Historian R.G Collingwood once stated, “The ultimate aim of history is human self-knowledge. The value of history is that it teaches us what man has done, thus what man is.” Understanding our past is essential to grasping our present. The history of dairying in India stretches back millennia, but its modern evolution is closely tied…
Once upon a time, in the vibrant city of Toronto, a heartfelt gathering took place on the night of September 13, 2024. Friends and colleagues, united by a shared history, came together to reminisce and celebrate the bonds they had forged over the decades. In one picture, taken with the latest iPhone 15 gifted by…
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…
On the night of August 24, 2024, in Toronto, I was winding down, ready to slip into the comforting embrace of sleep, when a WhatsApp message from Nakshatri, my former colleague at the National Dairy Development Board, jolted me awake. Nakshatri had been part of the Oilseeds and Vegetable Oil wing, a team I had…
है तुम्हें किस बात का डर, रखो विश्वास इंजीनियरिंग पर, देंगे मीठी ख़ुशबू दूध और पनीर, पूरा होगा विज्ञान, डेयरियां बन जायेंगीं परफ़्यूमरियां माइक डॉ. माइकल हाल्स, एक विदेशी होने के बावजूद, 1965 सितंबर में प्रधानमंत्री श्री लाल बहादुर शास्त्री की प्रेरणा से स्थापित नेशनल डेयरी डेवलपमेंट बोर्ड के संस्थापक सदस्य थे। थे तो अंग्रेज,…
In August 2022, Dr. Mukund Naware sent me a message informing me that Rajeev Deshmukh, who had worked with the Farmers Organization and Animal Husbandry (FO and AH) Division of the National Dairy Development Board would be visiting Toronto and would like to meet me. Dr Naware and I had a telephone call after that….
A developing story unfolds through correspondence between two individuals who have yet to meet face to face and live over 12,480 kilometers apart. Like any story, this one also has a beginning. However, both the writers and the story itself are still searching for closure and longing for an end. Dear reader, could you lend…
We were in Vancouver from July 7th to 16th, 2023. The occasion was a sort of reunion of three families: the Anejas, Behlas, and mine. The three of us first met at Anand in the late sixties where we worked for many years with the then nascent National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) of India. Virindra…
Rashmi Kant Nagar On 1st June, 2023, Shailendra shared a video with me in which a scientist Dr. Satyaprakash Varma is showing (in some agricultural fair held in Rajkot during 24-28th May) how an income of ₹ 8000 to ₹85000 can be earned from one kilogram of Cattle /Buffalo dung. Yes, ₹ 8000- 85000 from…
Rashmi Kant Nagar Former General Manager, National Dairy Development Board Father’s Day is a new celebration for most Indians. We in India do not earmark a specific day to remember our parents- be it Mother’s Day or the Father’s Day. Shri Hem Shankar Nagar For us every day is the ‘parents day’ or it used…
This funny incident also happened in 1982 in Pakistan. The scene- Hilton, Lahore. This was our second week in Pakistan. After first week in Islamabad, which was mostly meetings with policy makers and senior bureaucrats in the government of Pakistan, we were now to undertake field visits to the proposed project areas in the Punjab province. Dr. Kurien left for India…
Dr TP Benjamin MVSc, Fellow IIMA , Bengaluru, a former colleague at NDDB and IRMA and a dear friend sent a whatsapp forward about a speech that Dr Kurien delivered as Chief Guest at IIM Ahmedabad at 23 Convocation of the institute in 1988. Text of the WhatsApp forward is given at the end of…
