Dr. Verghese Kurien - Memories

Till fate ordained that I land up at this place called IRMA in Anand I had never even heard of the place, let alone Dr. Kurien. My first introduction to the man was when on day 1 we were given a tour of AMUL dairy and the chap who took us around said – “30,000 farmers, 50,000 cows welcome you”.

Going forward wherever I use quotes, they convey the message, but not exactly verbatim. The next 2 years plus I was a transformed human being. I got the opportunity to observe life up close, realised there was a whole different nation out there which we, living in cities didn’t know existed. I saw and experienced the challenges to development, change, getting people to even accept what you knew to be the gospel truth, their native intelligence, the biases, discrimination, poverty, determination…. Like I said it changed my life all together. As Prof Sanjiv Phansalkar said, – “I am going to tear you up and then put you back together the right way”.

No, this is not about myself because this was to show the transformational effect Dr. Kurien had on hundreds of youngsters like me by creating the visionary - Institute of Rural Management – IRMA. It created what I have always said – capitalism with a human face working to bring change in society for the better. Not everybody worked in the so called – “Sector” – but even those who worked elsewhere brought with them to their roles a responsibility towards society at large. I have heard managements speak of how students from IRMA brought a human face even to a commercial relationship, an enduring trust. This was because of what Dr. Kurien envisioned and where my anecdotal stories start.

When I landed at the campus I was stunned. The lush greenery spreading as wide as the eye can see, the clean and comfortable hostels, facilities to relax and enjoy. But wait – even today the perception is that if you are fighting poverty you need to be poor because only then you will understand poverty? Dr. Kurien turned that upside down. He opined that those who work for the upliftment of the poor need to be taken care of so that they can focus on others. Normal human trait is to focus on the self-first. I heard this on the eve of our graduation 2 years later.

All the board of governors of the institute were gathered for a high tea hosted by Dr. Kurien. The instructions were clear. Students will collar each governor and keep him engaged. Do not allow the governors to mingle with themselves. The then Secretary of Agriculture, Govt of India was present, and I was there with some others. Dr. Kurien passed by smiling. The Secretary rather sarcastically said – you seem to have palaces here to stay. Dr. Kurien without beating a heartbeat said – “These are my princes, and these are their palaces”. The man shut up.

As I had written in my blog on the dairy industry, Dr. Kurien recognised that if “Managers” were given the creature comforts they aspire for, they would then focus on helping others sincerely. Trust me – it works.

To go back to our first days, we got an opportunity to meet the great man himself. By then we had been told he was not Dr. Kurien but Dr. God. He sat on a chair beaming away while we sat awe stuck gazing at him. Somebody asked him about the various organisations that dotted the landscape – NDDB, IDC, AMUL, GCMMF – and we did not understand the linkage, he said – Dr. Kurien. Question answered.

Another was bold enough to ask if we could meet him if we wanted to and he said – “You will meet me when I want to”. Meeting was done and dusted.

Sometime during my senior year, some students went on a picnic and one of them drowned. I had taken that fateful call about a student missing before the institute took over. Late in the afternoon Dr. Kurien drove by into the campus and wanted me to tell him about the call I had taken as he sat in the car. He then picked up his car radio and spoke to someone with a commanding tone and said – “Their son was my responsibility. The parents are arriving in the morning. If I cannot give them their son, I have to return the body at least. I want the dam shut down and I want the body found before they arrive”. Dam shut, water ebbed, body found before parents arrived.

One of my friends Kiran was handling a high value commercial role. He was called by Dr Kurien and asked to explain his role, job, the market, global shipping routes and finally asked to leave. Confused since no purpose seemed served by the meeting, he expressed his confusion only to be told – “I just wanted to check if I could trust you”.

On another occasion Dr. Kurien had to fly to Canada for a meeting and one friend had done all the leg work. Literally at the last minute on the eve of his departure Dr Kurien decided that this chap needed to join him, but he didn’t have a passport. He told him to go meet the Chief Secretary of the state and get a passport within a day. With a “mad chap” frustration this guy went to meet the CS sure that he would not even get to meet him. But surprisingly he was called in, arrangements made so he got his passport and got a mouthful from the CS that he was not there to issue passports and dance whenever Dr. Kurien asked him to. This chap returned grinning like an ape recounting the visit.

When I started working the first advise I was given was to never reveal that I could drive. They said, NDDB has dozens of fancy cars but no drivers. If they know you can drive, they will make you a driver. I took it as “ragging” a newcomer till one day a European royal family decided to visit NDDB. A senior Dy. Director of the company was asked to act as driver and take the guests around which he promptly did. As the visit ended, Dr. Kurien and the whole team stood on the steps wishing the guests goodbye one of them decided to tip the “driver” rather handsomely. The “driver” accepted it gratefully and put it in his pocket even as Dr. Kurien smiled brightly at the scene.

Dr. Kurien was known to be a stickler for time. During his sunset years he had to attend a board meeting in Delhi and my friend was coordinating it. At the appointed hour not a single member of the board – all senior government officials - had appeared. Dr. Kurien was there on dot, sat alone for a while and left. When my friend earlier suggested that he come when the others arrive, he said – “There is a time fixed for the meeting and I will be there at that time”.

Dr. Kurien was known to be close to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, her Secretary PC Alexander and I heard that on one occasion some proposal sent to Delhi kept getting the response – “no objection as long as the Govt of India approves this”. He sought an appointment to meet the PM saying he needed help to be introduced to someone. Intrigued but knowing that Dr. Kurien would have something up his sleeve she met him only to be asked to be introduced to this chap called Govt of India.

In 1986 IRMA decided to invite Rajiv Gandhi then Prime Minister of India for the convocation. The Chief Minister of Gujarat sat next to him. At a huge gathering of thousands of farmers as he gave his welcome address Dr. Kurien turning around to look at the PM thundered – “Mr. Prime Minister we brook no interference” as he spoke of his relationship with the Govt. Rajiv Gandhi just sat smiling. I wonder how many Indian managers in history could say this publicly to a PM and get away with it.

When I was a trainee in Madhya Pradesh Dr. Kurien had to meet then chief Minister Mr. Arjun Singh a known strongman in politics. Reading the response to the appointment request I still wonder whether it was just courtesy or was Dr. Kurien the stronger man? The reply was – “The CM of MP would be available to meet Dr. Kurien at his convenience”

I had a boss Pradeep who had a few project sites he managed. Every week Dr. Kurien would visit his site and in the midst of civil construction with mud, sand, cement insist on cleanliness and this frustrated Pradeep no end. One week he decided to halt all work and clean the place up. Dr. Kurien arrived, no words, just a stare, the man knew what had happened. The cleanliness was too stark to miss. He went around, apparently seeing nothing, as if he knew where he would go. He entered the toilet under installation and looking at Pradeep opened the lid. Pradeep was so pleased he could not stop his smile because he had got the toilet cleaned. Dr. Kurien kept looking at Pradeep as he bent, shoved his finger into the inner gap of the toilet, took out an inch of mud. He smeared it on the wall, looked at Pradip with a smile and said – “you didn’t do a good job” and walked away. The choice words used by Pradeep would make a sailor blush.

One morning when I reported to work, I found a note on my desk which I so wish I had retained. Apparently, the previous night he and his wife were returning home when his wife needed to visit the toilet. She used the workers toilet and it was, dirty. The note to me said – “Last night Mrs. Kurien used the workers toilet and found it dirty. Please remember that the culture of an organisation is known by the cleanliness of its workers toilet”. In 3 decades, I have found this to be profoundly true.

To end and demonstrate what Dr. Kurien meant to a few generations of citizens in Gujarat, lakhs of farmers I found a striking sight when I visited some villages in Gujarat. Many had a photo of Dr. Kurien placed alongside their gods and worshipped him every day. No wonder he was called Dr. God.