(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Lady Luck, you would think, is a permanent resident of the UAE, rubbing shoulders with other residents and turning them into millionaires overnight. Or at least that's what it looks like. So, what happens to your life when you suddenly have an extra million dirhams in your bank account? And what is the first thing the lottery winners did with the cash? We asked a few millionnaires...
It's Burj Al Arab
Rishit Mehta, 39, works in IT
Winning the Big Ticket was literally a ticket to Switzerland for Rishit Mehta and his wife Ami. The snow-capped Alps had been the couple's dream destination ever since they saw Bollywood lovebirds, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol romancing in scenic Switzerland, in the 1995 cult movie, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ).
"My wife is a big SRK fan and seeing Switzerland in DDLJ, she has always dreamt of going there. But after our wedding, we didn't have savings to plan a trip. By winning the lottery, our dreams are within reach," said Mehta who has been working in Dubai for three years.
Mehta is buying tickets to Switzerland to celebrate their third wedding anniversary, on December 18.
And before jetting off, he will take his wife to a candle-lit dinner at the Burj Al Arab. "I have always fancied going to that glitzy hotel. Now I feel that I can afford these luxuries."
Mehta is also careful not to blow his jackpot on small spoils. "My biggest dream is to own a house in Mumbai. Now I can buy a bigger, better house."
Buy a home
Allwyn Kumar, 42, sales coordinator
There are some dreams that money can buy. Owning a house is one such. Winner of Abu Dhabi Duty Free's Big Ticket in June, Allwyn Kumar now has that purchasing power.
"I always had just one dream, that is to own a house, but was never able to save enough. We have been living in a rented house in Bangalore. It hurts me every time when I have to pay rent. So, I am not tempted to buy anything else with this money," said Kumar, who works as a sales coordinator in Sharjah.
And Kumar is even more cautious in sharing his new-found riches with his three daughters, aged 5, 13 and 14.
"My wife and I have decided not to tell our children about the lottery win. I don't want them to think there are short-cuts in life. I am giving them a good education and a decent life. I want them to work hard and come up in life."
Kumar says remaining middle-class will teach the children better life skills. "I have had a middle-class life. That is where you learn your life lessons."
Educate kids
Saravanan Sundaresan, 36, construction site manager
Saravanan Sundaresan from Tamil Nadu, India, who helps educate 10 children in his neighbourhood, has tasted that happiness. He says it is ever-lasting and deep. "When I got the call from Abu Dhabi Big Ticket, I was elated. Now there is no limit to what I can do for others," said Sundaresan, who works as a construction manager in Dubai.
"With a million dirhams in my pocket, I can help many more children who are struggling financially. I take it as God's message - he has chosen me to do these good deeds."
Saravanan's wife supports him in his charity, but she has that one dream - to visit Dubai Gold Souq, and buy some designer gold jewellery. "I have promised to fulfill her wish. After all, that is what money can easily buy."
Saravanan also wants to buy a small house as a gift to his ageing parents in India. "They have worked hard all their life for their children. Now that I have this money, I feel obliged to give them some luxuries in their old age."
Daughter first
Ibrahim Nazeer, 42, sales coordinator
It's not something you hear every day. Ibrahim Kunji Nazeer, 55, winner of the Abu Dhabi Duty Free's Big Ticket, has won the lottery twice.
"Twenty years ago in 1997, I had won Dh500,000 in a raffle draw. That was big money then," said Nazeer who works as a driver in Abu Dhabi.
The latest jackpot Nazeer says, has to be shared among four people who pooled in money to buy the Big Ticket.
"It is still a lot of money. For me, it is a parting gift from the UAE, where I have spent nearly 33 years of my life," said Nazeer who came to the country in 1984.
Like every other expat, he used his first windfall to build a house in Kerala, South India. "I continued to live here, and years just passed. My children are grown up, and I have saved enough. My daughter has to be married, and my son has to finish his Engineering. For me, there is only one dream left - to go back to India and be able to live in my native place with my own people," said Nazeer.
Anjana is a humanist. Her cluttered desk is not indicative of her state of mind
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