Success is a family business
In early 1800s, Mulamoottil family patriarch Mulamoottil Mathen settled in Kozhencherry, a major business hub in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, now part of Kerala state in India. He was a prominent merchant and money lender.
His son MathenMathen expanded the money-lending activities and ventured into tobacco trade that was in vogue at that time. His son Mathen Mathai got trained, and got into the Ayurvedic discipline of eye care that his maternal family had expertise in.
In 1885, Mathen Mathai returned to Kozhencherry and started an Ayurvedic eye care facility at the family home. He was a proficient physician and was revered for his selfless service. Being a prominent merchant who was financially stable, he devoted his medical service to the people and did not charge a fee.
Even today, Mulamoottil family is known widely across Kerala state as a family of Ayurvedic eye physicians.
Mathen Mathai's son M.MAbraham concentrated more on financial services business than eye care. He started a retail banking business known popularly in India as the Chit business.