Dubai: Lady Luck is known to smile on tourists and residents during the Dubai Shopping Festival. Stories abound where raffle prizes amounting to hundreds of thousands of dirhams have come to the rescue of individuals in dire need of cash or have helped parents fund their children’s education or enable someone to buy their dream car. Two winners from last year’s edition of the festival recount how the windfall made an impact on their lives.
Tirupathi Anand
Indian Tirupathi Anand, 53, an independent strategy adviser in Dubai – who won half a kilo of gold worth around Dh56,000 - said he could not believe his ears when he got the call from DSF officials.
“The prize could not have come at a better time. I had an outstanding of over Dh100,000 from a personal loan and I was paying Dh10,000 towards my equated monthly instalment (EMI) – which was not easy for me. I sold the gold and managed to pay off a big chunk of the outstanding loan amount and also reduced the EMI by half. It was such a relief not just for me but for the entire family,” said Anand, who took the loan to fund his son’s education in the US and buy property in India.
Recalling his reaction when he first got the call from the DSF officials, Anand said: “It was from a landline number and I remember verifying the call before announcing the big news to my family. Needless to say everyone was ecstatic. My wife, son, daughter-in-law, grand-daughter and myself went up on stage to receive the prize.”
Vivek Kumar
For Vivek Kumar, a maintenance engineer with an IT company who also won half a kilo of gold, the windfall came at a time when he needed it most.
“When I got the call from the DSF office I thought it was a prank. Only after I got a message with my coupon details was I convinced that I had indeed won the prize. My happiness knew no bounds as I was struggling then to pay my credit card debt, which was nearly Dh50,000.”
Kumar still remembers the day luck came calling his way. “We were shopping at Mirdif City Centre and my wife wanted to buy a ring for herself at the Malabar Gold and Jewellery shop. As part of the DSF promotion we got a raffle coupon.
“It was my seven-year-old son who put the coupon in the raffle box. He proved to be my lucky mascot. After paying my credit card dues I bought him some expensive games which I would have normally shied away from buying.”
Gold Rush
This year for Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), gold buyers stand a chance to win up to 34 kilos of gold — worth Dh5 million. Three lucky shoppers are being rewarded at the daily draw held at 8pm in Deira Gold Souk. First-place winner walks away with half a kilo of gold while the second and third-place winners take home a quarter kilo each. Customers who purchase gold jewellery worth Dh500 will be entitled to one raffle coupon and those purchasing diamond jewellery, pearl or watches worth Dh500 get two raffle coupons to take part in the daily draws.
