Amit Sehra, a 38 year old vegetable seller from Kotputli in Rajasthan, never imagined that his love for Punjab would one day change his life completely. For years, he pushed his vegetable cart through the streets, earning about four to five hundred rupees a day. Then came the moment that turned his life around, a lottery ticket worth eleven crore rupees.
It all began with a simple trip. On October 16, Sehra travelled to the town of Moga in Punjab with his friend Mukesh Sen. He said he had always wanted to see Punjab, the land of Gurus and generous people. Money was tight, and such a trip had always felt out of reach until Sen invited him to visit his uncle.
On their way back home the next day, they stopped for tea in Bathinda. Near the stall, Sehra noticed a lottery counter called Rattan Lottery Stall. He wanted to buy a ticket but did not have any money. Sen lent him one thousand rupees and suggested that he buy two tickets. Sehra did, took a picture of them, and sent it to Sen’s phone before forgetting about it.
On the night of October 31, his phone rang. Sen was on the other end, full of excitement. He told Sehra that his ticket had won not a small prize but the eleven crore rupee Diwali Bumper jackpot. The second ticket had also won one thousand rupees.
Sehra lives with his wife and two children who study in Class 4. He also supports the families of his two brothers who have passed away. “We all live together and do small jobs to survive,” he said. When he went to Chandigarh to claim the prize, officials told him that after tax deductions he would receive about seven crore sixty lakh rupees once his identity was verified.
He borrowed eight thousand rupees to travel to Punjab and said he would repay it after receiving the money. Out of gratitude, he plans to give one crore rupees to his friend Sen’s daughters. “It does not matter how much I keep. He helped me when I had nothing,” said Sehra.
Luck has favoured him before. His children study at Hans International School in Kotputli under the Right to Education scheme, which covers their fees until middle school. Sehra said he would use part of his winnings to secure their education.
Even with all this money coming his way, he says he will continue selling vegetables. “That is my root. I want to stay grounded,” he said. But he does plan to fulfil one promise, to buy a 500 square yard plot and build a house for his wife, who had always wished for a small home of her own.
