KANNUR: On his way to the bank to get a loan, Porunnan Rajan bought a lottery ticket. The first prize for the Christmas-New Year bumper lottery ticket? A whopping Rs 12 crore.
En route to get a fourth loan to repay three earlier ones, the debt-ridden rubber tapper from Kerala’s Kannur had no idea the ticket would change his life.
It was some 20 days ago. Porunnan Rajan, a rubber tapper, was on his way to the bank to avail a fourth loan to repay the three he had taken earlier. At that moment, he was not thinking about the money he would have soon, but the added pressure the new loan would place him under.
Desperate for a lucky break, Rajan, ignoring the constant pleas his wife had made, walked into Payyan Agencies at Koothuparamba after making up his mind to buy a Christmas-New Year bumper lottery ticket. It was to prove a life-changing moment.

On Monday, Rajan (Ticket number –  ST 269609) discovered he was the first prize winner in the draw and richer by Rs 12 crore. After taxes and the commission paid to the lottery agent, Rajan should get around Rs 7.2 crore in hand.
Truly transformational indeed for Rajan, 55, from Puralimala Kurichia colony at Malur Kaithachal. He had been unable to complete the work on his house as he had to set apart a good portion of the loans availed to marry off his elder daughter Athira. After purchasing the lottery ticket, he did not tell anyone as it cost Rs 300, way higher than usual.
“My wife (Rajani) always picks up a quarrel when she comes to know about me buying lottery tickets as she thinks it is a waste of money. It was only when the news spread on Monday that the Christmas bumper first prize is for a ticket sold in Koothuparamba that I remembered about the one I had bought. I was too nervous to check the number,” said Rajan.
He finally went to a nearby shop on Tuesday morning. And there Rajan realised his life had changed forever. “I felt happy. I would be able to settle all my loans which will come to around Rs 7 lakh and finish the work on my house.
Also, I’ll be able to help my younger daughter Akshara, a plus-two student, complete her studies without any hassle. I would also like to help the needy as I know the hardships of life,” said Rajan, who has handed over the ticket to the Malur Service Cooperative Bank at Tholambra.
His son Rigil, who had discontinued his studies and has been helping his father to make both ends meet, is also happy. And so is Rajan’s wife Rajani.“I still can’t believe it,” she says. For once, her husband has proved her wrong and how!
The 52-year-old is on cloud nine after the win. He is happy that he can now repay all his loans and help his younger daughter get a better education. He also looks forward to finishing the work on his house where he lives with his son, wife and daughter.
The daily wager’s hardships saw no end as he took loan after loan to complete work on his house and get one of his daughters married. The Rs 300 ticket was comparatively expensive so he didn’t tell anyone of his purchase.
As per rules, Mr Rajan is expected to receive Rs 7.2 crores as prize money after deducting tax and agency commission. The agency that sells the winning ticket gets 10 per cent of the prize money including GST.
This is however not his first lottery win. Earlier, Mr Rajan had won smaller amounts of money too. He says that these prizes encouraged him to try his luck further. The second prize of the lottery is Rs 5 crore from which Rs 50 lakh is distributed equally among 10 winners and third prize is Rs 1 crore from which Rs 10 lakhs is distributed among 10 people. There are other smaller prizes as well.
(With Agency Reports).

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