Jolly Thadathil

Jolly Thadathil

Profile

Jolly Thadathil is a social activist, entrepreneur, administrator, and cultural activist rolled into one. He occupies a prominent place among the ten thousand-odd Malayalees living in Germany. Presently he holds the President”s chair of World Malayalee Council, Europe region.

One of the most successful Malayalee businessmen in Europe, he migrated to Europe during the 80’s following his marriage. After sometime he set out to establish a mark for himself by plunging into business. His experience as a Bank employee (Federal Bank, in Kerala) and the administrative capacities accrued from it, had done a world of good in this plunge to an uncharted course.

In 1992 he established ‘Thadathil Nursing Home’, and today it is one of the well -run health care establishments in Germany. From humble beginnings it had branched out systematically, and today, ‘Thadathil Nursing Home’ has three branches in Germany.

His wife Mercy, a qualified nurse, who actually sparked this idea, is also helping him in the day-to-day running of this institution. Braving hardships like racism and cold attitudes of German authorities, he went for what many Malayalee immigrants normally would not have ventured into, the competitive world of business in Europe where foreigners have to bring in double effort to be successful, compared to that of natives. Quality service and the excellent word-of-mouth remarks received helped to elevate the institution to the present status.

The name ‘Thadathil’ itself brought in, several problems, but the love of the land, which gave birth to him, compelled him to retain it, despite all the adversity. This love for the land is more evident from his activities in organising cultural programmes of Kerala based artists in Germany and all over Europe.

The World Malayalee Council Journal, a fortnightly, of which he is the Chief Editor, portrays the activities of Malayalees worldwide, their cultural activities and programmes, apart from the happenings and features from Kerala.

Jolly Thadathil is the brainchild behind the decision of WMC to give one lakh rupee to the victim of Suryanalli rape case. Media hailed it as a good gesture for others to follow to help the exploited lot in Kerala society.

Even in Germany, he tries to help the businesspersons and new immigrants from Kerala to feel at home and offer other possible help. As the office bearer of WMC, he strives to establish its unit all over continent Europe.