From a tailor to a taxi driver to a 'millionaire'

DUBAI - Manoj Kumar Mambra, a taxi driver in Ajman, had been under tremendous pressure over the past few days.

By (By a staff reporter)

Published: Thu 7 Aug 2008, 12:16 AM

Last updated: Tue 31 Jan 2023, 3:09 PM

He was shell-shocked on receiving traffic fine tickets to the tune of Dh3,000 from his office. Though he had managed to get his annual leave sanctioned by the company to get urgent medical treatment in his home state of Kerala, India, he was unable to leave the UAE without paying the fines.

Lady Luck finally smiled on him in the form of Postcard Millionaire. Manoj won Dh100,000 on July 30.

Manoj had a roller-coaster journey throughout his life — not always happy, though.

His father died when he was in Grade 8 in school, forcing him to shoulder the responsibility of running his house in Malappuram.

He was clueless as to how to take care of his mother and his elder sister. The trade that rescued him, somewhat, was tailoring which he learnt by attending a vocational course. The money he earned fed the dependants and helped him marry off his sister.

Manoj recounted how a tailor became a taxi driver. "I went to Muscat, Oman, a few years back to try and earn a better living for my family but realised that tailoring alone was not going to land me anywhere. I managed to get a GCC driver's licence to get a job that paid better but I had to return to Kerala soon." He got married and now has a son.

"Two years ago, I came to the UAE to give myself another chance to earn a decent living and save sufficient money to build a house in my hometown. I got the job as a taxi driver in my current company in Ajman."

Manoj had purchased 70 Postcard Millionaire packs in the last two years before buying the winning pack on July 28. "Despite the financial constraints that I faced, I had made it a point to purchase a Postcard Millionaire pack every week."

Manoj had given up hopes of continuing in this country. "I purchased the Postcard Millionaire pack last week from Ajman Post Office, promising myself never to buy another pack again. I was emotionally down. I was not very keen about the weekly draw this time unlike earlier when I used to wait eagerly for the announcement of each week's winner," said Manoj.

"When I received the verification call from TMC, I could not hold back my tears. I am looking forward to building a house in Malappuram. My wife and son deserve the house since most of their needs have been sidelined in the process of taking care of all other family needs," Manoj concluded.