Hom Karki

It was a regular day at work for Dilliram Parajuli. A quotidian Thursday of April 25, a day as ordinary as the day before and days before ever since the 37-year-old arrived in Qatar for work.

What Parajuli did not know was by the time this mundane Thursday afternoon culminated into the evening, his life was going to change in a big way. On the evening, Parajuli received a call and the voice on the other end of the line informed him that he had won US$1 million in lottery .

“Of course, I did not believe the news,” Parajuli said. “I had my ticket with me, so I checked the website of Qatar Duty Free for the millionaire draw results.”

On the website, Parajuli saw one of those giant ceremonial cheques for $1 million on his name. He was still not convinced. It took a long time for him to believe that he had just become a million dollar richer.     

Parajuli soon started receiving torrent of phone calls from his friends and colleagues, congratulating him on the big win. Those phone calls have not stopped. “I don’t know what to make out of all this,” said Parajuli, who was vividly stressed out by those incessant calls and instant attention. He has been trying to avoid the calls lately. This has led some of his friends into accusing him of arrogance.

Parajuli said there are still many verification procedures he must fulfill before he receives his cheque, and already people are talking nonsense about him being prideful and avoiding the old company. “These accusations are not at all true and hurtful. I am still in contact with my close friends and my family members. I even go to my work regularly,” he said.

Born and raised in a simple rural family, Parajuli has been working in Qatar for the past 11 years to support his family back home. He said he bought the lottery ticket for 950 riyals at the Qatar airport just because the Filipina woman selling the tickets made some condescending remarks about him not being able to afford the ticket. His rage-fuelled decision paid off.

Parajuli said he has not yet decided what to do with the lottery money. In a way, he still seems unconvinced about his win. “I should have the money first before making any decision with the suggestion of my friends and family members.”

Published on: 7 May 2013 | The Kathmandu Post