Verghese Kurien – I Too Had A Dream

1. About the author

Dr Verghese Kurien (born 1921 in Kozhikode, Kerala) was a brilliant engineer who studied metallurgical and mechanical engineering, including a course in the United States. By a turn of fate he was sent to the small town of Anand in Gujarat in 1949, where he chose to stay and help the local dairy farmers instead of taking up the comfortable, well-paid careers open to him.

Working with the milk producers’ cooperative, he built the famous brand Amul and later led the nationwide programme Operation Flood. This made India the world’s largest producer of milk — a transformation called the White Revolution. For this he is honoured as the ‘Milkman of India’ and the ‘Father of the White Revolution’, and he received the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan as well as the international Ramon Magsaysay and World Food Prizes. His memoir is titled I Too Had a Dream.

2. About the text & the title

This chapter is written in the form of a warm, personal letter from Kurien to his grandson Siddharth. In it the great achiever does not boast about his honours; instead he gently passes on the life-lessons and values that guided him, hoping Siddharth and the next generation will carry them forward.

The title ‘I Too Had a Dream’ is meaningful. It echoes the dreams of great leaders, but Kurien’s dream was not personal glory — it was a dream of a self-reliant India and prosperous, dignified farmers. The word ‘too’ suggests that an ordinary man, too, can dream a great dream and turn it into reality through hard work and honesty.

3. Summary — Part 1: Why a letter, not a phone call

Kurien begins his letter by explaining why he chose to write rather than telephone. A phone call gives only fleeting (momentary) pleasure and is soon forgotten, but a letter “becomes a possession that can be treasured and re-read over the years.” He wants his thoughts to last — to be kept and read again by Siddharth long after he is gone. This sets the gentle, thoughtful tone of the whole letter.

4. Summary — Part 2: The choices Kurien made

Kurien tells Siddharth that after India became independent, he had to choose his path in life. He could have followed metallurgy (his training), taken a commission in the Indian Army, or become a wealthy NRI settled in America. Instead he chose to work for a humble dairy cooperative in Anand, where there were few comforts. He believed that helping farmers and building the nation was the ‘noblest task’, and so he made nation-building his life’s work.

5. Summary — Part 3: The people who shaped him

Kurien lovingly credits two people for his success. The first is Siddharth’s grandmother (Kurien’s wife), who cheerfully supported his decision to live in the small town of Anand despite its lack of comforts — her support made his work possible. The second is his mentor, Tribhuvandas Patel, a leader of the farmers who embodied honesty and selflessness and taught Kurien important values. Kurien stresses that no achievement is the work of one person alone.

6. Summary — Part 4: The Padma Vibhushan anecdote

Kurien recalls a ceremony in 1999, when the President of India awarded him the Padma Vibhushan, one of the country’s highest civilian honours. In a moving gesture, he gave the medal to young Siddharth — but with an important lesson. He told the boy that an inherited honour should never satisfy him; Siddharth must go out and earn his own reward through his own good work. A gift of glory means nothing unless one deserves it.

7. Summary — Part 5: The values Kurien hopes to pass on

The heart of the letter is the wisdom Kurien wishes to leave behind. He teaches that life is a privilege and wasting it would be wrong; that integrity begins with being honest to oneself, which then makes one honest with others; and that one should use one’s talents to contribute to the common good — to one’s community, nation and humanity. He redefines failure: failure is not the lack of success, but the refusal to contribute meaningfully. He ends with the hope that if we are “brave enough to love… strong enough to rejoice in another’s happiness”, we will have lived our lives to the fullest.

8. Theme & message

• Service to the nation: True greatness lies in giving up personal comforts to work for the welfare of others — Kurien chose poor farmers over riches abroad.
• Integrity and honesty: Being honest with oneself is the foundation of all good character; without it, no real achievement is possible.
• Humility: Success belongs to the team and to those who support us; one must never be proud or take credit alone.
• Earning your own worth: Inherited honours and family fame are worthless; each person must earn his own reward through his own work.
• Living for the common good: A meaningful life is measured by what we contribute to society, not by what we possess.

9. Character & values of Verghese Kurien

Dr Verghese Kurien emerges from the letter as a man of rare vision and selflessness. Though highly educated and capable of earning great wealth, he willingly sacrificed comfort to live in a small town and serve poor dairy farmers — showing his patriotism and love for the common people. He is deeply humble: he refuses to claim success as his own, crediting his wife and his mentor Tribhuvandas Patel. He values integrity above everything, insisting that one must first be honest with oneself.

As a grandfather he is loving, wise and far-sighted — he writes a letter so his thoughts will last, and even his gift of the Padma Vibhushan medal carries a moral lesson about earning one’s own honour. Above all he is a dreamer who acted: he turned his dream of a self-reliant India into the real White Revolution, proving that honesty and hard work can change a nation.

10. Word meanings

• Fleeting — lasting only a short time; momentary.
• Treasured — kept and valued greatly.
• Abiding — lasting for a long time; enduring.
• Privilege — a special right, advantage or opportunity.
• Integrity — honesty and strong moral principles.
• Humility — the quality of being humble; not being proud.
• Ardently — passionately; with strong feeling.
• Adhered — stuck to firmly; followed or supported steadily.
• Musings — deep, thoughtful reflections.
• Cooperative — an organisation owned and run jointly by its members, who share the profits.
• Metallurgy — the science of metals and their use.
• Commission — an officer’s rank or appointment, here in the Army.
• NRI — a Non-Resident Indian; an Indian living abroad.
• Noblest — the finest, highest or most honourable.
• Mentor — an experienced person who guides and advises another.
• Inherited — received from one’s family or elders.
• Common good — the benefit and welfare of all people in society.
• Rejoice — to feel or show great joy.