Born on Dec.2, 1971, this Indian is a celebrity
ABU DHABI: Born to a low-income family in a remote south Indian village, birthday celebration was an unfamiliar affair for Mahroof Kulathil until his Emirati bosses notified him of its significance just before his 43rd birthday.
“Had I not come to the UAE, perhaps I might have never noticed my birth date,” Kulathil who reached the United Arab Emirates 20 years ago tells the Emirates News Agency WAM.
When his Emirati bosses congratulated him for being born on the same day of the UAE’S founding day, Dec.2, 1971, and felicitated him at a National Day function, it turned out a new life for the man from a humble background.
“There was no such thing called birthday celebration in my family and places where I studied,”says Kerala-born Kulathil who works as an assistant at a federal government entity in Abu Dhabi.
He had attended a madrasa (religious school) in his village, secondary school in a small town where he studied until grade 10, and a college where he studied a twoyear certificate course in Islamic religious education.
He feels the generosity of his bosses has added a new colourful chapter to his life.
Kulathil still remembers the day he received that phone call from a colleague that transformed his life to a “significant existence” during the National Day holidays in 2014.
He was back home to spend the holidays with parents, wife and children.
The colleague called up and told him a congratulatory letter had come for him from the top management at his workplace who found out the coincidental birthday just ahead of that National Day.
For Kulathil, that letter was a great recognition. “I felt so happy and excited. They were so generous to recognise a person doing a small job,” Kulathil says smilingly.
On subsequent National Day celebrations, he enjoyed being congratulated by everyone at his workplace.
“However, the celebrations in 2017 was something special,” he recollects. “One of the bosses put me on a camel and offered me an enjoyable ride during the celebrations!”