represented the college in cricket, badminton, boxing and tennis. He went to the United States of America on government scholarship where he pursued his degree in Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Distinction). He returned to India after completion of his studies and on May 13, 1949 he headed for Anand, a place in Kaira district of Gujarat where he was supposed to spend five years as an officer of the Dairy division in return for the scholarship paid by the government. On arriving at Anand, he found that the farmers were being exploited by the distributors of milk and the entire region was controlled by a shrewd but clever businessman called as "Pestonjee Edulji" who marketed Polson butter.

Looking at the struggle of these people to survive and mesmerized by the personality of their leader Tribhuvandas Patel who was trying to unite the farmers and form a cooperative movement against the exploitation, Dr. Kurien left his government job and joined forces with Tribhuvandas Patel and the farmers to start the Milk Cooperative movement in the region registered under the name of Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd (KDCMPUL), which was later renamed to now popular "Amul". He worked towards bringing a White Revolution in India and executed the much needed programme of "Operation Flood". 

Dr. Verghese Kurien married Susan Molly Peter on June 15, 1953 and they had one daughter Nirmala Kurien and a grandson, Siddharth. Dr. Kurein was the man responsible for turning India from a milk deficient country to the largest producer of milk in the world today. Under his inspiring leadership many important institutions were established namely the GCMMF (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd) and NDDB (National Dairy Development board which played a significant role in shaping the Dairy Cooperative movement across the country and led the replication of Anand model of cooperative dairy practiced all over the country.


Dr. Kurien always regarded himself as an employee of the farmers who would do anything to bring prosperity in their favor.In his service of over fifty years he attained 15 honorary degrees from different institutions of the world as he believed that learning should never stop. 

His enduring personality, spirit, undying charisma and conviction of turning the impossible into possible won him many accolades such as the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership (1963), Padma Shri (1965), Padma Bhushan (1966), Krishi Ratna Award (1986), World Food prize (1989), Padma Vibhushan (1999), Economic Times award for Corporate Excellence (2001) and several other awards, but the best award that the people of the country gave him was the title "Milkman of India". After a lifetime of struggle and conviction towards serving the nation Dr. Verghese Kurien breathe his last on 9 September 2012 due to brief illness at Anand. Dr. Verghese Kurien will always be remembered as the person who redefined the meaning of milk as a powerful tool for economic development.







THE GOD BOWS OUT, ONLY HUMANS WOULD PLAY CRICKET NOW

November 16, 2013 

(Written on the day, Sachin Tendulkar, retired, nearly two years ago) 


THE GOD BOWS OUT, ONLY HUMANS WOULD PLAY CRICKET NOW

The GOD has bowed out. Gracefully. From now on, only HUMAN BEINGS would play cricket. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, 40, the God of Cricket, the Little Master, the Master Blaster, our Tendlya, has finally hung up the boots. Cricket would never be the same again. Watching cricket would not be the same again. Will there be ever the rendition – if I may call of “Sachin....Saccchiiinn....Saccchiiinnn”......we would miss this. For me he is “Tendul-Ratna” or “Sachin-Ratna”. 
Prolific inventor Thomas Alva Edison had rightly said: "Genius in one per cent inspiration, 99 per cent perspiration." This is one fit Sachin the most - if one follows his career. 
On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's 70th birthday, the legendary Albert Einstein, said - "Generations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth.” Same is true.....for Sachin......generations ahead would feel hard to believe that such a cricketer – one of flesh and blood – ever entered the field. 
The world has several cricketers – several giants, but Sachin would always surpass. But his biggest contribution is how he has carried himself over the last three decades, gracefully. 
Statistics speak for itself – a big THANK YOU.....Master. For all that, you gave to cricket and ALL OF US. It is 34,347 runs in ODI (463) and Tests (200) totally – and the memorable 100 centuries --- in which, CRITICS please note....India won 75 matches. Add to it the 200 wickets, 255 catches, average of around 50, superb fielding, his on field behaviour, his off field behaviour and above all the DIGNITY and GRACE. He is one man for him, adjectives feel short. 
I am a die-hard fan of Sachin. I have followed his life through media reports. I cherished a dream of having a photo clicked with the Master....which my colleague and friend Prashant Sawant made it possible. It is the most prized possession in my humble drawing room.....It would cherish it till I die. 
It is 24 years of international cricket for him – and close to a decade – ever run that this Run Machine scored was a new world record. He had excelled in all the disciplines of cricket – and excelled in all. 
It is difficult to write this.
When I wrote the news of death and obit of Dev Anand, I broke down. I was a big fan of the evergreen Devsaab. Sometimes writing – which is an integral part of me – is difficult. 
And as Sachin leaves the international cricketing arena....it becomes difficult for me to gather words.....the usual fingers are not able to find the keys on the QUERTY keyboard and sometimes there are drops of salty water on the black keyboard. 
Besides my parents, I have have a big list people whom I admire – not necessarily in the order, but they are – Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, Dev Anand, Sachin Tendulkar, Diego Maradona, Kishore Kumar, Mother Teresa, Charlie Chaplin, Sam Manekshaw, Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha, Amitabh Bachchan and so on. But Sachin Tendulkar is special – because he is around my age – and I have closely seen his career, from the time, I started understanding a bit of cricket, though with the perspective and vision of a layman, a common man. 
With deep pain, I write this – and it is hard to believe that Sachin would not play anymore. 
What would be cricket like without my HERO stepping into the field.
Should I follow cricket anymore......
As the Master spoke at the jam-packed Wankhede Stadium, acknowledging one and all, I was hooked not a radio.....and even I at times I saw haze – only to realise, I was in tears. But this day was to come – when he signs off – and it happened. 
I am one would could never take any criticism of the Master.....after all he was God! 
But frankly, he did had some more matches left in him – in both the formats of the gentleman's game – Test and ODI. 
I say, I assert, I demand, I request, I urge, I plead, I suggest - a BharatRatna is a must for him. Though, it would invite criticism – but still I stick to it. If not him, them whom? 
But before I end, I hope that more SACHINs are born.......at least, in recent times, he has been the biggest UNIFYING FACTOR in INDIA.

LAUNCH OF MB-THE GUIDE

MB:TheGuide

25/November/2015/Wednesday

This is a new blog by me - MB:TheGuide 
Here I would be sharing my views, my opinions and my personal experiences.
These would be essentially be narration of experiences, stories by me and things that interests me or that does not interest me. 
Besides this there would be lot of photos - clicked by me, by my friends and from Internet. 
I am branding it is MB:TheGuide - as I feel it is my duty to inform people and learn from them - and be committed to the cardinal rule that - education is a continuous process.
I would also be posting some of my old blogs or thoughts that I have put on the social media - basically Facebook or Twitter. 

I am reachable on - G-mail  -   mrityunjaybose@gmail.com 
                               Twitter -   @mrityunjaybose 
                               Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mrityunjay.bose?fref=ts

So, please watch out!!!!
Cheers!!!