Listening to Dr. V. Kurien: His Story in His Own Words

So much has been written about Dr. Verghese Kurien—his remarkable contributions and the profound impact he had on the dairy industry in India—that any new reflections on his life and work might seem like mere repetitions of existing material. Yet, the question remains: how do we truly remember Dr. Kurien?

Recently, Shri Mariappan, a former colleague from the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), shared links to three YouTube audio files from the Prasar Bharati Archives that have recording of story of Dr. V. Kurien, told by one of the greatest storytellers I have ever encountered—Dr. Kurien himself.

Attached below is a screenshot of the message from Shri Mariappan along with my reply.

I previously shared in 2020 an audio file (anand.mp3) on Vrikshamandir as part of a blog titled “Remembering Dr. Kurien,” which can be accessed via this link. In this recording, Dr. Kurien discusses his life, his vision for the formation of NDDB, and Operation Flood. This audio file was created from a documentary produced by Shri Shyam Benegal for us in the 1970s, prior to Manthan.

The three YouTube audio links I’m sharing were sent to me by Shri Mariappan. Upon listening to them, it seems to me that these recordings were made in the 1990s, though I could be mistaken.

So I now have four audio recordings in which Dr. Kurien narrates his journey and recounts the genesis of NDDB, Operation Flood, the Anand Pattern of Cooperatives, and many other significant initiatives that NDDB undertook under his leadership in his own words. I am happy to share these at one place with readers of Vrikshamandir.