Ecstasy for one, agony for another. One has won silver equal to his body weight to educate and cure his five-year-old son, the other has missed out on a dream scholarship for his seven-year-old son.
The world of cash contests found a winner and a victim on Tuesday. If lady luck smiled on Sandip Kumar Chatterjee she frowned on Devraj Bhattarai, a durwan in a central Calcutta school.
Thirty-nine-year-old Devraj “almost won” a Rs 5 lakh scholarship thanks to a contest run by Surf Excel in its ad campaigns.
In the first week of November, when the durwan of Ling Liang High School in Bowbazar had opened a packet of washing powder, he found a cloth which had 10/10 written on it. Aware of the contest and thrilled at having cracked the vital code for a scholarship, Devraj immediately communicated his claim to company officials.
“When I discovered the 10/10 sign I could not believe my luck. It meant my only chance to ensure a good life for my family,” recounted Devraj, who had nominated his youngest son, seven-year-old Joseph, for the scholarship he was sure he had won.
Hope gave way to heartbreak on Monday when Devraj received a communication from the company’s head office rejecting his claim as he had failed to fulfil certain criteria.
“There are certain conditions which are kept hidden from the consumer. Unless they fulfil all the conditions they cannot claim the prize,” said an official of Hindustan Lever when contacted on Tuesday.
Devraj is a resident of Nazir Lane in Kidderpore where he lives with his wife and four children. He earns around Rs 4,000 a month.
“I am not educated but I always dream of my children pursuing higher studies and becoming responsible citizens. The Rs 5 lakh scholarship could have taken care of Joseph’s entire education. But now, there is no hope,” despaired Devraj.
The so-near-yet-so-far saga has left Devraj broken and bitter. “Such contests should be more transparent. We are poor people and immediately start dreaming of a good future. I do not want somebody else’s dreams to come crashing down like mine,” he sighed, before getting back to his duties as a durwan.
