My First Earning --

This is the story of Inter second year. That day I woke up early, took bath, had breakfast and instead of college, I went to Radio Station Bhagalpur. When I reached radio station, it was around 10am. The security guard of the station stopped me.
“I need to visit yuvvani department. I have got some work with them”- I explained.
“Do you have any recording today or any contract paper? Who do you want to meet”- he demanded.
“No. I have not come here for recording but I have no less important work than recording. I have few enquiries and I need answer from them. Hope, you are satisfied now.”- I completed my argument.
The security guard was a typical watchman and he further inquired many things. When he got satisfied then he allowed me to sign on the visitors register. That was my first experience dealing with security guard of any organization.

I entered into the Radio station building, asked peon for yuvvani department and knocked the door of the office. One middle-aged official was sitting there. I greeted him, told him about my name, age, college and asked, “I want to participate in the quiz contest programme broadcasted by your department”. That time yuvvani used to broadcast quiz contest perhaps every Wednesday/ Thursday. In the contest, four youth used to participate.  I liked the format of the programme and wanted to participate.
“Generally we take participant who are writing the competitive examination. You are just in Intermediate. You should prepare for you course study now. When you will start writing competitive examination, then you should approach us”- He commented.

I was disheartened. When I was about to leave the room, he called me again and asked – “Why do you feel that you should participate in the quiz contest? Did anybody send you here?”.
“No body has sent me here. Last week I listened to the programme and I knew the answer of thirty-six question out of forty. I was playing the game in my home along with participants when it was being broadcasted and I did better than two participants .I thought why should not I participate”
He smiled and said – “Why not I should check your general knowledge now .” and he asked around ten questions from history to current affairs. Except two questions, (one question I still remember – who is the foreign secretary of India, other question was from economics), I answered all question correctly. He congratulated me and noted down my address and phone number. He told me he would call me for any other programme.

Around after three months, I got a call from the yuvvani to participate in debate. The topic was – ‘the effect of cinema on youth’.  I was delighted to know it. That was my first recording and I prepared on the subject as much as I could do till recording time .The debate went well and I spoke effectively.  Everybody including participants congratulated me. After that, I signed the contract paper for the programme and next day I received the cheque of one hundred fifty rupees. I was on cloud nine.

I came home with the cheque and touched the feet of elders (an old tradition of my family). As this was my first earning, I handed over the cheque to my mother. She told me to give that cheque to grandfather, as he was guardian of the family. I gave that to my grandfather but he refused to take. He told to spend the money as per my wish. I was perplexed.  

It was a big question for me how to spend one hundred and fifty rupees.  When I checked my need list, I had everything what I required except a radio. There was an old Murphy radio in my house and my grandfather used to listen to all India radio news & BBC news on it. Sometimes I would listen to Hindi songs on it. I checked the market for price and found out local made good radio was available on one hundred seventy rupees. This was my first earning and I wanted to offer prasadam worth of twenty-one rupees to Hanuman Baba. My total estimated expenditure was coming one hundred ninety-one rupees and I had only one hundred fifty rupees in my hand. Still I needed forty-one rupees. I was happy without any money, now this debate remuneration put me in more trouble. Two days passed and I could not decide what to do. I was too proud to ask money from anyone for purchasing radio.

I was sad, and my grandfather noticed it. First, I did not want to disclose my problem but when he persisted, I told him everything. He laughed when he heard my problem. Immediately he gave me fifty rupees and my problem was solved. I offered prasadam to Hanuman baba next day and the same day I purchased a radio.

Now, the radio is out of order but my mother has kept it safely in trunk as a memory of my first earning.

~~~ Ramanuj Dubey