Since we were descendants of business people, my brother Joymma (Thomas) was fascinated by the world of business and its possibilities. So he turned into business at a younger age and soon became a very successful businessman exporting rice to Kozhikode. His business expanded to transportation and real estate. His name had become synonymous with business in Changanasserry in the 1960s. The family could afford a car driven by a chauffeur and we were thrilled about it, as very few people in Changanasserry owned cars in those days. He spent money lavishly for entertainment without any sense for the value for money and ultimately paid a heavy price for his extravaganza and his folly.

Joymma's devotion to the family was sentimental. He personally took care of the needs of each and every member of the family. He was doing everything needful, everything generous and thoughtful on my parent’s behalf. He had sponsored my brother George for his Master's degree for two years at Rewa University in Madhya Pradesh. But he is a tough, courageous and unyielding man. Joymma married Animma daughter of Mr. Varghese Chettakattu in 1967. We also called her chechy and found her open-hearted and supportive. She showed great concern about family members' welfare and sufferings and has been very loving and caring.

My first three brothers, John, James, and Thomas had laid a strong foundation of friendship and harmony, cooperation and guidance for the younger ones to follow. They had developed a special bond and the cord had never been broken. Theirs was a combination of education, spirituality, and business. They had known poverty and so their strong will and determination to succeed in life is worthy of emulating. From a young age, John had developed natural intelligence curiosity. Against all the financial odds, my father educated him to become the first graduate in the entire family with a post graduate degree. As soon as he became a lecturer, he took the responsibility of sponsoring younger brothers for their University education and guided them for their career.

I remember an incident in 1970 when I was studying for my final year of a first degree at S.B College Changanasserry. One evening I was in the town with my friend Chacko chatting and smoking cigarette. I didn' t notice that my brother John was passing by on his scooter. He saw me smoking, parked his scooter by the roadside, walked towards me, pulled the cigarette out of my mouth and slapped me in front of everybody. By the time I realized what was happening, he was shouting and screaming at me and urged me to go home. I was shaken with fear, pain and humiliation. When I looked at my friend, he had already run away because my brother was also his professor. I left for home dejected. After some time, my sense had overtaken emotion and realized that cigarette smoking could cause health problems and my brother did the right thing, even though it was a shock treatment. I decided to abandon smoking that night. Thereafter, whenever I tried, the guilt enveloped me and quit it forever, thanks to my brother.

It is worth to mention about one of my cousins, Joy Madathiparampil, who walked along with my family throughout his life. He was my maternal uncle’s son, and was the age mate of my second brother James. He was a frequent visitor and creatively immersed in all our family functions and assumed the responsibility of such occasions. He was very humane and a philanthropist.