Book excerpt: Born in Calicut, Kerala, Dr Verghese Kurien graduated in science and engineering from Madras University and Michigan State University, US, respectively. He began his career in dairying at the government's creamery in Anand, Gujarat, later joining the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers'Union Limited (now Amul). As chairman of the National Dairy Development Board, he implemented 'Operation Flood'. He has received countless awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1963), Wateler Peace Prize (1986), World Food Prize (1989) Padma Shri (1965), Padma Bhushan (1966) and Padma Vibhushan (1999). Dr Kurien is currently Chairman of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand; Chairman of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation; and Chairman of the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India. Gouri Salvi is a Mumbai-based freelance journalist. She has worked with Onlooker and Sunday magazines, and with the Women's Feature Service. She has written on development and gender issues, has co-edited Beijing! a book on the UN's Fourth World Conference on Women, and edited Development Retold: Voices From the Field, a book on the Indian Cooperative Union.