Book Review: I Too Had A Dream - Dr. Verghese Kurien

Contributed by: Susmita Paria, PGDM (2012-2014), WeSchool

 “In every crisis, if you look carefully, you will spot an opportunity. My insistence is on finding and seizing that opportunity.”  The above line is rightly quoted by Dr. Verghese Kurien in his autobiography; “I too had a dream”. His book will leave no stone unturned to give inspiration and motivate the reader at every page of this marvellous book.

A simple autobiography explaining how an individual can dare to dream, can dare to achieve what s/he aspires and how to turn tides in your favour with the simple mantra that “Nothing is Impossible”.

What will keep the readers hooked up is the truth mentioned right from Dr. Kurien’s disinterest to study Dairy Farming to taking up the manager’s role in farmer’s co-operative in Kaira District in Anand. The book takes the reader through the entire, detailed and a very vivid description of his life journey from thereon. How the “Amul” brand was born, developed, nurtured, diversified and how it is still growing creates ripples in the minds of readers and s/he yearns to know more and more. Mr. Kurien humbly mentions about the support he got from most notable people including Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Maniben (Sardar Patel’s daughter), Jawaharlal Nehru, Moraji Desai, Lal Bahadur Shastri etc at various phases of the cooperative and later on National Diary Development Board (NDDB), which made ‘Amul’ the largest food business brand of India.

The ‘Amul’ model of the cooperative movement not only made the farmers earn more, but also brought about a social revolution by empowering women, increasing the hygiene and medical standards of both people and cattle, breaking caste and religious distinctions, and most importantly making the nation self sufficient in milk production and distribution by implementing the famous ‘operation flood’ program across the nation through the cooperative model that he perfected through ‘Amul’.

Dr. Kurien passes the subtle message to the young generation that everything is possible if one believes in one’s self. He demonstrated Nationalism through the different endeavours in his life. A must read to understand and imbibe that Job Satisfaction, being altruistic is what matters and not money or a White Collared job. Fame and peace of mind is thus the by product of the former.