No jackpot? No problem! Man who collected million heartbreaks!

PATHANAMTHITTA: Talk about a toxic relationship with Lady Luck! 62-year-old K.J. Rajan has been chasing the ultimate jackpot since 1978. He’s pumped lakhs of rupees into the lottery, but the cosmic casino has given him the cold shoulder for nearly five decades. The biggest cash prize he has ever pocketed? A measly ₹5,000.

However, instead of crying over spilt cash or ripping up his losing tickets, Rajan did something genius. He saved them all. Every. Single. One.

Today, this former Town Planning Office driver is sitting on a historic empire of paper, turning a lifetime of "better luck next time" into a mind-blowing personal archive.

From 1-rupee vintage to the 25-crore mega-monster!

Rajan’s house is basically a museum of broken financial dreams turned awesome. If a lottery ticket exists, he probably has it. His insane collection spans from ancient, vintage 1-rupee Kerala Bumper tickets—from back when the top prize was just a cool ₹1 lakh—all the way to the modern, eye-watering ₹25-crore mega-monsters. He’s also hoarded theme-specific draws like sports lotteries, Monsoon specials, Sabari, May Day draws, and the legendary Super Lotto. In fact, his obsession is so legendary locally that fans and neighbours now hunt down rare, antique tickets just to gift them to him!

Lifelong hustle

This wasn't just an adult midlife crisis; the lottery obsession gripped him when he was just a kid. He used to pick up dirty, abandoned lottery tickets from the side of the road, dust them off, and hoard them in a box under his bed. Before scoring a comfortable government driver gig later in life, young Rajan even worked gruelling manual labour jobs just to fund his relentless ticket-buying habit!

Ultimate family man & historian

Rajan isn't keeping all this paper history to himself, either. He frequently hosts public exhibitions, teaching the smartphone generation about the wild, colourful history of the lottery system.

And if you’re wondering what his family thinks of this ticket-hoarding madness, they’ve got his back! His wife, Shobha Rajan, is a retired Education Department official, and his daughter, Gouri, is a successful dentist making people smile in Bengaluru.

Rajan might not have the 25 crores in his bank account, but when it comes to passion, he's absolutely struck gold!