My First earnings

"First earning", this conjures many old memories in everyone's mind, isn't it.  Well!! My first earning was 5 Rupees and it was when I was in either 5 or 6th or 7th standard, can't exactly recall the year.

Every summer vacation we would go to my mother's native Channarayapatna. My mom's parents, brothers and one of her sister lived there. My aunty had a grocery shop there. To attract kids to the shop she would have a lottery chart.

What is a lottery chart?? Well, it would be some 500 of white peppermints, similar to polo (but without a hole :-), wrapped in colour paper and stuck on the chart sheet in attractive patterns. Off the 500 peppermints about 50 of them would have a number behind it. The chart sheet would be hung in front of the shop; kids would be allowed to pick a peppermint after paying 50 paisa. If there happened to be a number then the kid would get a prize, else no.

When I went for vacation that year, I offered to make a lottery chart because it looked interesting, not that I wanted to earn something. I made a girl with orange skirt and red top on the chart with about 500 pepper mints. I had to cut the paper to small squares of 1 x 1 inch. Then wrap each peppermint and stick on the chart paper. This entire effort took about a week. Once done, and handed it over to my aunty, she gave me a 5 Rupee note for my effort.

I was jubilant, too happy to see my first earnings. I can still recall singing on the road with a 5 rupee note in my hand and smiling away to glory.

What I did with that 5 rupee, I just can't recall :-(.