NCJ 75th Anniversary Message

Message from the Thekkethala Brothers

Dearest Nereyeth Family Members

We’re sorry we couldn’t all be there in person to celebrate the memory of Appapen, Velliammichi and NCJ’s 75^th Anniversary

When we think of Velliammichi

There are many words that come to mind

But there’s ONE word that stands taller than all the rest

And That Word is LOVE

Eleven children

Sixty grandchildren

Her LOVE of family was boundless

Our memory of her dates back to our annual winter holidays spent at Nereyeth House

She welcomed us with open arms

And served up the kind of cuisine that we can only dream of today

-Palappam and stew for breakfast

-Ethakye varuthedhe and an array of palahrams at tea time

-Fried fish, fish mollie and our favorite – the kuttanad style roast duck and chicken for lunch or dinner

We’ve eaten at some amazing restaurants around the world

But we don’t actually remember the TASTE of those meals

Those restaurant chefs could buy any ingredient they wished, except the one ingredient that was not available for sale -

Velliamichi’s secret ingredient was LOVE

And that’s made her cooking so memorable

They say that behind every successful man

Is a Woman of Substance!

We’d like to think of Velliamchi as an equal partner w Appapen

In building this family business that

We’re all celebrating here this weekend

When the history of Indian business post-Independence is written

It will be recorded that the foundations were laid by a few pioneers

Who built India’s well-known family businesses

And when the historians get to Kerala

I hope they discover the genius of NC John

Who created multiple companies in diverse industries

That export goods to countries all over the world

This is Apapen’s LEGACY

75 Years and counting……………….

However, for all his success

The word that springs to mind that describes Appapen best is

HUMILITY

When Tommy was visiting the NCJ office showrooms

He came across an old book of the minutes of the first board of directors meeting of the NC John Company.

What he found remarkable was that the list of directors included Mr. NC John’s sons and others,

but NOT Mr. NC John himself

Appapen was clearly a visionary leader

But unlike many of India’s well-known company founders who chose to shine the light on themselves

He chose to shine the light on his family as the trustees of his business.

NCJ is one of the few family-run companies of this size in India that have remained united through multiple generations over 75 years 

This is in fact the lasting legacy of Velliamichi and Appapen

Their core values of LOVE and HUMILITY are the reason for our family unity and NCJ’s success over the past 75 years

Here’s wishing it continued for the next 75!