11/10/2025
Lessons from ₹150: How an Emperor Dies
It has been a long voyage. Life has given me everything — in fact, more than I could have ever imagined. Yet imagination knows no limits, and I have often dreamed lofty dreams and set ambitious targets for myself.
I still remember being a 17-year-old boy, stepping into my first internship during my training. I was awarded a stipend of ₹150 per month. That small amount meant the world to me. I was thrilled — it was my first taste of earning through my own effort.
From that very first earning, I gave ₹50 to my mother. I spent another ₹50 on my Karate tuition — something I had taken up with great enthusiasm. The remaining ₹50 I set aside for the months ahead when I would return to college for my seventh semester and would no longer be earning a stipend. My pocket money continued from my mother, so my lifestyle did not change. But that experience changed something deeper — I learned to take responsibility, to share what I had, and to live frugally.
My father had ingrained in me the habit of saving early. He often said that savings should not be the last act, but the first. One must save before spending, and then learn to live within the means that remain. That discipline, once adopted, became second nature. Over time, the amounts changed, the currencies changed — but the principle never did.
That simple act — earning ₹150, sharing with my mother, saving for my future, and spending with purpose — became a way of life. My father, a simple man and a government doctor, lived by those very values. He raised four children, educated us, and provided everything we needed. We lived modestly, yet never felt deprived.
He lived a simple life — but in his simplicity lay great strength. When he retired, he lived comfortably, with peace and dignity. And when the time came, he departed like an emperor — peacefully, without suffering, surrounded by his entire family. He left enough to take care of his last rites and even a little legacy for his descendants.
That, I believe, is how an emperor dies — not in grandeur or luxury, but in peace, fulfillment, and love.
Good Morning- Have a great Day ahead!
