Family members welcome Sushil Kumar at his home in Motihari on Friday night. Picture by Ajit Kumar Verma

Motihari, Nov. 5: Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) winner Sushil Kumar was prepared for a grand homecoming. But the reception he received yesterday after landing at Patna airport still left him overwhelmed and speechless, at least for a while.

Flanked by an escort party, police vehicles and an ambulance (normally provided to VIPs), Sushil had a dream entry to Motihari late on Friday evening. Sitting next to him was local MLA Pramod Kumar, who went all the way to Patna to receive the KBC winner. “It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life,” said the KBC winner. Sushil received and almost Diwali-like welcome with lights and crackers lighting up the evening. MLA Pramod accompanied Sushil to his Hanumangarhi residence.

After a series of tight hugs, which continued for several minutes, Sushil was treated to his favourite sweetdish — kheer — prepared by his mother Renu Devi. The sweetness of kheer, however, could not dissolve the hurt of being called “non-genuine” and “winner by luck” by a few mediapersons in Mumbai.

“I felt sorry for those journalists who challenged my integrity just because of my poor background. They even put before me a separate set of questionnaire with 10 questions to assess my knowledge. With God’s grace, I managed to answer nine out of them,” Sushil said.

“Finally, the owner of Synergy Communications, Siddharth Basu, had to come to my defence and say out aloud ‘you are really genuine’” the KBC winner added.

Sushil’s journey from Mumbai to Patna was also not very pleasant as several co-passengers, unaware of his current success, treated him and his family member — his wife and two brothers — with contempt and disgust. Sushil’s ordinary sense of dressing perhaps confused regular fliers.

“When they learnt about me at Patna airport, I could see an apparent sign of repent on their faces,” Sushil said.

Speaking about the other KBC winner from Bihar — Anil Kumar Sinha — who won Rs 1 crore a few days earlier, Sushil said, “Sinhaji was also present to receive him at Patna airport. Even in Mumbai, he was there to support me at every occasion when I got nervous with the constant queries of media.”

Sushil, however, did not forget to thank those journalists who praised him and wrote stories about his success. “It is the media which has made me a national hero,” he said. Sushil also thanked the KBC organisers who proved him a financial advisor and a clinical psychologist, who accompanied him all the time, especially when he ventured out of the hotel.

“Agents associated with different financial companies have started calling me up ever since I have reached here. But I am following the valuable suggestions given by the financial advisor,” he added.

Sushil, who worked as a computer operator at the MNREGA office in Motihari, got a call today morning from Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh. “The minister wanted to make use of my KBC photographs for MNREGA posters. So he called me to seek my consent for the proposal,” Sushil said.

Meanwhile, organisers of the USA’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire are scheduled to visit Sushil at Motihari on November 25 to shoot a documentary on him, he said and added that they have already sought permission for the same from the KBC organisers. In a general message or his city youngsters, Sushil advised them to live simple and dream big.