From Two Buffaloes To Rs 1 Lakh A Day: The Dairy Empire Of Maharashtra's 78-Year-Old Chandrakalabai
Carrying milk pots on her head, Chandrakalabai once went door to door. Five decades later, her ‘Prabhu Doodh Dairy’ has become Nanded’s symbol of empowerment.
Published : October 14, 2025 at 12:55 PM IST
Nanded: Half a century ago, Chandrakalabai and her husband were leading a humble life, happy with whatever they had to do to earn two meals a day. She walked from house-to-house, carrying pots of milk, curd, and cow dung cakes on her head so that she could earn a little, eat that day, and start again tomorrow. Her husband, Prabhu Appa, was equally hardworking. He cycled from one village to another, collecting kadaba (milk residue) from farmers and selling it. The couple built their lives and business purely on the basis of trust.
But years later, today, the 78-year-old Chandrakalabai Prabhuappa Alamkhane proudly runs a dairy enterprise generating over Rs 1 lakh every day.
The turning point for the couple came in 1985, when Chandrakalabai opened a small shop called Prabhu Doodh Dairy in Nanded’s Gurudwara area. Apart from selling milk door-to-door, she slowly diversified into selling curd, butter, and ghee as well. Her products quickly became the favourite of people for their quality and purity.
Today, she runs her dairy with 70 buffaloes - with breeds including Murrah, Jafar, Pandharpuri, and Solapuri. She has constructed a 9-acre farmhouse with proper sheds and cultivated fodder for the animals. The dairy produces around 500 litres of milk daily, which is being sold at Rs 70 per litre, earning approximately Rs 35,000 each day from milk alone.
But that’s just not the only reason to cheer for Chandrakalabai. The dairy added products like paneer, khava, and other dairy needs of families and quickly gained popularity. While paneer sells at Rs 360 per kg, khava is sold at Rs 280 per kg, generating an additional Rs 50,000 - Rs 60,000 daily. Altogether, Chandrakalabai earns over Rs 1 lakh per day, a remarkable leap from where she had started.
Despite her age, Chandrakalabai refuses to slow down. Every morning, she looks after the buffaloes, oversees milking, prepares curd, and manages the shop. “Work gives me strength,” she says, her wrinkled face still glowing.
Her story is not just about business success. It’s about values - honesty, hard work, and consistency. Even as the fourth generation of the Alamkhane family now has joined hands to run the dairy, they still follow the same principles of quality first, customers above all.
However, more than the numbers, the way Chandrakalabai changed the face of rural entrepreneurship and self-reliance narrative deserves kudos. From walking barefoot with milk pots to managing an enterprise with employees, machinery, and regular supply to customers, all of it mirrors the evolution of India’s small-scale dairy sector through a woman who decided to make a difference.
Her farmhouse has become a symbol of what determination can achieve. The acres of self-sufficiency which indicate sufficient fodder grown for animals, the care with which they are nurtured and products which are made by hand make Chandrakalabai a changemaker who believed in dignity through labour.
“People come to our shop not just for milk. They come for the love and trust my grandmother built,” says a family member.
From two buffaloes to 70, from daily wages to daily profits of Rs 1 lakh, the journey of Chandrakalabai and Prabhu Appa Alamkhane is not only a success story in business but a proof of resolve to build something new and good so that others like them are inspired.
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