Dubai: He has been dubbed “the luckiest man in the world” by prominent international media houses.
But Indian grandfather Mohammad Basheer Abdul Khadar, who won the $1 million Dubai Duty Free raffle six days after escaping death in the Emirates plane EK521 accident in Dubai, wouldn’t agree.
“I would never say that,” he said, laughing.
“Of course, God has blessed me with such great luck. But the bigger luck was my escape from the crash and the biggest wealth that I have is my health…If they say I am the luckiest, probably it is true in terms of my health. I am thankful to God for keeping me fit and fine even at this age whereas I see many others of my age struggling with many ailments,” the 62-year-old told Gulf News on Thursday.
A day after Gulf News broke the story about his most impressive victory in a raffle, Khadar continued his job as a fleet administrator at a car dealership in Dubai.
His story made headlines across the world and many international and Indian media houses quoted the Gulf News report. Several UAE-based media persons also thronged Khadar’s office on Wednesday for an interview.
“I don’t know where all my report has appeared. One of my relatives in the UK, who had lost touch for several years, called up to say he was super surprised to see the news on the front page of newspapers over there. My phone didn’t stop ringing throughout the day and the battery died for the first time in my life.”
The instant fame and limelight, however, has not changed the dutiful nature of Khadar, fondly known as Basheerikka among his colleagues.
“I attended to the maximum number of customers I could. But reporters kept coming and calling for interviews. My manager is very kind and asked me to cooperate with them. But for me customer satisfaction and my job are very important…I left office after 10.30pm as I didn’t want to leave without finishing my work.”
When asked about his fitness secret, he replied: “No special diet or exercise regime. I have my food on time and I fast at least two days every month, apart from fasting in Ramadan.”
Khadar, who has struggled a lot for the treatment for his 21-year-old paralysed son, also attributed his good health to his positive attitude towards life.
“Everybody has sorrows. If we keep thinking about them, we can never get rid of them. Have confidence in yourself and be positive. You can face any challenges with that kind of an attitude in life and make yourself and others happy. Be patient and down to earth but don’t let anyone tread on you. I value the small bits of happiness in life the most and your happiness will reflect on your health,”
Due to retire this December, Khadar reiterated that his plan is to continue working as long as he can.
During his retired life, he said, he would like to start aquaponic farming in the property in which he has built his home in Kerala. “I will give jobs to the needy people from my place and from the profit I get from that business I will help more people,” he added.
