Dr Verghese Kurien, also known as the Milkman of India, was largely responsible for the White Revolution (aka Operation Flood) during the late 1960s, which transformed the nation from a milk-deficient state to the world's largest producer in a couple of decades. He is also credited with the success of the Amul brand, which was set up to market milk-based products, and has grown into the country's largest food brand. Amul was originally an acronym for Anand Milk Union Limited, which finds its roots in the town of Anand in Gujarat. As you're probably aware, the Amul girl, which is the brand's mascot, comments on current issues with witty one-liners on an almost weekly basis. As a tribute to Dr Kurien, who moved on to managing the great tabelaa in the sky on 9th September, we look back at seven of the best hoardings from this year.
 

7. Caught In The Act
In early 2012, three ministers in the Karnataka State Assembly were caught watching porn, while it was in session. Ironically, the list included CC Patil, the state's Minister for Women and Child Development, and the Minister for Co-operation, Laxman Savadi. In keeping with the theme, the porn clip was allegedly provided to them by the Minister for Science & Technology, Krishna Palemar. Apparently, these honourable ministers took their jobs seriously — in the worst possible way.
 

6. Truth Shall Prevail
Aamir Khan attempted to bring about some social awareness in the country through his show Satyamev Jayate. The concept in itself was good, even if somewhat marred by excessive hamming. While I wasn't completely convinced with the bleeding heart act he put up, some parts of the show did touch a chord.
 

5. Keeping Mum
Mamata Banerjee finally proved to the world that she has no sense of humour at all. After putting a chemistry professor behind bars for exercising his free speech through a caricature of the TMC leader, she had to face the wrath of Anonymous. Ironically, this violator of basic civil rights then turned to the last bastion of free speech, the internet, in an attempt to promote herself via Facebook. Fittingly, she hasn't exactly met with thundering success. Perhaps she could learn a thing or two from Narendrabhai.
 

4. Meet The Martians
Every science fiction lover's dream turned to reality as NASA's Curiosity rover landed on the Martian surface to study the climate, geology, and habitability for future manned missions. The successful landing whipped space enthusiasts across the internet into a frenzy of fan tributes. Of special note is this slickly made spoof music video.
 

3. A Gag On Conversation
Plenty of drama unfolded a couple of months ago, as rumour-mongering over the riots in Assam led to the government's heavy-handed response of a curb on SMSes and preventive internet bans, which resulted in a public backlash. The initial limit of 5 messages per day on pre-paid connections led to a howl of protests since it came into effect at the onset of the festival season, because of which many messaging junkies were affected. Due to this, the cap was increased to 20 SMSes per day till the end of August. To mark this lifting of restrictions, Amul came up with the banner you see below.
 

2. Camaraderie Gone Wrong
Many cricketers have found themselves in a spot for sending lewd SMSes. However, Kevin Pietersen's latest controversy didn't involve any women. The scandal broke out after the dashing batsman sent vicious and derogatory messages about captain Andrew Strauss to a South African player, which was eventually leaked to the press. While bitching about his colleague to members of a rival team will probably cost him his career, adding insult to injury, several of his former teammates soon followed a rather scathing parody account. As usual, Amul summed up the situation succinctly.
 

1. To The Moon And Back
Neil Armstrong breathed his last on 25th August. The legendary astronaut, aerospace engineer, US Navy pilot, and university professor was the first to step foot on the surface of the moon. The Amul girl paid a touching tribute to a man who took "One small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind". For this reason, it deserves to be on top of this list. Rest in peace, spaceman!
 

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