'My first salary got me a pair of Woodland shoes'

Photographs: Rediff Archives

We invited readers to share how much their first salary was and how they burst it up. Here we feature some of the fun, thoughtful, touching responses we received:

My first pay was Rs 3,000 from a telemarketing company where I worked during my vacation post 12th standard exams. I always wanted to have the famous Woodland shoes and bought it from a Bandra (Mumbai) showroom. Bought a brown colour pair for Rs 2,800 plus bought its brush and polish for Rs 180. Gosh, I still remember it! That was in 1998. Had that pair for a long time and was worth a lot than what it cost me.

-- Shabbir (29), manager in TechMahindra, Pune

I am working in Sapient as Oracle database administrator. When I started earning, my first salary was Rs 12.

When I was doing the final year of my diploma I had to stop studying and earn something for my family as my dad was not in a position to work.

I joined a liquor factory and they used to pay Rs 12 per day to wash the bottles and label them.

Later I did my studies part-time and now I'm in a good position. Thanks to God for giving me courage and strength to push back all the difficulties in life. :)

-- Narayan (28), Bangalore

My first salary was Rs 120 which I got in the year 1997. I gave the money to my mother.

-- Sailendra Agarwalla (35), Dibrugarh, Assam

Share your story by mailing us at getahead@rediff.co.in with the subject line 'My first salary' and tell us what your first job was, how much you got paid and what you did with your first salary. And we'll publish the responses right here on rediff.com! Don't forget to include your name, age, city and current job/ profession/ designation.

'I celebrated with a beer'

My first job was as a lab assistant at Bangalore in 2001. My first salary was Rs 2,150. By then I was staying at my aunt's place. When I got my salary I sent home Rs 1,000 for my parents and gave Rs 1,000 to my aunt. I was left with Rs 150. I had a beer which cost around Rs 50. I spent a total of Rs 70 on that day and kept the remaining Rs 80 for monthly expenditures. Well, it was not an easy time but it was fun watching others enjoy their salaries (I had no other option)

-- Lokesh R (30), consultant, Riyadh

I am a retired senior judge from Jaipur Rajasthan Higher Judicial Service. My first appointment in the year 1956 was as a state rural teacher. My pay was Rs 40 with an increment of Re 1 per year. I had to go on foot to teach in a school that was 80 km to and from my residence. I used to put my salary at my mother's who was also a local girls' school teacher. Her salary was Rs 50 per month at the time.

-- Damodar Mishra (72)

Fresh out of college from a small city Bhubaneswar, I travelled to Bangalore, in quest of my first job way back in 2004. And after struggling for a month or so I landed up in PAXAR India. It was a job of Customer Service Executive, and the salary was Rs 4500. When I received my first month's payment, it was no less than a dream come true for me.

I spent a major portion of it the same day, partying with new colleagues and yes I couriered a special Karnataka Silk sari to my mom in Orissa. And thus within 4-5 days I was running short of money again.

-- Durga Prasad (28), business manager with a corporate traning MNC, Bhubaneswar

'I splurged on a thaali, and still had some money left over'

On January 24, 1980, I received an offer letter as salesman on Rs 300 PM in a soap company and I joined the same on January 25 I joined the same. After working upto January 31, I got my first salary of Rs 68 from and I was full of happiness. I could enjoy that amount with my parents by dining out with them and watching movies with them. They were so happy to see their earning son and they told almost all our relatives about how we celebrated.

-- Sunil Kango (52), sales and administration manager, Indore

In 1969 I attended a leadership camp in Trivandrum (I was in college those days) and I met a student from Bangalore.

After graduation I was hunting for a job in Bangalore and then in Chennai. My friend's father was a top executive in US Consulate in Chennai and I was directed to him by my friend. He just asked me what I could do for him. With little knowledge of typing, I told him I could type. Those days he was in the process of sending his son-in-law to the US and unlike today all the certificates were to be typed out and attested.

I worked three days with him in his house at Kodambakkam typing out all the copies. I was bad at typing and he used to tell me that I was wasting lot of his stationery. On the third day I was given lunch in his house and he said he had enough of me and gave me Rs 10 as my salary. I had imagined getting at least Rs 50 and after seeing the Rs 10 note I lost myself and folded the note several times in anger. This irritated him and he told me that this was not the way to handle a currency note.

That day I had a full South Indian thaali meal and felt happy that I could save Rs 8 for the future.

-- K V Varkey (55), marketing consultant, Chennai

Yes receiving the first salary is indeed one of the most exciting moments in my life too. But more than the actual moment of getting the money in hand, the process had added to the excitement.

I was all of 20 years and fresh from college when I received my life's first valuable document called 'appointment letter' on a salary of Rs 250/- pm (the era of ctc had not dawned then). Since I was posted in the field operations outside company headquarters, I was instructed to first open a bank account so that my salary could get deposited in it. I did so with the grand sum of Rs 5, that being the minimum amount required to open an account (and the minimum balance too).

The excitement reached its peak when I received an advice from my office that my first salary was remitted to my bank account. When the moment to withdraw cash from the account came, I had a new learning. In the cheque that I wrote out, I wrote my name in the place provided for 'Pay To'. And in order that it should not be misused by anyone (although I was to encash it right across the counter) I struck off 'or bearer'. On handing over the cheque to the bank cashier, she (yes even after 40 long years, I still recall that moment) looked visibly perplexed. She was nice enough that, instead of ridiculing me I was politely informed that for withdrawing cash I should not strike off 'or bearer'. And even simple 'self' would do.

On her advice I tore up the cheque and wrote out another and then got my first crisp notes.

-- AM Wadikar

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