I am from Mysuru. I completed my B.Com in Mysuru and joined a nationalised bank in 1978 as a clerk. At the time, getting a bank job was a big thing in the family. My father told everyone in the street.
I got married at 28, and we have two children, a son and a daughter. While working, I also completed my M.Com in evening classes. It was not easy, with a full day at the office followed by class, but it helped me get promoted. Over time, I became an officer and then a branch manager. There was a lot of pressure at work, with month-end work, audits and targets, but I enjoyed meeting the customers.
I retired in 2017. For the first few months I was very happy: no alarm, no tension. But after some time I got bored. I was sitting at home and disturbing my wife in the kitchen, so she said, “Do something, don’t just roam around the house.”
So I started a small terrace garden. Tomato, chilli, curry leaves. Everything doesn’t grow properly, what to do, but some yield comes. My wife says the tomatoes are too sour, but she still uses them in the rasam.
Now my routine is fixed. Get up at six, water the plants, then go for a walk with my friends in the park. We talk about politics, cricket and whose knee is paining more. In the evening I bring my two grandchildren from school. They don’t listen to me much, but they like sitting with me.
My pension is there, so we manage without depending on anyone. I am glad I saved from the beginning.