If you hadn’t become a Group A officer, what do you think you would you be doing differently? Do you think your life philosophy—especially your views on happiness and contentment, which you often write about—would have stayed the same?

"If you hadn’t become a Group A officer, what do you think you would you be doing differently? Do you think your life philosophy—especially your views on happiness and contentment, which you often write about—would have stayed the same?

When I started my career as a group B officer, I was getting around ₹38,000 in my bank account every month. I had to pay around ₹7,000 as rent, ₹1,000 for utility bills, and ₹2,000 for food. The rest of the money was used for travelling to my hometown and helping my family whenever needed. I barely had any savings. I was living paycheck to paycheck.

Now, as a group A officer, I am getting more than ₹1 lakh in my account (including HRA). Today, my home loan and car loan EMIs together are more than my salary back then. I now pay more than double the rent, spend more than six times as much on food, and my utility bills have also increased. My father is no longer working. He has been bedridden for over two years. There are additional medical expenses with ageing parents. However, with time, I have gained more financial freedom and financial literacy. I have decent savings in mutual funds and, of course, NPS. I am married now. This means more income but also more expenses than what I used to incur when I was single. All in all, I am still living paycheck to paycheck.

In both scenarios, money has been important. It has affected the quality of my life. My expectations from materialistic pleasures have evolved with the increasing income. I could afford to dream more. It does not mean I was dying without the pleasures I have now. I am not able to afford a million things even today. I don’t even think about them. What is ‘basic’ for your lifestyle is always defined by your income. Needs and wants always keep changing.

For example, I did not even think of buying a car ever. Not in my wildest dreams. When I moved to Bangalore, we felt the need to own a vehicle as a couple, and since we could afford it, we got it.

It is also true that I have faced problems in both phases of life, where I have been unhappy, and most of the problems have little to do with my work.

To answer your question, I believe my views on happiness and contentment would not be any different. I still believe a job is a job, and we do not need to expect ‘happiness’ out of it. This is one of the primary views among many others. I had been writing on this subject even before I became a group A officer.

A photo from the initial days at my first job. I look at such photos and think of the person I was back then.

To be honest, the days I spent doing field work in the rural heartland of India taught me the most about life. The most important lesson was gratitude. That job shaped my views more than any other experience in life.

Now I am developing even more evolved views of prioritising happiness and contentment after my recent travel to Europe. I will write about it someday.