Abdul Kalam earned his first wages during the time of the Second World War. His cousin Samsuddin, who distributed newspapers in Rameswaram, was affected when the train halt at Rameswaram was suspended due to a state of emergency. The newspapers now had to be thrown from a moving train. Samsuddin needed help to catch these bundles, so he engaged Abdul Kalam for the job. By helping in this way, Abdul Kalam earned his first wages.