For this Dubai resident, his first ever yearly subscription of Khaleej Times landed him a beautiful diamond necklace. Ram Prasoon, who has been a UAE resident for 13 years, said he was over the moon when he got the call.

“I have never won anything in my life before this — not even a ball point pen,” he said. “So, I was very surprised when I got the call from Khaleej Times that I had won something. I think my wife was the happiest when we learnt that it was a diamond necklace.”

Ram was at the KT headquarters on Latifa bint Hamdan Street on Thursday where he received his gift from Charles Yardley, CEO of Khaleej Times.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

Ram holds the diamond necklace

He said winning the gift was the best thing to happen to him, especially at a time of uncertainty. “We are going through uncertain times, and this win was a spot of happy news in our lives,” he said.

“Since the beginning of the regional conflict, KT has been my main source of news. I even sent links to my family back home. In India, news channels have been sensationalising everything and my family was scared. I told them to only follow the daily blogs of KT for the most accurate information. It is great to get all the information in one place.”

Luck charm

Hailing from the southern Indian state of Kerala, Ram lives in Dubai with his wife, Dhilna and two daughters — 12-year-old Avanthika and five-year-old Anvitha.

An employee of the construction company Sobha, Ram had been living in Karama and commuting to his workplace in Jebel Ali for several years. In 2024, the family shifted to Discovery Gardens, cutting down his office commute time by more than half.

Ram with his family

“Since I had more time in the morning and evening, my wife and I discussed getting a newspaper subscription,” he said. “Our daughters were also at an age where we would like them to inculcate a habit of reading. So, we took a one-month subscription to just test the waters. Then we took another three-month subscription.”

He said he began enjoying being able to read a physical paper and his daughters also began reading. “Any time we had an issue, the customer service was very prompt, and I was very happy with the service,” he said.

“Whether it was the office or the delivery boy Praveen Raj, all KT communication was very responsive. So, in August, we took our first one-year subscription. It was our lucky charm.”

Ram with the delivery boy Praveen Raj

Ram was the second of a total of five diamond necklaces that are up for grabs for Khaleej Times subscribers, in partnership with Joy Alukkas. One raffle draw will be conducted every month, giving subscribers multiple chances to win. One lucky person stands a chance to win the grand prize of a Lynk & Co car in the final draw.

Readers are encouraged to subscribe early to ensure eligibility across all the upcoming raffle draws.

The KT print annual subscription package is priced at Dh549. In return subscribers will get vouchers worth Dh724 from brand partners Baskin-Robbins, Nando’s, Carluccio’s, Lavash, Choithrams and Joy Alukkas. It also offers subscribers 25 per cent savings on Khaleej Times B2C events, wherever applicable. In addition to this, all subscribers will go into the lucky draw to win the remaining diamond necklaces and the Lynk & Co car.

Longtime KT reader wins diamond necklace in subscription raffle day after kid's birthday Indian, Pakistani expats win Dh50,000 each in Abu Dhabi's Big Ticket draw