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White Revolution, sepia memories: Diary of a dairy don

Like other young and ambitious men of his times, he, too, wanted to join the glamour world of Bombay but, thanks to a timely advice from a down-to-earth man, he ended up in a dusty town of Gujarat to emerge as the unassailable father of India's white revolution.

Reminiscing the success story of Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) five decades after its creation, Dr Verghese Kurien, who recently retired as chairman of National Dairy Development Board, told the graduates of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, that like other young men of his time, he wanted to take his destined place among the captains of commerce and industry.

"By my good fortune, though, I came to know a man, Tribhuvandas Patel, who was wise and caring. Although he could most likely have achieved a greater standing, he found his happiness in life by serving the dairy farmers of Kheda district.

''That happiness was infectious and I caught it. Fifty years later, I have never left Anand and have no desire to leave. Moreover, there is not a moment there that I regret," he added.

He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan and the Ramon Magasaysay Award for Community Development and numerous other awards. The 77-year-old "Milkman of India", as he is affectionately called, told young graduates of the NID at its 19th convocation function that if one, just one, of them would take his advice seriously, his mission would be fulfilled.

He gave ten tips for success : 1) do things on a large scale, large enough that you cannot admit to the possibility of failure; 2) ensure that you possess the relevant experience and skills; 3) call on others when you need them, but on your own terms; 4) be clear in what you seek to achieve; 5) know your market and what it needs -- not what you think it needs; 6) listen -- carefully -- to your consumers; 7) respect your consumers; 8) never compromise on quality; 9) ensure that you and those you work with are committed to your purpose, ensure that they are young and enrgetic; and 10) remember, always, that honesty is the only policy -- it will give you enormous strength, and endow all your works with humility, and listen to the voice of wisdom from whatever quarter it appears.

UNI

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