Saravanan Venkatachalam was searching for his car in a busy Abu Dhabi parking lot on Monday evening, when his phone started ringing. He ignored the calls, assuming they were unimportant. Little did he know that those few missed calls carried news that would change his life.

The 44-year-old electrical engineer from Chennai, India, had unknowingly skipped the call every Big Ticket participant dreams of receiving.“It was a landline number, and I didn't feel like returning it,” he said.“Later, my wife and friends started calling repeatedly and that's when I realised something unusual was happening.”

It took a few more confirmations before before he finally believed that he had won the Dh25-million Big Ticket jackpot in draw series 280.“At first, I thought my friends and family were playing a prank. Even after hearing my name, I couldn't believe it. There might be many people named Saravanan, I thought.”

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For the father of two daughters, aged 11 and 6, the first thought that crossed his mind was his children's future.

“Their education is my top priority. This win means I can give them everything I had dreamed of,” said Saravanan, who moved to the UAE in 2019 and has also worked across Qatar and Oman.

Apart from securing his children's future, he will clear his debts and other commitments.“You come here because you have responsibilities. This win helps me clear my commitments and start fresh,” he said.

Saravanan's Big Ticket journey began six years ago when a former colleague won a prize. Inspired by his win, he started buying tickets often, sometimes on his own and sometimes as part of a large group of colleagues and ex-colleagues.

“Usually, around 30 to 35 of us chip in,” he said.“We all look forward to that moment together.”

This time, he participated along with 25 members. He bought the ticket online on October 30, during the 'buy one, get one free' promotion. The lucky number - 463221 - turned out to be life-changing for the whole group.“Each of them will receive about Dh1 million,” he said.

Since the win, Saravanan's phone hasn't stopped ringing. Friends, co-workers and relatives have been calling nonstop to congratulate him.“Everyone wants to visit and celebrate. I still can't believe it actually happened to me.”

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