'Bought mum a mixer-grinder with my first salary of Rs 430'

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 salary was Rs 430, way back in April 1980 as in inspector in the Weights and Measures department in Cuttack. I gave it to my mother and we bought our first mixer-grinder! Since there was a long queue for the market leader -- Sumeet, we settled for a Bajaj make.

-- Srinivas Gade, retired bank officer

I got campus recruited to a top construction firm in 2006 from Hyderabad and they placed me at Raipur cricket stadium.

I still remember the dates 12-5-2006 to 5-6-2006. First salary was around Rs 7,000. I spend around Rs 1,000 on party after I got 82 per cent in my final semester.

-- BQ Rahman, structural engineer, Saudi Arabia.

I was working as a milkman from 7:30 am to 11 am and 4:30 pm to 8 pm and I was getting Rs 600 per month. After
three months, the owner asked me to leave as there was pressure from a child labour organisation. I was jobless.

That time I was very interested in computer (1996). A distant relative had a computer institute and I was working there -- sweeping and cleaning the computers. They were not paying me and I used to sit on the last bench to learn computers. After six months, I got a salary of Rs 500. With that small, small amount I completed my graduation in IT and today I am a software engineer.

-- Mohamed Ridvan (26), software programmer, Mumbai

My first job was as a lab assistant in University of Hyderabad (HCU). My first salary was around Rs 5,600 in 2005. I bought a good sari for my grandmother and gave the remaining money to her.

My grandmother's blessing has made me what I am today (I am doing my PhD in University of Udine, Italy).

-- P Harish

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 donated half my salary to an old-age home'

The first time I made money was when I was in 7th grade. I had written a story to Tinkle which got accepted and Tinkle paid me Rs 60. I made my mom give me Rs 40 more and treated my family to ice-cream :).

-- Prasanna (27), software engineer, USA

My first job was as a 'Teaching Assistant' in an engineering college at Kurnool, and my first salary was Rs 2,800 in the year 1996 and I had given half of the salary to a local old-age home and the rest was given to my family.

It was a proud moment for me.

-- Bhuvan Rao, USA

My first salary was Rs 750 that I earned at my first real working job as an intern at a software company in Pune. We were paid in cash by the payroll person and we had to sign in a notebook as acceptance. I think I bought a sari for my mom and gave the rest of the money to my dad, who gave it back to me to spend as I saw fit.

I remember having money left over after spending money on all my needs for the month (petrol included) and being in a state of wonderment with regard to what I would do with so much money month after month. I make a three-figure salary in dollars now but for some reason it's never enough -- the ironies of life and the reality of the economy.

-- George Varghese

My first salary was Rs 21,897 in 2001 as I managed to get into a reputed IT company, thanks to the regional engineering college I went to. I sent all of my salary to my father, who was earning less than that even after 30 years of teaching experience. The funny part is, the following month, I was given the pink slip because of no new projects coming to the company.

-- Dinesh

'I bought Dad a watch'

I joined a software company after graduating from engineering college. My first salary was Rs 5,000 for 10 days of work. My dad had just taken forcible retirement and it was hard times. Nobody else was earning. His wristwatch was very old and I always wanted to buy him a new watch from my salary.

The day I got my salary I went to a Titan showroom and got one. I couriered it home directly without telling him anything. The moment he saw the watch he started crying. It was the best moment of my life.

-- Aniket Goundaje

I started working on March 15, 1980 at a private company in Mumbai. I got Rs 450 which I gave my mother.

Now I earn much more than that, but those days were carefree.

-- Kala Babu

I got my first salary as tuition fees in 1975. It was Rs 100 and this and subsequent income was duly handed over to my mother till I got married in February 1982. After a month, on March 5 my husband handed over his salary to me. The last salary I drew before I was made redundant due to the infamous Dubai real estate crash in 2009, if converted into Indian currency would be approximately Rs 80,000. Today at the age of 50+ I have minimum balance to operate my bank account. Starting from scratch, I work as a freelance telemarketer during the day and as a free tutor to adivasi students in the evening.

The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm -- goes an old proverb.

-- Vijaya Prabhu (50+), Mumbai

My first salary was Rs 3,500, and the first thing I did was to call my mother and tell her not to send me money since I got my first salary. I asked her if she wanted anything, but she only blessed me. The next day I went to buy a watch for myself as I had an old mechanical watch, but in the shop instead of buying for myself I bought it for my father. This was in 2001.

-- Santosh Kumar, BMW Group, USA

When I joined The Hitavada as its Sports Reporter based in Amravati in 1983, I was still in college, doing my MSc. I had a great fascination for HMT watches. When I got my first salary of Rs 300, the first thing that I did was to buy a HMT wristwatch for myself. It was a dream come true in my life. I was never so delighted. That watch gave me the feeling what it meant to be earning my own income. I still have that watch with me as a memento.

Though it was only Rs 300 in 1983, today I earn a fairly good five-figure salary but nothing brought me as much joy as that HMT watch on my first salary.

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