When the Amul girl cried, & the connection between Ambedkar & Lincoln | #132
When a movie solved an inter-state dispute 🎥
Doodh doodh doodh doodh
Doodh hai wonderful pee sakte hai roz glass full
Doodh doodh doodh doodh
Every Indian who lived through the 90s will remember this jingle fondly. For those unlucky millennials, here is a classic ad from Amul. But the Amul revolution would not have happened if not for a Kerala born mechanical engineer - Verghese Kurien.
He chaired Operation Flood, which made dairy farming India's largest self-sustaining industry and the largest employer of rural India. Today is his 101st birth anniversary and the government of India commemorates his birthday as National Milk Day.
This week’s newsletter is dedicated to the man who gave Anand to India and many farmers.
Things we learnt this week 🤓
Verghese Kurien took on the European powers by deriving milk from buffaloes rather than from cows, which were in short supply in India. He pioneered more Amul products such as cheese, milk powder etc. So one might think that Kurien really loved milk. But the man admitted that he does not drink as he doesn’t like it. Wonder if the farmers ever thought - how dairy he do so?
The famous TV program Surabhi was sponsored by Amul. After a successful first season, Siddharth Kak had to renew the sponsorship deal with Amul. The hitch? It had to be approved by Verghese Kurien and he was an early sleeper, who hadn’t watched the show. Siddharth Kak presented some excerpts from the show and Verghese Kurien is said to have directed his subordinates to give Siddharth Kak anything that is required. Kurien probably felt the churn of sponsorship is not worth the whisk.
Talking of ads, the famous Amul girl was Verghese Kurien’s idea. He suggested a little mischievous girl as a mascot. It had to be easy to draw, memorable and has continued to be punning on the latest happenings for more than 50 years. The Amul girl is always smiling, but the first time she cried was after the death of Verghese Kurien in 2012.
From IWTK, with love 💌
An interesting connection between Ambedkar and Lincoln. Read more here.
Whose KSRTC is it anyway? And how a movie helped answer the question
Only In India 🇮🇳
My dog ate my homework, my mice ate marijuana. Wonder who is more high here..
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❤️ IWTK