EnglishCBSE Class 8 · Verghese Kurien — I Too Had A Dream

I Too Had A Dream, Class 8: Dr Kurien's Choices and the Values in His Letter

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In his letter to his grandson Siddharth, Dr Verghese Kurien explains why he gave up other careers to serve dairy farmers in Anand. He names integrity, full use of one's talents for the common good, honest effort, contentment and earning your own rewards as the values that guided him. The medal anecdote shows that Siddharth's real challenge is to earn his own reward, while Kurien says all his honours belong to the many people he worked with.

Notice that choosing Anand meant putting aside three other careers, and five values guided that choice.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Verghese Kurien's Choices and Values in the Letter

Why a letter. Kurien says a telephone call gives immediate but short-lived joy. A letter records thoughts and can be read again with lasting pleasure. He hopes Siddharth will read it later and share it with younger people.

The choice. Soon after India became independent, the noblest task was to help build a free India without hunger and poverty. Fifty years earlier, Kurien began work with a small dairy farmers' cooperative in Anand. He could have followed a career in metallurgy and become the head of a large company, joined the army and retired as a general, or become a successful Indian settled in the US. He chose Anand because he felt he could contribute more there.

What a choice means. Choosing one kind of life means putting aside the others. He accepts that cost with humility.

Support at home and from a mentor. His wife supported the decision even though Anand lacked simple comforts. He credits his mentor Tribhuvandas Patel and the values learnt from his parents and elders.

The values in his letter.

Integrity: be honest to yourself, and honesty with others becomes easy.
Responsibility and the common good: life is a privilege, so use your talents fully for others, even in small ways such as helping a friend or serving the community.
Effort: failure is not about not succeeding but about not giving your best.
Contentment: do not compare yourself with others who seem happier, because you see only images of perfection.
Earning your own reward: Kurien says his honours belong to the many people he worked with. When Siddharth asks to keep the medal from the Padma Vibhushan ceremony in 1999, his grandparents say it is as much his as theirs, but his real challenge is to earn his own reward.

Style. The letter is personal and conversational, with contrasts (telephone and letter), a parallel structure in the ending and a warm anecdote.

Answer pattern. Name the value, give the line or fact that shows it, and say what Kurien wants Siddharth to learn.

Verghese Kurien's Choices and Values in the Letter: key facts

Three careers he rejected: Metallurgy and chief executive
Army and retiring as a general
Success as an NRI in the US; Contrast with his chosen path in Anand.
Values: Integrity
Responsibility for the common good
Best effort
Contentment
Earning your own reward; One line of evidence for each.
People who supported him: His wife
His parents and elders
Tribhuvandas Patel; Credited in the letter.
Telephone and letter: Telephone: immediate but fleeting joy | Letter: lasting pleasure and a keepsake; The opening contrast.

Verghese Kurien's Choices and Values in the Letter in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Choosing service over a more comfortable option

Suppose Arjun, a young engineer, is offered a high-paying job in a big city, but a school in his home village asks him to set up its science lab. He chooses the village school, though his friends tell him he is giving up a lot. After a few years, he sees students winning science fairs.

How does Arjun's decision match Dr Kurien's, and what does he give up?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

He chooses a path where he feels he can contribute more.
He accepts that choosing one life means putting aside others.
He finds satisfaction in the progress of others.

Answer: It matches Kurien's decision to work in Anand. Arjun gives up a higher salary and a city life to serve the community, and his reward is the growth of the students.

Memory hook: One path chosen, others put aside.

Tricks to remember Verghese Kurien's Choices and Values in the Letter

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

I-R-E-C-E
Integrity, Responsibility, Effort, Contentment, Earning.
Use it when: The five values in order.
Metal, Medal, Milk
Metallurgy rejected, medal shared, milk served.
Use it when: The three key objects of the letter.
Fleeting versus abiding
Call is fleeting; letter is abiding.
Use it when: The opening contrast.

Verghese Kurien's Choices and Values in the Letter: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: To whom was the letter written · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Dr Kurien wrote the letter to
(a) his son (b) his grandson Siddharth (c) his mentor (d) a farmer

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The letter is addressed to his grandson Siddharth (1 mark).

Answer: (b)

Example 2: Why a letter and not a call · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level

According to Dr Kurien, why is a letter better than a telephone call? Answer in 30-40 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

A call gives quick, short-lived joy (1).
A letter can be kept and re-read with lasting pleasure (1).

Answer: He says a telephone call gives only an immediate but fleeting joy, whereas a letter shares our thoughts about present events and can be kept and read again later, giving lasting pleasure.

Example 3: Integrity · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Explain, with a school example of your own, how being honest to yourself makes it easier to be honest with others. Answer in 50-60 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The idea from the letter (1).
A suitable example (1).
Link between the two (1).

Answer: Dr Kurien says that if you are always honest to yourself, being honest with others needs little effort. For example, a student who admits to himself that he has not studied will not pretend to the teacher that he forgot the notebook. His inner honesty shapes his outer behaviour, so honesty becomes a habit and not a struggle.

Example 4: The choice of Anand · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Dr Kurien says that every honour he received belongs to the many people he worked with. Why does he say so, and how does it show his humility? Answer in 70-80 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

His work was possible because of many people (1.5).
He credits his parents, elders, mentor Tribhuvandas Patel and his wife (1.5).
Humility: he does not claim the credit for himself (1).

Answer: Dr Kurien says the honours belong to many people because his work was a shared effort. He names the values he learnt from his parents and elders, the guidance of his mentor Tribhuvandas Patel in Anand and the support of his wife, who accepted a life without simple comforts. He does not take the credit for himself. This shows his humility. The medal anecdote adds that Siddharth must earn his own reward.

Example 5: The meaning of the medal · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

The anecdote of the Padma Vibhushan medal carries a lesson. Explain what the lesson is and how it links with the values Dr Kurien discusses. Answer in 80-100 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Anecdote in brief (1).
The lesson: earn your own reward (1.5).
Link to shared credit and effort (1.5).
Conclusion (1).

Answer: In 1999, after the Padma Vibhushan ceremony in Delhi, little Siddharth put the medal round his neck and asked to keep it. His grandparents said that it was as much his as theirs, but that his real challenge was to earn his own reward. The lesson links to several values in the letter: honours belong to the many people who worked with Kurien, and a person must give his best effort. True rewards come from working hard for the good of the country and humanity.

Where students lose marks in Verghese Kurien's Choices and Values in the Letter

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Calling the letter a speech or an essay
The text is a personal letter to a grandson.
Wrong working
Dr Kurien delivered a speech to students.
Right working
Dr Kurien wrote a letter to his grandson Siddharth.
Do this: Say "letter" and name the addressee.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Listing values without evidence
Marks go to the line or fact that proves it.
Wrong working
He believed in integrity and effort.
Right working
He believed in integrity: if you are honest to yourself, it is easy to be honest with others.
Do this: Add a line or fact after each value.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks.
Mistake: Saying he rejected careers because they were bad
He chose service, not escaped something bad.
Wrong working
Metallurgy and the army were poor careers.
Right working
He felt he could contribute more in Anand.
Do this: State the reason he gives.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks.

Exam tips

Name the addressee and the place (Siddharth, Anand) in every summary.
Pair each value with one line or fact from the letter.
Use "contribute", "common good" and "integrity" as key words.
For the medal anecdote, include the year 1999 and the idea of earning your own reward.
In a letter reply, use informal letter format with no subject line.

Practice questions on Verghese Kurien's Choices and Values in the Letter

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Who is described as Dr Kurien's mentor in Anand?
(a) Siddharth (b) Tribhuvandas Patel (c) Homi Bhabha (d) Vikram Sarabhai
Hint
He is named in the letter.
Answer
(b)
Q2 · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
How did Dr Kurien's wife help him in his work? Answer in 30-40 words.
Hint
Life in Anand lacked comforts.
Answer
Life in Anand then lacked even simple comforts, yet his wife strongly supported his decision to stay and work there. Her choice gave him lasting strength and helped him carry his responsibilities calmly.
Q3 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): Dr Kurien says that failure is not about not succeeding.
Reason (R): He believes that failure is not giving your best effort.
(a) Both A and R are true and R explains A
(b) Both are true but R does not explain A
(c) A is true but R is false
(d) A is false but R is true
Hint
Does R complete the thought in A?
Answer
(a)
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Dr Kurien advises Siddharth not to compare himself with others. What reason does he give? Do you find it convincing? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Images of perfection.
Answer
He says that we see only images of perfection in others, so they only seem happier. Comparison is therefore pointless and unfair. I find the reason convincing, because people usually show only their best side, and we do not see their worries. Contentment comes from within, not from comparison.
Q5 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Write a reply from Siddharth to his grandfather (80-100 words) in which he says what he has learnt and how he will try to follow one of the values.
Hint
Informal letter format: address, date, greeting, body, closing.
Answer
12, Lake Road, Anand
20 June 20XX
Dear Dadaji,
Thank you for your letter, which I have read many times. I now understand why you chose Anand and why you say the medal belongs to everyone. The value I admire most is integrity. From today I will be honest in my homework and games, even when nobody checks. I will also help my neighbour's children with their reading every weekend. I will also remember that failure means not giving my best, so I will stop comparing myself with others. Please bless me and write again soon.
Your loving grandson,
Siddharth

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Where did Dr Kurien work?Show answer
In Anand, Gujarat.
2.Whom does he write to?Show answer
His grandson Siddharth.
3.What is the most important value he mentions?Show answer
Integrity.
4.Which award ceremony did Siddharth attend?Show answer
The Padma Vibhushan ceremony in Delhi in 1999.
5.What does he say failure is?Show answer
Not giving your best effort.
6.Who was his mentor?Show answer
Tribhuvandas Patel.

Verghese Kurien's Choices and Values in the Letter: frequently asked questions

What is the central idea of the letter?

A life of service guided by integrity, effort and the common good brings true rewards.

Why is the lesson called I Too Had A Dream?

It reflects Dr Kurien's dream of a free India without hunger and poverty, which he worked to build.

Is the letter formal or informal?

Informal and personal, from a grandfather to his grandson.

What do exam questions usually ask?

Short answers on his choices and values, a long answer on the medal anecdote and an informal letter.