Taking Stock

Sensexual matters have always had that titillating effect on me that baywatch never managed. Bulls and bears do form a heady combo when it comes to the jungle that is Dalal Street. Having grown up in that miasma of margins, dividends and rights, it was a foregone conclusion that this "trade's" shoes would fit me fine. It was sacrilege to think of the thing as a sort of wager that could spell doomsday even without having that word in its vocabulary. Had seen a couple of fellas losing their shirts trying to ride high on market sentiment. Never averse to a roll of dice, that didnt deter me putting my own eggs in this mystical basket. Call that a rolling settlement. If I had fallen short of taking care of any filial duties, this made up for it. Pa, always the avid observer had his "share" of disappointments with my resisting the temptation but as the cliche goes "all's well that ends well". India Inc hasnt really caught me on the wrong foot. With the index that tells the story shooting up like an adolescent gunning for puberty, the investment proved to be robust. It isnt always that I exercise my options right but exceptions arent so exceptional with me. The harbinger of globalization that he is, our PM's forecasts of a 10 percent GDP growth rate seem to say that he has his heart where his mouth is. The rings seem to corroborate his optimism with rallies that can give inflation an inferiority complex. Have seen unsuspecting junta around me come out of their blissful reveries with no idea of what a stock is, and plunging into the circus headlong ( the identities have been intentionally concealed to avoid trouble for the taxman ). It isnt very obvious though that this jocular act has its origins in the lark of making a fast buck or the high that one gets on having her judgement vindicated. The derivative however remains, the audience for the circus has shrunk and the performers swelled. A reflection on the after effects of this dynamo effect warms the cockles of my heart. Gone are the days when the quintessential blue collared worker considered the FDs as her holy grail to a safe "future". The green bucks are out from the vice like grip of the government coffers and being put behind the dreams of entrepreneurs. They are driving the imagination of fortune makers who would risk their today for a glorious tomorrow. India has perhaps taken its first true steps towards the hallowed steps of capitalism with this subtle change in the mentality of the middle rung samaritan. It can only be the start of the coming true of that great prophecy that pronounced the 21st century as India's territory. May the stock taking tribe follow its beloved number's rise to fame. AMEN....