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I too had a dream In his memoirs, Kurien has portrayed a fascinating view of the challenges, achievements and frustrations of his colourful life. He has recounted a large number of instances of his real-life happenings with certain people and at the same time he has been generous with the praises for others, hence these memoirs reflect a real sense of events. In a chapter, he says: “I have often claimed that I have had one good idea in my life; true development is the development of women and men.” This idea was the turning point in his life, so consequently he said, “I remained in this small, sleepy town of Anand for over 50 years as an employee of farmers. I was never able to give this up for what many call ‘a better life’.” He felt that 50 years he spent in the town of Anand has been the most rewarding to his life. “Over the years, I have spoken ceaselessly of this idea to infuse young women and men to adopt my passion as theirs. I have been fortunate that there have been many who took up the challenge.” He has shown in a couple of pictures regarding his early days in the college, with his parents, brothers and sisters, with soul mate Molly, Dr Nirmala and Maniben Patel who was like a surrogate mother to them and many more pictures depicting the simple way of life he was leading. The pictures of Dr Kurien receiving the Magsaysay Award in 1963 from the President of Phillippines, Padma Bhushan in 1966 from Dr R. S. Radhakrishnan, Honorary Doctorate of Law from Glasgow University in 1974, with Jagjivan Ram and Faqruddin Ali Admed, President K. R. Narayanan and Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam receiving doctorate in 2000 are all very impressive depicting the simple way of his living and high thinking. In one of the articles, he said, “When farmers are helped to become self-reliant, to manage their own affairs and to manage their livelihoods, they become the strong spine of the nation’s democracy. Therefore, it becomes the primary responsibility of the government to nurture cooperative.” The book is a great incentive for the young readers to know as to how sacrifices are made for the uplift of the rural poor and weaker section of society and also devoting life for their welfare as part of social responsibility entrusted to all of us. |
The country has been lucky to have a selfless, committed and self-effacing nationalist and a journalist like Dr Verghese Kurien who has been able to dedicate his life for the improvement of quality of life and health of millions of countrymen of the economically weaker section of society and transforming them into productive members of the nation. A great journalist and an institution by himself, Kurien held a variety of offices and lived a life so busy, so packed with plans and purpose that “eight decades, according to him, “seem to have flown by a trice”. From April 1950 to July 1973, he was Manager and then the General Manager of the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd. (popularly known as ‘Amul’). 