Nettoor: Even after becoming a crorepati, Sarath S Nair, who won the first prize in the Kerala Lottery’s Onam Bumper ticket, reported for duty at his paint shop in Nettoor as usual on Tuesday.

His colleagues at the workshop broke into smiles when they saw the lucky winner walk in. All their complaints about Sarath ‘disappearing without a word’ after the big win were drowned out by his cheerful explanation that “I wanted to tell you all after confirming everything.” He then distributed ladoos among them to celebrate his win.

Once the rush of television crews and reporters subsided, Sarath went back to work just like any other day. Sarath, who works as the C&F in-charge at Beta Traders near INTUC Junction in Nettoor, is a C&F agent for Nippon Paints and has been with the firm for the past 12 years. On Tuesday, he left work a little early to attend a small felicitation organised by the shop’s employees, led by Managing Directors Binu Oommen and Gautam Menon, along with Manager Tomy Joseph.

Like every other day, Sarath commuted to and from his workplace by bus. On the way, he stopped by the lottery shop where he had purchased the ticket, to personally share his happiness with lottery agent Latheesh, shaking his hand.

Sarath said he saw the celebrations at the lottery shop on the day of the draw and had already realised he had won the prize. ‘I had already verified my ticket number by then. I was planning to visit the bank on Monday, and since I had the ticket safely with me, I wasn’t tense at all. Whether I said anything or not, people would have found out soon anyway,’ he said.

Sarath added that he plans to decide how to spend the money after consulting a financial expert. For now, though, he has no plans to quit his job at Beta Traders.